Musicians' Village, New Orleans

Above, Harry Connick Jr. talks about how Musicians' Village has evolved over the past two years (please note, I spent quite a while try to add controls that would let you play on your own. I couldn't figure it out, so you have to reload the page to restart the video.) We've been watching the smaller project on This Old House, which takes place in New Orleans. About half of the shows each week focus on the homeowner. The other half focus on Musicians' Village, located in New Orlean's Upper Ninth Ward.

The Village was lovingly "created" by Harry Connick, Jr and Branford Marsalis, both natives of New Orleans. About half of the 2,200 musicians in the city lost their homes after Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans is long known as the home to jazz, music, and culture. The Village will be a living tribute to that history.

Comprised of 72 homes the village will be the home to musicians of the past, present, and future. It is a joint effort with the New Orlean's Area Habitat for Humanity. Volunteers from across the country have spent countless hours working to build these homes. Young musicians who want to live in the village must dedicate somewhere around 350 hours (I can't remember the exact amount) of community service time building their home or helping with another in the village. Another part of the village will be the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music. This facility will have a 150-seat concert hall and many rooms for musicians to practice and record their music. The image below comes from a great travel article in the New York Times.

Mike is in New Orleans from today until Thursday. He'll probably be too busy to see Musicians' Village, but I am crossing my fingers!