Christmas Cheer is Overflowing in NOLA!

Morning Everybody...It's Friday - What's happenin'??

There's some fun for you at Holiday on the Boulevard at the Ashe Cultural Center (1724 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.).  Head down a little early for a Kwanzaa Ceremony with Mama YéYé and Imagination Tour (dance & drum workshop) with Bamboula 2000 at 10:00 am, and check out the Community Reception & Open House with Music by Bamboula 2000 at 6:00 pm!

There's a Miracle On Fulton Street  (Fulton and Poydras)  it's free and open to the public!  Come see the Canopy of Lights ~ A series of 14-foot, custom-built, faux wrought iron arches, 8-foot Christmas trees and 3-foot fleur de lis ornaments!....And there's also "Faux Sneaux" which falls daily!  Tonight check out entertainment by The Wiseguys from 8:00 pm to 10:00pm!!  And don't forget about Santa and his "real" reindeer too!  All the holiday fun runs thru January 2nd!

And what a perfect night to visit Celebration in the Oaks at City Park there's so much to do!!

*Visit the Park's Carousel Gardens with rides including the century-old Antique Carousel, Miniature Train, Live Oak Ladybug Roller Coaster, Coney Tower, Fun Slide, Bumper Cars, Rockin' Tug, the Scrambler, and Tilt-A-Whirl. Kid's rides include the Red Baron Plane Ride, Umbrella Cars, Monkey Jump, Slime Buckets and Construction Zone.  Ride bands for unlimited rides are available for $15/person/night. Individual Ride bands are also available for $3 per ride.

*Nightly performances featuring school choirs and orchestras, Irish dancers, cloggers, bell choirs, ballet troupes, dance groups, and gospel groups. See our calendar for performance schedules.

*Gather your family and friends for Santa and holiday photos in the Carousel Gardens. Photos will be available for purchase at the event (cash or credit card only) from Romaguera Photography. 

*There's Storyland - City Park's renovated fairy tale theme park featuring twenty-six larger then life storybook exhibits for kids that allow our little visitors to climb on, slide down or pretend to be their favorite character. Mother Goose, Pinocchio's whale, and Captain Hook's ship as well as many other whimsical figures will delight the young and young at heart nightly on the walking tour.

*The New Orleans Botanical Garden, generously decorated for the season with millions of lights and special exhibits.

*The New Orleans Historic Train Garden, a 14,000 square foot elevated display located in the Botanical Garden showcases over 40 intricately crafted New Orleans landmark buildings. An assortment of trains and streetcars travel along 1,400 feet of rail.

There's also a couple wine tastings going on tonight!

Get your wine on this evening with a little tasting at Swirl (3143 Ponce de Leon) with the Friday Free for All from 6 to 8:00 pm....they've got a killer line-up of Spanish wines tonight from importer Eric Solomon poured by Morgon Stroud of Purveyor.  These are incredibly well priced, delicious blends from some of the lesser known regions of Spain and they'll be serving up authentic tapas dishes to pair with them!!

You can also head on over to Cork & Bottle (3700 Orleans Ave.) for another fun free tasting....Darla Monaco with Mystic Vine wine sellers will be pouring a mystifyingly delicious line of wines today at the absolutely free wine tasting.  For all of you red wine drinkers with white wine drinking friends, come grab a taste of Babcock's "Identity Crisis".  And don't worry. The only crisis you will experience is wondering how in the world one wine can satisfy both palates.

Be sure to check out the big Happy Hour this evening at Chickie Wah Wah.....The Geraniums start up  at 8:00 pm with a NO COVER show!  It's gonna be a fun one...and if the Geraniums can't put you in a Christmas mood, nobody can!  Then stay on for the late show with Bonerama & Friends Christmas Jam starting up at 10:30 pm w/June Yamagishi (Papa Grows Funk), Robert Mercurio (Galactic) and Bonerama's Mark Mullins, Craig Klein, Bert Cotton and Eric Bolivar. There's a $15 cover, but this show is gonna be worth it!!

And for those of you hanging out Uptown don't forget it's a Free Friday at Tipitina's (504 Napoleon Ave.) this Friday with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux's Birthday Bash with Big Chief Monk Boudreaux and special guests...show starts up about 10ish!

And of course....Have a great Friday and for more musical fun and events click on the WWOZ Livewire!  And don't forget!!  It's Bill deTurk Friday on WWOZ so be sure to listen from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm for the Louisiana Music Party!!! (online or locally on 90.7 FM)