Big Easy Sends Off 2005 in Style

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Ringing out one of the worst years in its colorful history, New Orleans put on a rollicking New Year's Eve of memorials and merrymaking, from a traditional jazz funeral procession in honor of hurricane victims to an after-dark party.

"Thank God it's over!" folk singer Arlo Guthrie said from the French Quarter, where he performed for the crowd.

"I'm so ready for 2006," Mayor Ray Nagin said.

Despite the widespread destruction still evident four months after Hurricane Katrina, the city welcomed the New Year with concerts, and in a twist on the Times Square ball drop, the lowering of a giant gumbo pot to mark the start of 2006.

As the countdown began, Nagin asked the thousands gathered to "just take a moment to remember all those people who did not make it to 2006."

Click here for the rest.

I was there. I didn't see the gumbo pot drop--Becky and I rang it in at our favorite place on Bourbon--but we did get to see Arlo Guthrie play, which was pretty cool. Among other songs, he covered Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'" and finished with "City of New Orleans" which, predictably, received a huge round of applause. I'll write about all this later, especially because I've got lots of cool pictures, but for now I just wanted to say that there was a spirit of hope in New Orleans on New Year's Eve the likes of which I've never encountered. Most of the city still lies in ruins, but the will to rebuild, no matter how difficult, is definitely the prevailing attitude.

This was the most meaningful New Year's celebration I've ever been a part of.


Coolbone Brass Band plays for New Year's Eve in Jackson Square. (photo from the AP)

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