Category: Events
Events: À Propos with Big Class and The Stacks Bookstore
Join us next week in conversation with À Propos and The Stacks Bookstore.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 – 6:00pm
The Stacks Bookstore
inside the Contemporary Arts Center
900 Camp Street
À Propos is a series of events that will be featuring each month a different non-profit organization based in the New Orleans metro-area. During that evening, an organization will present and share their history, milestones, anecdotes, and upcoming projects with the audience. Learn more here.
Arts and Activism Fundraiser for Big Class
Come to Foundation Gallery evening of tasty treats and visual delights!
25% of all sales in the gallery and 100% baked good sales and donations benefit Big Class.
Thursday, November 17th 7-9PM
1109 Royal Street
A screening of Addams Family Values at 7:30pm!
Bake sale with tons of tasty goodies! Adult beverages for the grown-ups!
A Dark and Stormy Night: meet the cocktail judges!
It wouldn’t be A Dark and Stormy Night without our ghost cocktail contest!
We’ve enlisted some of the best cocktail bars in New Orleans to brew up their spookiest beverages. 11 local bars will be vying for the attention (and tastebuds) of both the audience and a panel of five great judges in order to win awards from them both. Their cocktails are inspired by ghost stories, appropriate for the season and for the creative challenges Big Class students work through in our programs.
Get to know a little about our judges and see what they had to say about what makes a good cocktail below!
T. Cole Newton is the proprietor of Twelve Mile Limit bar and cocktail consultant around New Orleans.
“A great cocktail is one that fits drinker. Great cocktails can be strong, weak, or even non-alcoholic; they can be sweet, tart, bitter, salty, or all of the above. Taste is subjective, and an individual’s taste can change from moment to moment. Sometimes ice and water is the best mixed drink in the world. The art of making a great cocktail has everything to do with recognizing the mood, personality, and context of the person who is going to drink that cocktail.”
Dr. Andre Perry is an education scholar, author and advisor to people working to improve education in both K-12 and postsecondary institutions.
“Balance and consistency are the theoretical pillars of a great drink. I prefer classic cocktails for this reason. A balanced and consistent classic cocktail never surprises the drinker. The liquors chosen should be the only things that differentiate one Manhattan from the next. As I listen to beautiful people wax poetic about the wonders of New Orleans, I don’t want to think about what’s different about my classic drink. Consequently, a perfectly made classic cocktail ensures that a drink never gets in the way of a conversation.
I want my drink to be handsome without makeup. Meaning, adornments aren’t going to make the drink taste any better. If anything, decorations are going to get in the way. Keep it simple. Additives better be required. For instance, one good sized cube or sphere of ice makes a drink looks sexy. Too much ice is an ugly disguise for a bad drink.”
Aesha Rasheed is an education advocate and co-publisher of the New Orleans Parents Guide.
“A great cocktail has layers that unfold throughout the experience. My favorite cocktails are similar to my favorite fragrances and blend sweet powdery sensations with rich spicy undertones. My palate tends toward sweet over bitter so my desires drift toward cocktails that incorporate floral and citrus notes and unfold into a spicy finish. But desires are prismatic and as varied as we are so, most importantly, the perfect cocktail brings pleasure to the drinker and tickles their palate just right.”
Maurice Ruffin is an award-winning writer.
“A great cocktail is balanced, first and foremost. Taste and the proportions of the elements are also really important. But like New Orleans at Halloween, a great cocktail is fun and maybe even a little surprising.”
Poppy Tooker is a cultural ambassador, cookbook author and host of Louisiana Eats!.
“A great cocktail to me is well balanced, using seasonal ingredients and inventive touches from the bartender. For instance, I prefer dark liquor in the fall and winter cocktails and light liquor cocktails in the spring and summer. Just like in a great recipe, a great cocktail often includes ingredients that provide nuanced touches – often undetectable to an unschooled palate. You may know that you like how something tastes – but are unable to discern the various ingredients.”
Excited? Join us this Thursday, October 20 at Felicity Church for our 2nd annual Dark and Stormy Night. Tickets can be found here. But hurry, prices will raise $20 at the door. Last one there gets haunted for all eternity!
How does A Dark and Stormy Night support young writers?
Learn more about how Big Class’s Halloween literary costume and cocktail party supports our city’s young writers.
1. They gain crucial writing skills
Big Class programs are project-based, engaging students over an extended period of time with the goal of publishing a book. Our programs are challenging and fun, and always emphasize individuality and imagination.
Along the way, students gain essential writing skills that improves the experience of confidently sharing their work with a wider audience.
2. They get a chance to flex their creative muscles
Big Class programs encourage students to practice and hone their writing skills outside of academic contexts.
We believe in cultivating a sense of possibility that allows for creativity, joy, humor, and weirdness.
3. They learn about themselves in the process
Student voice is placed at the forefront of any Big Class program.
We believe that powerful youth become powerful adults.
4. They collaborate with other students in safe spaces
Big Class offers safe spaces for young people to come together, think creatively, and write.
Last year, 90% of students reported that Big Class helped them improve their abilities to work well with others.
When students feel supported, the creative and collaborative possibilities are endless.
5. They attain a sense of empowerment
All Big Class programs culminate in a finished product that students can hold in their own hands and feel proud of.
We also throw a publishing party for students to share their wonderful work with their teachers, friends, and family.
We believe providing young people with opportunities to publish and celebrate their work builds self-empowerment and paves a pathway to future success.
In addition to raising crucial funds that make our work possible, A Dark and Stormy Night is a a great reason to dress your spookiest, drink delicious cocktails, and bid on fantastic auction items.
Join us for this spooky celebration of young writers, creativity, and all things literary:
???? A Dark and Stormy Night: Calling All Cool Ghouls ????
Calling all cool ghouls: we’ve got the party for you.
Like cocktails? Ghost stories? Supporting the voices of New Orleans’s young writers? Scroll on for even more reasons to join the fun at Big Class’s literary Halloween costume and cocktail party, A Dark and Stormy Night.
Tickets are on sale here. They’re $20 more at the door, so get them while you can!
1. Cool ghouls support youth
Big Class is the only nonprofit in New Orleans that offers writing programs and publishing opportunities for youth–all free of charge.
We believe in creating space for New Orleans’ under-resourced youth to express themselves through writing. Last year, Big Class worked with 1,244 students and released 37 publications.
If we meet our goals for A Dark and Stormy Night, we’ll cover all of this year’s book publishing costs!
2. Cool ghouls love cocktails
A Dark and Stormy Night centers around a ghost story cocktail contest, with some of the best cocktail bars in New Orleans brewing up spine-tinglingly tasty beverages for all of the ghouls in attendance.
A great panel of judges will be looming over the competition, which features 11 bars. But don’t fret, all party-goers will be able to weigh in on their favorites as well.
3. Cool ghouls know growth is great
Big Class is gearing up for a fantastic year’s end, with our Youth Writing Center opening in the 7th Ward in 2017. Cool ghouls know that supporting youth means supporting our future, and we’re dying to open our Youth Writing Center and support as many young people as (in)humanly possible.
4. Cool ghouls bid on spooky auction items
Why so serious? Ghosts and ghouls alike love auctions!
Bid on award-winning authors Dave Eggers, R.L. Stine, and Walter Isaacson to call you up with a bone-chilling ghost story. We also have Saints tickets, hotel stays, hauntingly memorable nights out in New Orleans, and much more.
Even the undead know that the living need fun.
5. Cool ghouls love to eat
The food at A Dark and Stormy Night? Downright diabolical. Vendors include Debbie Does Doberge, Frady’s, Mona’s, The Munch Factory, Pizza Delicious, Press Street Station, and Vaucresson Sausage Co.
6. Cool ghouls wear costumes!
A Dark and Stormy Night is a costume party, so sprinkle on some corporeal dust and don your spookiest attire!
A Dark and Stormy Night will also feature a pop-up shop by The New Orleans Haunting Supply Co. We’ll have original haunting supplies devised by Big Class students and local artists. Our costumes (ghouls will still be invisible to humans, of course!) and supplies will make your endless days and nights of roaming the underworld a little bit easier.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night:
5 reasons to don your best human disguise and join us at the Felicity Church on October 20th for Big Class’s second annual literary Halloween fundraiser.
1. We’ve got the spirit(s).
A Dark and Stormy Night centers around a ghost story cocktail contest.
We’ve enlisted some of the best cocktail bars in New Orleans to concoct their spookiest (and tastiest) beverages.
There will be a scary-good panel of judges presiding over the competition, featuring 11 amazing bars. However, they won’t be the only ones weighing in; attendees will also have the opportunity to choose their favorite cocktails!
2. We’ve got the goods.
At A Dark and Stormy Night, you can look forward to an auction with a host of spooky specials.
Bid for an award-winning author like R.L. Stine, Walter Isaacson, and Dave Eggers to call you up and tell you a ghost story.
Additionally, we’ve got Saints tickets, signed books, hotel stays, and lots more!
3. We’ve got the purpose.
A Dark and Stormy Night raises essential funds to help Big Class do what we do best: help young people get excited about writing.
Last year, Big Class worked with 1,244 students and released 37 publications.
Funds raised at this event will allow us to continue supporting New Orleans’s young writers and deepen our impact.
4. We’ve got our eyes on the future.
Big Class is in the process of building a Youth Writing Center in the 7th Ward, opening Summer 2017. A Dark and Stormy Night will support our efforts to make our new home an inclusive, supportive, creative space that reaches as many young people as (in)humanly possible.
5. We’ve got the fun.
Want to join us for this evening of haunts, named one of NOLA.com’s Best Parties of 2015?
Interested in supporting and celebrating New Orleans’s brilliant young writers?
Get your tickets below and we’ll see you (unless you forget that human disguise) on October 20th.
Early Bird Special on tickets for A Dark and Stormy Night!
Now through Labor Day, enjoy $15 off of general admission tickets to Big Class’s annual literary Halloween party, A Dark and Stormy Night. You don’t want to miss this event, which was named one of NOLA.com’s 11 Best Parties of 2015. Click here to purchase tickets!
Photo and Phiction Exhibition
On Thursday, July 28th, we finished our Photo and Phiction summer workshop series with a exhibition of student work in the Teen Room of the Norman Mayer Library. Young writers brought family and friends to see their beautiful photos and writing proudly displayed on the library walls and celebrate their creativity.
See the full photo gallery here.
Events: À Propos with Big Class and The Stacks Bookstore
Join us next week in conversation with À Propos and The Stacks Bookstore.
Wednesday, April 5, 2017 – 6:00pm
The Stacks Bookstore
inside the Contemporary Arts Center
900 Camp Street
À Propos is a series of events that will be featuring each month a different non-profit organization based in the New Orleans metro-area. During that evening, an organization will present and share their history, milestones, anecdotes, and upcoming projects with the audience. Learn more here.
Arts and Activism Fundraiser for Big Class
Come to Foundation Gallery evening of tasty treats and visual delights!
25% of all sales in the gallery and 100% baked good sales and donations benefit Big Class.
Thursday, November 17th 7-9PM
1109 Royal Street
A screening of Addams Family Values at 7:30pm!
Bake sale with tons of tasty goodies! Adult beverages for the grown-ups!
A Dark and Stormy Night: meet the cocktail judges!
It wouldn’t be A Dark and Stormy Night without our ghost cocktail contest!
We’ve enlisted some of the best cocktail bars in New Orleans to brew up their spookiest beverages. 11 local bars will be vying for the attention (and tastebuds) of both the audience and a panel of five great judges in order to win awards from them both. Their cocktails are inspired by ghost stories, appropriate for the season and for the creative challenges Big Class students work through in our programs.
Get to know a little about our judges and see what they had to say about what makes a good cocktail below!
T. Cole Newton is the proprietor of Twelve Mile Limit bar and cocktail consultant around New Orleans.
“A great cocktail is one that fits drinker. Great cocktails can be strong, weak, or even non-alcoholic; they can be sweet, tart, bitter, salty, or all of the above. Taste is subjective, and an individual’s taste can change from moment to moment. Sometimes ice and water is the best mixed drink in the world. The art of making a great cocktail has everything to do with recognizing the mood, personality, and context of the person who is going to drink that cocktail.”
Dr. Andre Perry is an education scholar, author and advisor to people working to improve education in both K-12 and postsecondary institutions.
“Balance and consistency are the theoretical pillars of a great drink. I prefer classic cocktails for this reason. A balanced and consistent classic cocktail never surprises the drinker. The liquors chosen should be the only things that differentiate one Manhattan from the next. As I listen to beautiful people wax poetic about the wonders of New Orleans, I don’t want to think about what’s different about my classic drink. Consequently, a perfectly made classic cocktail ensures that a drink never gets in the way of a conversation.
I want my drink to be handsome without makeup. Meaning, adornments aren’t going to make the drink taste any better. If anything, decorations are going to get in the way. Keep it simple. Additives better be required. For instance, one good sized cube or sphere of ice makes a drink looks sexy. Too much ice is an ugly disguise for a bad drink.”
Aesha Rasheed is an education advocate and co-publisher of the New Orleans Parents Guide.
“A great cocktail has layers that unfold throughout the experience. My favorite cocktails are similar to my favorite fragrances and blend sweet powdery sensations with rich spicy undertones. My palate tends toward sweet over bitter so my desires drift toward cocktails that incorporate floral and citrus notes and unfold into a spicy finish. But desires are prismatic and as varied as we are so, most importantly, the perfect cocktail brings pleasure to the drinker and tickles their palate just right.”
Maurice Ruffin is an award-winning writer.
“A great cocktail is balanced, first and foremost. Taste and the proportions of the elements are also really important. But like New Orleans at Halloween, a great cocktail is fun and maybe even a little surprising.”
Poppy Tooker is a cultural ambassador, cookbook author and host of Louisiana Eats!.
“A great cocktail to me is well balanced, using seasonal ingredients and inventive touches from the bartender. For instance, I prefer dark liquor in the fall and winter cocktails and light liquor cocktails in the spring and summer. Just like in a great recipe, a great cocktail often includes ingredients that provide nuanced touches – often undetectable to an unschooled palate. You may know that you like how something tastes – but are unable to discern the various ingredients.”
Excited? Join us this Thursday, October 20 at Felicity Church for our 2nd annual Dark and Stormy Night. Tickets can be found here. But hurry, prices will raise $20 at the door. Last one there gets haunted for all eternity!
How does A Dark and Stormy Night support young writers?
Learn more about how Big Class’s Halloween literary costume and cocktail party supports our city’s young writers.
| 1. They gain crucial writing skills
Big Class programs are project-based, engaging students over an extended period of time with the goal of publishing a book. Our programs are challenging and fun, and always emphasize individuality and imagination. Along the way, students gain essential writing skills that improves the experience of confidently sharing their work with a wider audience. |
2. They get a chance to flex their creative muscles
Big Class programs encourage students to practice and hone their writing skills outside of academic contexts.
We believe in cultivating a sense of possibility that allows for creativity, joy, humor, and weirdness.
3. They learn about themselves in the process
Student voice is placed at the forefront of any Big Class program.
We believe that powerful youth become powerful adults.
4. They collaborate with other students in safe spaces
Big Class offers safe spaces for young people to come together, think creatively, and write.
Last year, 90% of students reported that Big Class helped them improve their abilities to work well with others.
When students feel supported, the creative and collaborative possibilities are endless.
5. They attain a sense of empowerment
All Big Class programs culminate in a finished product that students can hold in their own hands and feel proud of.
We also throw a publishing party for students to share their wonderful work with their teachers, friends, and family.
We believe providing young people with opportunities to publish and celebrate their work builds self-empowerment and paves a pathway to future success.
In addition to raising crucial funds that make our work possible, A Dark and Stormy Night is a a great reason to dress your spookiest, drink delicious cocktails, and bid on fantastic auction items.
Join us for this spooky celebration of young writers, creativity, and all things literary:
???? A Dark and Stormy Night: Calling All Cool Ghouls ????
Calling all cool ghouls: we’ve got the party for you.
Like cocktails? Ghost stories? Supporting the voices of New Orleans’s young writers? Scroll on for even more reasons to join the fun at Big Class’s literary Halloween costume and cocktail party, A Dark and Stormy Night.
Tickets are on sale here. They’re $20 more at the door, so get them while you can!
1. Cool ghouls support youth
Big Class is the only nonprofit in New Orleans that offers writing programs and publishing opportunities for youth–all free of charge.
We believe in creating space for New Orleans’ under-resourced youth to express themselves through writing. Last year, Big Class worked with 1,244 students and released 37 publications.
If we meet our goals for A Dark and Stormy Night, we’ll cover all of this year’s book publishing costs!
2. Cool ghouls love cocktails
A Dark and Stormy Night centers around a ghost story cocktail contest, with some of the best cocktail bars in New Orleans brewing up spine-tinglingly tasty beverages for all of the ghouls in attendance.
A great panel of judges will be looming over the competition, which features 11 bars. But don’t fret, all party-goers will be able to weigh in on their favorites as well.
3. Cool ghouls know growth is great
Big Class is gearing up for a fantastic year’s end, with our Youth Writing Center opening in the 7th Ward in 2017. Cool ghouls know that supporting youth means supporting our future, and we’re dying to open our Youth Writing Center and support as many young people as (in)humanly possible.
4. Cool ghouls bid on spooky auction items
Why so serious? Ghosts and ghouls alike love auctions!
Bid on award-winning authors Dave Eggers, R.L. Stine, and Walter Isaacson to call you up with a bone-chilling ghost story. We also have Saints tickets, hotel stays, hauntingly memorable nights out in New Orleans, and much more.
Even the undead know that the living need fun.
5. Cool ghouls love to eat
The food at A Dark and Stormy Night? Downright diabolical. Vendors include Debbie Does Doberge, Frady’s, Mona’s, The Munch Factory, Pizza Delicious, Press Street Station, and Vaucresson Sausage Co.
6. Cool ghouls wear costumes!
A Dark and Stormy Night is a costume party, so sprinkle on some corporeal dust and don your spookiest attire!
A Dark and Stormy Night will also feature a pop-up shop by The New Orleans Haunting Supply Co. We’ll have original haunting supplies devised by Big Class students and local artists. Our costumes (ghouls will still be invisible to humans, of course!) and supplies will make your endless days and nights of roaming the underworld a little bit easier.
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night:
5 reasons to don your best human disguise and join us at the Felicity Church on October 20th for Big Class’s second annual literary Halloween fundraiser.
1. We’ve got the spirit(s).
A Dark and Stormy Night centers around a ghost story cocktail contest.
We’ve enlisted some of the best cocktail bars in New Orleans to concoct their spookiest (and tastiest) beverages.
There will be a scary-good panel of judges presiding over the competition, featuring 11 amazing bars. However, they won’t be the only ones weighing in; attendees will also have the opportunity to choose their favorite cocktails!
2. We’ve got the goods.
At A Dark and Stormy Night, you can look forward to an auction with a host of spooky specials.
Bid for an award-winning author like R.L. Stine, Walter Isaacson, and Dave Eggers to call you up and tell you a ghost story.
Additionally, we’ve got Saints tickets, signed books, hotel stays, and lots more!
3. We’ve got the purpose.
A Dark and Stormy Night raises essential funds to help Big Class do what we do best: help young people get excited about writing.
Last year, Big Class worked with 1,244 students and released 37 publications.
Funds raised at this event will allow us to continue supporting New Orleans’s young writers and deepen our impact.
4. We’ve got our eyes on the future.
Big Class is in the process of building a Youth Writing Center in the 7th Ward, opening Summer 2017. A Dark and Stormy Night will support our efforts to make our new home an inclusive, supportive, creative space that reaches as many young people as (in)humanly possible.
5. We’ve got the fun.
Want to join us for this evening of haunts, named one of NOLA.com’s Best Parties of 2015?
Interested in supporting and celebrating New Orleans’s brilliant young writers?
Get your tickets below and we’ll see you (unless you forget that human disguise) on October 20th.
Early Bird Special on tickets for A Dark and Stormy Night!
Now through Labor Day, enjoy $15 off of general admission tickets to Big Class’s annual literary Halloween party, A Dark and Stormy Night. You don’t want to miss this event, which was named one of NOLA.com’s 11 Best Parties of 2015. Click here to purchase tickets!
Photo and Phiction Exhibition
On Thursday, July 28th, we finished our Photo and Phiction summer workshop series with a exhibition of student work in the Teen Room of the Norman Mayer Library. Young writers brought family and friends to see their beautiful photos and writing proudly displayed on the library walls and celebrate their creativity.
See the full photo gallery here.
