White Linen In The Heights

[woodheightsguy]

I don't know what happened this year, but it seems like the TABC came out the day before and pretty much shut down anyone on 19th st from giving away beer, etc..... Sorry, but I can walk down 19th anytime and shop without beer. I like WLN because we get to walk around, sip a drink or two, and have a great time. Studewood seemed like the place to be, unless I completely missed something....

[md2hog]

I don't know what happened this year, but it seems like the TABC came out the day before and pretty much shut down anyone on 19th st from giving away beer, etc..... Sorry, but I can walk down 19th anytime and shop without beer. I like WLN because we get to walk around, sip a drink or two, and have a great time. Studewood seemed like the place to be, unless I completely missed something....

I spoke to several of the merchants.

[Zippy]

And those same people will keep the dry parts of heights "dry.." thanks..

St. Arnold's was out there on Studewood.. but I only saw them in passing.. I didn't get to hang out there.. Just did 6th and 19th.. but seemed like a pretty good turn out..

[Arivechi]

... I think it is time for the "dry" deal to go away. And while I am on my rant, which is more dangerous? Not shutting down 19th street to car traffic, or keeping people from having a glass of wine.

Yes, please close auto traffic on 19th for these events. 18th and 20th Streets are plenty big to accommodate a few hours of additional traffic. Just open it to the shuttle buses. Especially if the result is a safer pedestrian zone. Some of the bands were set up on the street and the people surrounded them to dance and listen - which is great! But then traffic was sorta blocked anyway. The sidewalks aren't big enough for the walking crowds + band listening crowds + happy people chatting.

I raise my hand for the "Who was sad that the alcoholic drinks were banned on 19th?" question. how sad. Who's gonna walk around in mega crowds sweating on an August afternoon for free fruit punch? only if it has rum in it.

[segovia]

The weather was brutal this past weekend. A couple of suggestions:

1. Close off 19th Street (intersection of Shepherd and intersection of Yale)

2. Instead of August...why not the Labor Day Weekend in September (much cooler)

3. Recyclable containers along the routes

[woodheightsguy]

The weather was brutal this past weekend. A couple of suggestions:

1. Close off 19th Street (intersection of Shepherd and intersection of Yale)

2. Instead of August...why not the Labor Day Weekend in September (much cooler)

3. Recyclable containers along the routes

I like where you are going with a cooler date, however, not sure Labor Day accomplishes a "much cooler" scenario. The avg high in early August is 95 degrees, early Sept, 92 degrees.

[RedScare]

Research the New Orleans roots of White Linen in the Heights. I think you will see why it is scheduled in August.

[galahad1743]

I guess I should start a new thread, but I think it is time for the "dry" deal to go away.

I assume there is a way to get rid of the "dry" ordinance if enough people take action, right? Is there anyone who can explain how this would work? The whole thing confuses me, given that Shade can be a private club and sell alcohol to anyone with an ID. I'm sure Shade loves the situation though, the place was completely packed on Saturday night.

[samiamj]

Researched why it is in August:

"When the New Orleans Arts District Association launched White Linen Night during the steamy August of 1991 as a way of bringing crowds back to the galleries in the dog days of summer,"

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2...29/ae_feat.html

[SilverJK]

I had a great time. It does really suck that the city blocked the free beer/wine on 19th. Studewood was definitely happenin. Maybe next year the Brazilian Arts Foundation will have some samba going on (they are next door to Decapos). I personally wore all white linen, and found the heat to be a non-issue. The white made a world of difference.

[samiamj]

For info,

http://www.whitelinennightheights.com/

[Gary]

I'll be there. Should be sitting in with my drummer buddy Steve Candelari ouside of "Wear it again Sam".

[cwrm4]

Does anyone know what the free booze situation will be this year, i.e., will the stores be allowed to provide "complimentary" wine or will the TABC enforcers be running around again?

[heights_yankee]

Does anyone know what the free booze situation will be this year, i.e., will the stores be allowed to provide "complimentary" wine or will the TABC enforcers be running around again?

ST ARNOLD'S BREWERY WILL BE AT OOLALA AGAIN

woops- didn't know caps was on. too lazy to retype

[jc281]

I need cliffs on this event.....never been

Where do I start ? What do I bring? I have plenty of white clothing to wear!

[samiamj]

I need cliffs on this event.....never been

Where do I start ? What do I bring? I have plenty of white clothing to wear!

I personally don't bring anything except cash to support these local businesses.. Drinks, alcohol (I think), and food are available. I park near Wind Water Gallery on W 19 and just walk until I reach the end of Yale.

[OutfieldDan]

We went to White Linen Night tonight and it was lots of fun. There was excellent music, lots of venues providing free refreshments and lots of people buying things in the stores on 19th St. It's sad though that the Huey Long museum was just about deserted... Maybe Huey Long's daughter can bring back the customers with a new venue.

It was particularly annoying that 19th street wasn't closed off to car traffic. It made for too much crowd congestion. We were jostled around pretty badly while trying to navigate the sidewalk.

[heights]

lots of venues providing free refreshments

Did that by chance include alcoholic refreshments? I was walking the dog on Heights Boulevard trail about 10:30pm and it reminded me of closing time in front of the bars on 6th street in Austin: only these drunk jerks were all wearing white linen. There were at least 3-4 different groups of people shouting (with slurred speech) to each other from one side of the boulevard to the other. Several people were blowing their horns needlessly, and several more poured themselves into their cars and drove away at high rates of speed. Where are the cops when you need them?

I guess it's like being the designated driver: being sober makes the drunks seem like real A-holes.

[ToolMan]

This was a blast - 19th st. looked like Austin's 6th street. It should be like this every weekend.

[Subdude]

What is White Linen Night?

[OutfieldDan]

Did that by chance include alcoholic refreshments?

I didn't see any places providing alcholic drinks, but I'm sure there were some that may have had some punch with wine in it. I did see lots of people carrying along their own beer and small coolers.

Anyway, the big deal for us was the car traffic on 19th St. Why wasn't it closed? It would be much safer with no cars and much better for the sidewalk vendors with more room by allowing pedestrians to walk on the street.

I saw that Sheila Jackson Lee was available in her 19th street office. Did anyone stop by to see her?

[ToolMan]

A lot of the shops were serving wine. Some of them had an open bar in the back. You just had to tip them well to get a good pour.

[barracuda]

What is White Linen Night?

http://www.whitelinennightheights.com/

[heights]

I saw that Sheila Jackson Lee was available in her 19th street office. Did anyone stop by to see her?

I'm sure if there weren't any news cameras present she didn't come out of her office. I still can't understand how she continues to be re-elected. I think last go-round I voted for Barney or Jar-Jar Binks -- I just vote for whomever is running against SJL.

[Subdude]

http://www.whitelinennightheights.com/

Thanks. And is the idea that people wear white linen there?

[LTAWACS]

Did that by chance include alcoholic refreshments? I was walking the dog on Heights Boulevard trail about 10:30pm and it reminded me of closing time in front of the bars on 6th street in Austin: only these drunk jerks were all wearing white linen. There were at least 3-4 different groups of people shouting (with slurred speech) to each other from one side of the boulevard to the other. Several people were blowing their horns needlessly, and several more poured themselves into their cars and drove away at high rates of speed. Where are the cops when you need them?

I guess it's like being the designated driver: being sober makes the drunks seem like real A-holes.

Yes. Free drinks were served by various places. I was there with a friend talking to someone running for a judgeship. It was pretty cool but had to leave a little early.

[Zippy]

Ah.. too bad I missed Queen Sheila.. That would have been fun..

Indeed, 19th REALLY should be shut down for this event, at least between Heights and Nicholson.. It's difficult to walk by people single file.. And also hard to chat, listen to the bands, browse vendors, or even to pop in a shop when the crowds are squeezed onto a small sidewalk.. Add some jogging strollers and you have real chaos!

[Jesse]

It was a nice night, albeit more crowded than I've seen in previous years.

The folks in charge seriously need to shut down 19th to car traffic. They're just asking for a bad accident sooner or later.

[Scott08]

It was particularly annoying that 19th street wasn't closed off to car traffic. 

I'm going to get on my soapbox here for a minute about the 19th Street merchants. In 2006 and 2007 there was an extremely cool event that took place in the area, a bicycle criterium race. Sponsored in part by the Baptist Temple, and a local cycling club, it involved closing a few blocks of 19th from Heights to Rutland from 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning until around noon. Several hundred racers were there along with the probably 1000 or so folks they brought to our neighborhood, many if not most of them had never even seen the Heights before. Rather than embracing this influx of new potential customers, a vocal minority of 19th Street vendors complained loudly to the city about their two hours of lost business. It became a big enough stumbling block that the organizers just gave up. Started up after the Heights Crit died was a similar event in Sugarland's Town Square where apparently they are seeing the financial upside of it. My guess is that the White Linen organizers didn't want to go through the hassles of a street closure, and that at least a few 19th Street shops would have complained if they had.

[sunsets]

Apparently White Linen Night ended with some form of mayhem at Fitzgerald's. I saw two ambulances, a police car, and a crowd of tatooed shirtless guys in the side parking lot around 2:00 AM.