New Orleans issues official invitation to Mardi Gras from Rex, King of Carnival

To alert the world that Mardi Gras and the carnival season is upon us, Rex, King of Carnival has issued his proclamation to citizens of the world via the New Orleans tourism industry.

Carnival, or the Mardi Gras season, begins each year on “Twelfth Night,” so the city of New Orleans is delivering the proclamation, created by the Rex organization’s School of Design, to all, beckoning them to attend Mardi Gras 2015 in New Orleans.

“The Rex 2015 Royal proclamation continues a carnival tradition more than a century old,” said Mark Romig, President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, NOTMC. "A proclamation from Rex, King of Carnival, signals that it is time to make plans to travel to New Orleans most famous celebration."

The Rex organization began creating its Royal Invitation in 1872 when a group of young New Orleans leaders decided to issue invitations and a proclamation, inviting all to come to the Crescent City to join in its unique Mardi Gras celebration. In the days before mass media, broadcast, and tourism industries, the beautiful art posters and brochures were distributed in railroad stations, plastered on train cars, posted in centers of commerce, and placed in public buildings around the nation in major U.S. cities.

“Carnival season is one of the most exciting times of the year with celebrations leading up to Mardi Gras, which is Tuesday, February 17th this year. It’s just another Tuesday everywhere else in the world, but in New Orleans it is a day that we celebrate our distinct history and culture,” said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Mardi Gras embodies why people travel to New Orleans year round – great food, lively music and always a reason to celebrate.”

The 2015 Royal Invitation incorporates artwork from 1886, inviting visitors to “gather, from far and near, to join in the many celebrations and processions which will shortly unfold under the joyful Carnival banner.”


Each year, both the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau (NOCVB) issue an electronic version of the Invitation to the nation and to international destinations, as well as over 60,000 travel trade professionals and tour operators. Both tourism corporations will feature the Royal Invitation on their websites.

'Follow Your Joy' to New Orleans for the Holidays

New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) launches its 30th Annual Christmas New Orleans Style campaign to national, regional and internet audience

New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, (NOTMC) and French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI) announce four new additions to its seasonal Christmas New Orleans Style celebration.  

“New Orleans always has something magical about it, but especially at Christmas," said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Music, unique Reveillon dinners, and holiday traditions give families an opportunity over six full weeks to learn and experience the season while enjoying moderate temperatures." 

The 2014 Christmas New Orleans Style experience features four new additions this holiday season. Luna Fete, which runs through the first week in December, will see iconic Gallier Hall become the canvas for a brilliant display of art and light. Reveillon on the rocks will debut over 45 specialty holiday cocktails, and NOLA Christmas Fest will take families inside the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center to experience a holiday adventure. NOTMC is also launching 'New Orleans City Store', an e-commerce portal that will sell officially branded New Orleans merchandise, just in time for gift-giving.

“Plan your trip ahead by using followyourjoy.com,” said Marci Schramm, Executive Director of French Quarter Festivals, Inc. “While in town, be sure to pick up a free ‘Christmas New Orleans Style’ guidebook from a concierge or Visitors Center. The guidebook is the only place to find everything there is to experience, eat, drink – and have fun – during the holidays in New Orleans!”

A fifteen-second 'Follow your Joy' TV spot features the voice of actor and New Orleanian John Goodman, along with a soundtrack by the New Birth Brass Band. Iconic New Orleans scenes include historic architecture, attractions throughout the city, holiday food, and seasonal events.'

The spot is airing in 13 regional television markets that include Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles, and the Monroe LA/El Dorado, AR market; Houston, and Dallas, TX; Memphis, TN; Montgomery, and the Mobile, AL/Pensacola, FL market, Jackson, Columbus/Tupelo, and Gulfport/Biloxi, MS. 

Programming highlights include prime time shows such as 'The Voice,' morning news and late night TV, as well as high-profile sporting events such as Thanksgiving Day NFL football, the 41st Bayou Classic, and holiday specials 'Shrek the Halls' and 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'.

"New Orleans will welcome visitors and locals all over the city this season,” said Mark Romig, President and CEO of NOTMC. “From NOLA Christmas Fest, to Celebration in the Oaks at City Park, to historic French Quarter caroling and old-fashioned Christmas performances with the Victory Belles at the National WWII Museum, the city will burst at the seams with beautiful lights, the songs of the season, and satisfying holiday food and drink.”

The spot is viewable online at GoNOLA TV found on YouTube. The website, FollowYourJoy.com, showcases 'Christmas New Orleans Style' events listing concerts, Christmas shopping, Reveillon dinners, and Papa Noel hotel rates. Additionally, visitors and locals are invited to share personal holiday scenes on Instagram by tagging photos with #FollowYourJoy.

To learn more about Christmas New Orleans Style, and to view the 2014 CNOS guide book listing all scheduled events, visit FollowYourJoy.com or FQFI.org. Hotel reservations, including special citywide rates, can be booked via direct links to hotels on FollowYourJoy.com.

For a schedule of events or more information on Christmas New Orleans Style, call (504) 522-5730 or visit www.FollowYourJoy.com.
  

LRA Education Foundation announces Five Star Futures Live Auction items

The LRA Education Foundation will hosts its annual Five Star Futures Gala, Saturday, August 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. The event will recognize the 2014 class of 30 scholarship recipients who will receive a total of $61,000 and this year’s LRA award winners: Associate Member of the Year—Mickey Freiberg; Advocate of the Year---Rep. Erich Ponti; Hall of Fame Inductees—the Marino Family of Gino’s Restaurant; and Restaurateurs of the Year—Ruffin Rodrigue and Peter Sclafani.

The gala features a live auction, led by guest auctioneer Mark Romig, CEO of the New Orleans Tourism & Marketing Corp.

Get in the Tunnel Zone

New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014, This package includes: 8 tickets to the game; 8 special credentials to access the Superdome field, positioned next to the Saintsations on the field, on the field recognition: scoreboard & PA announcement, 8 t-shirts and limousine transportation for 8 to & from the Superdome,

anywhere in the GNO area.  Courtesy of Coca-Cola & American Luxury Limousine, VALUE: $2,500

What Happens in Vegas

This package includes: 2 Southwest Roundtrip plane tickets, 2 nights stay at Caesar’s Palace and 2 tickets to Elton John, Shania Twain or Celine Dion. Courtesy of Southwest Airlines & Caesar’s Entertainment, VALUE: $1,500

Instant Luxury Wine Cellar

25 bottles of exclusive wines from the private collections of New Orleans’ finest cellars. Minimum value per bottle is $75. Courtesy of the LRA Greater New Orleans Chapter, VALUE: $2,400

George Rodrigue Print—“The Three Amigos” (2010)

Courtesy of the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts, VALUE: $3,000

Private Dinner for 10 with Chef Peter Sclafani

This package includes: Exclusive 7-course dinner prepared at the venue of your choice by Chef Peter Sclafani, dinner must take place on a mutually agreed upon date (no Fridays, Saturdays or Holidays), no restriction on location. Courtesy of Ruffino’s Restaurant of Baton Rouge & Lafayette. VALUE: $5,000. 

The gala will also feature a Silent Auction and a Wine and Spirits cork pull. The Silent Auction features: 2 tickets to the Saints vs. Vikings, Sept. 21 in the ATMOS Energy's 50-yard-line suite; dinner for 4 at the soon-to-reopen Brennan's on Royal Street; 2 tickets to the Saints vs. the Bengals, Nov. 16 in the Lodge Club Area; and much more. 

LRA GNO Chapter announces annual award recipients

Mike Maenza named LRA GNO Chapter Restaurateur of the Year

During a ceremony January 15, 2014 at the Hilton St. Charles, 2013 Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA) Greater New Orleans Chapter President Paul Rotner, COO of Acme Oyster House, presented the following awards—Restaurateur of the Year, Distinguished Service Award, Active Member of the Year, Associate Member of the Year, Presidential Award, Restaurateur of the Year, Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mike Maenza receives
LRA GNO Chapter
Restaurateur of the Year
Award, Jan. 15, 2014.

Mike Maenza, owner of Mr. Mudbug, King Creole and Base Logistics, was selected as the LRA GNO Chapter’s Restaurateur of the Year. Given to a member who contributes unselfishly to the advancement of the hospitality industry, Maenza has continually dedicated himself to the LRA and has been a LRA GNO Chapter Board Member since 2006, serves on the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board, and numerous other charitable boards. He is currently the LRA GNO Chapter’s President.

“It would be an understatement to say that Mike is busy,” said Rotner. “We appreciate the time and talents he gives to our chapter and his commitment to leading the chapter in 2014 as its President.”

Mark Romig receives
the LRA GNO Chapter
Distinguished Service
Award, Jan. 15, 2014

Mark Romig, President & CEO of the New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation, received the LRA GNO Chapter Distinguished Service Award. The award is presented to an individual outside of the association in recognition for innovations and significant contributions to the advancement of the hospitality industry.

“Mark is a driving force to promote tourism for New Orleans and is such an excellent ambassador for our great city,” said Rotner. “Not only is he the New Orleans Saints Public Address Announcer, like his father before him, he also works tirelessly for the hospitality industry.”

Ryan Haro, owner of Coffee HQ, was named the LRA GNO Chapter Active Member of the Year. The award is given to an individual in the food service industry who is involved in chapter affairs, events and meetings, and encourages his peers to join the association and become active.

“For the past three years, Ryan has shown time and time again his commitment and willingness to serve the LRA by volunteering his time and energy to the improvement of the industry,” Rotner said.

New Orleans Will campaign unveiled

Hospitality industry advocacy campaign rallies local support of tourism, city’s economic engine that creates a better quality of life for every New Orleans citizen

New Orleans leaders gathered today to share information on NEW ORLEANS WILL, an advocacy campaign designed by the New Orleans Convention& Visitors Bureau (NOCVB) to rally the community and educate residents on the significance of tourism to their lives. The event was held to begin enlisting locals in what will develop into a powerful grassroots movement. 

Tourism is a $6 billion dollar industry for New Orleans, creating more than 78,000 jobs and careers for citizens in every neighborhood. In 2012, nine million people visited the city and they spent a record $6 billion dollars.

“You might not work in tourism, but tourism works for you,” said Stephen Perry, President and CEO of NOCVB. “Tourism is the cultural steward of New Orleans. Our residents in a relatively small city are able to live as if we're a city of millions in terms of our cultural richness and the assets (museums, restaurants, cultural attractions, festivals) given to us by the tourism industry. Because of tourism, New Orleans is the most famous mid-sized city in the world.”

The event gathered myriad business leaders and tourism officials in an unassuming floral warehouse surrounded by bright green foliage. 

“We gathered at Convention Plant Creations today to unveil the NEW ORLEANS WILL campaign because this is just one of the many businesses working behind the scenes and keeping our tourism industry humming,” said Mark Romig, President and CEO of New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. “You might drive by this place every day without ever noticing it. But there are hundreds of businesses like this across the city who depend on tourism directly to feed their families and put roofs over their heads.”

NEW ORLEANS WILL was created to demonstrate the connection between every citizen and tourism. While started by the NOCVB, the plan is for the campaign to become a grassroots movement that lives on in perpetuity, inspiring locals to take pride in their hometown and support its top industry – tourism.

Virtually everyone in New Orleans depends on tourism, whether it be because of the revenues it generates to support the city services that improve local quality of life or because of the ripple effect that carries visitor dollars throughout the community.

“While I don’t have any direct connection to the tourism industry, I know that my business depends on it,” said Dr. Christy Valentine, owner of Valentine Medical Center, a primary care facility in New Orleans. “I saw the impact of tourism on my practice first-hand during the BP oil spill. With the drop in visitation after the spill, my patients who rely on tourism for their paychecks were out of work. Healthcare was suddenly a luxury expense these patients just couldn't afford anymore and my revenue went down. It was an eye-opening experience.”

Residents are encouraged to take action and join the NEW ORLEANS WILL movement! To do so, visit www.neworleanswill.com and sign up to receive a complimentary WILLPOWER PACK, which contains campaign materials, including a lapel pin, bumper stickers, poster and yard sign.