Notes From New Orleans

If you're worried about the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse, you really shouldn't be. After all, one of the world's leading Ancient Astronaut Theorists has figured out how to prevent the destruction of the Earth. And he's doing it with his closest friends from the Krewe of Chewbacchus.

Sharon Litwin takes you to their leader on this week's Notes from New Orleans.

Mastering the art of Southern gardening isn't something you can learn overnight. It takes time, training, and patience. But the payoff is something an entire community can enjoy. So perhaps that's why membership in Louisiana's Master Gardener's organization is... growing.

Sharon Litwin speaks with a leader from the region's local chapter on this week's Notes from New Orleans.

Eduardo Vilaro, artistic director of the sensational Ballet Hispanico, was in the eighth grade in St. Margaret Mary's School in New York when he first heard the word "choreographer." Since those humble beginnings, it's been a long and productive journey for Eduardo and New Orleanians will have an opportunity to see the fruits of his labor this coming weekend. It's time to put on your dancing shoes for this week's Notes from New Orleans.

As most people know, the 1960s were a very tumultuous time in America. Standing in the spotlight of the Civil Rights Movement was a 6-year-old girl who integrated the New Orleans school system and helped dissolve segregation across the South.

Ruby Bridges shares her story with Sharon Litwin on this week's Notes from New Orleans.

A New Orleans-based company called Rural Revolution is connecting female artists in the developing world to commercial outlets in the United States.

Kendra Jones Morris, the founder of the business, believes that empowering female entrepreneurs help strengthen community globally and locally. She spoke with Sharon Litwin on this week's Notes from New Orleans.

A New Orleans-based creative subscription program called "The Drop" is determined to make collecting art easy, accessible, and fun.

As their second round of subscriptions gets underway, Sharon Litwin speaks with one of the women in charge of the project, Cameron Shaw, on this week's Notes from New Orleans.

The New Orleans Children's Book Festival demonstrates how children from different backgrounds can get to know each other through the love of books. The free festival, now in its third year, is put on by Ruby Bridges, who joins Sharon Litwin on this week's Notes from New Orleans.

In recent years, the districts, neighborhoods, and towns that have little access to healthy foods have been dubbed "food deserts." Because some of New Orleans' lowest-income neighborhoods suffer from this situation, the Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition is hosting a Grocery Store For-A-Day! event to help alleviate the problem. 

Giorgio Bertuccelli's creative background began in his father's papier-mâché studios, where the fantastic creatures of Mardi Gras came to life. It was there that he began to build his own percussion instruments and experiment with sound. He sits down to talk about his new installation at the Contemporary Arts Center.