Confetti Park

Tag: mr. okra

  • Music Medley: Okra Man

    Music Medley: Okra Man

    Photo of Mr. Okra by Miranda H., via Flickr Creative Commons
    Photo of Mr. Okra by Miranda H., via Flickr Creative Commonsok

    Hi everyone,

    Here is another music medley from Confetti Park. And in this episode, you will hear lots of songs about fresh fruits and vegetables. In the radio version of this program, we listen to a story about our recently departed dear Mr. Okra. (You can listen to the story here: Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables by Lashon Daley)

    Mr. Okra passed away this week, and he was one of the last of the New Orleans street vendors. Mr. Okra sold fresh fruits and vegetables from a brightly painted pickup truck that traveled slowly throughout New Orleans’ neighborhoods. His voice rang out over his loudspeaker affixed to the roof of the truck: “I have oranges! I have bananas!” When people heard him coming, they could step out their door and buy their fresh produce for the week.

    The Confetti Park Players are so fortunate and grateful to have had Mr. Okra sing with us on our first album. He recorded a special song with us. You can listen to the entire track.

    Now for the full playlist of this episode:

    First up is one of my favorite tunes, that first came out in 1984 and is surely as classic a Louisiana song as any. I tell you what, I defy anyone of any age, kids or adult, to listen to the song and not feel like a kid when the chorus comes on. This particular version features two patriarchs of Louisiana culture……Doug Kershaw and Fats Domino. This song is Don’t Mess with My Toot Toot.

    We will also here Satisfied ‘n Tickled Too, by Jeremy Lyons from his Silly Goose Music CD, which features more beautiful Americana classics created with children in mind. There is a beautiful Cajun lullaby called Raisins & Almonds sung by Nancy Tabb Marcantel, and Watermelon Time, by Ted Lindsay of Mooringsport, La., leading the Confetti Park Players in an homage to ripe summer fruit.

    Then we hear a trio of songs about bananas……

    • Oh Dego – Leroy Etienne of St. Martinville as featured on the National Park Service’s Songs Of The Lower Mississippi Delta.
    • Anna Banana – Johnette Downing of New Orleans, pied piper of Louisiana
    • Yes We Have No Bananas – the fabulous Louis Prima

    Kids, go check out Mr. Louis Prima on YouTube… he is a jazz trumpeter from New Orleans who had the energy of a kid, and a style like no one else.

    Well, we’ve talked about banana, watermelon and other fruits. And so now We play Mr. Okra, singing a song in his own voice. Mr. Okra…. we love you. We will miss your call. Thank you for sharing your voice with us, for sharing good food with us, and for making the world a better place.

    Support for Confetti Park comes from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and Music Rising at Tulane University.

    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.
    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.

     

  • Interview with Lashon Daley, author of the Mr. Okra story book!

    Interview with Lashon Daley, author of the Mr. Okra story book!

    Lashon performs for rapt listeners
    This is a special Confetti Park interview with Lashon Daley, the lovely author behind Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables.

    Today Lashon is pursuing a PHD in Performance Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. But for a while, she lived in New Orleans, and was inspired to write her sweet book about our favorite produce vendor.

    In this interview Lashon talks about the first time she ever saw Mr. Okra, and how she went about creating a children’s book featuring his life’s calling.

    Says Lashon: “It was an early Sunday morning, and I remember hearing the truck coming down my street and I thought, is that an ice cream man? And he was calling out these fruits and vegetables, saying there were strawberries and mangoes and bananas, and I thought to myself What kind of ice cream truck man is this?… I found out how well loved he is by the city.”

    Lashon Daley and Mr. Okra
    Lashon Daley and Mr. Okra

    Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables was published by Pelican Publishing Company, Inc. It is available in bookstores in New Orleans, Berkeley, and on Amazon.

    Here’s what Mr. Okra has to say about the book (from the back cover): “I love selling fruits and veggies to the people of New Orleans because there are people who can’t get to the big stores and people who don’t really like to go to the big stores. . . . They depend on me and I depend on them. We are all family; even if they don’t buy nothing, they still come out and we talk. The fact that this young lady has put me in her children’s book means a whole lot to me. I’m very thankful.”

    Listen to Lashon narrating Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

  • Storytime – Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits & Vegetables by Lashon Daley

    Storytime – Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits & Vegetables by Lashon Daley

    Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
    Mr. Okra Sells Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

    It’s Confetti Park Storytime! In this episode, we hear a wonderful New Orleans tale based on our favorite contemporary street vendor, Mr. Okra. The story was written in collaboration with Mr. Okra by Lashon Daley, and illustrated by Emile Henriquez. We are so lucky to have the story narrated for us by the author!

    And who is Mr. Okra? He is Arthur Robinson, a real life man who lives in New Orleans today! He a street vendor who sells produce from a truck. We New Orleanians love to hear his recognizable call.

    “Up and down the streets of New Orleans, Mr. Okra drives his brightly painted truck. All over the city, you can hear his call: ‘I got oranges and bananas! I got tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocadoes!’ His fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables are as colorful as Mardi Gras floats, as green as the St. Charles Streetcar, and as different as the animals at the Audubon Zoo. Taste and tour New Orleans in this colorful story.”

    Lashon Daley and Mr. Okra
    Lashon Daley and Mr. Okra

    Lashon Daley came to New Orleans to work with a nonprofit rebuilding organization as an AmeriCorps member. During that time, Daley discovered the joys of performing as a storyteller, sparking her interest in New Orleans folklore and the stories residents tell. Today she is in Berkeley, California, where she is pursuing her PhD in performance studies.

    The colorful illustrations in the book were created by Emile Henriquez, a native New Orleanian who was born in the French Quarter. An art teacher, he also illustrated The Oklahoma Land Run, Toby Belfer Learns about Heroes and Martyrs, The Battle of New Orleans: The Drummer’s Story, D.J. and the Debutante Ball, D.J. and the Jazz Fest, and D.J. and the Zulu Parade.

    Thank you, Lashon, for sharing your lovely book on Confetti Park! It is for sale on Amazon.

    And here is Mr. Okra himself performing with the Confetti Park Players.

  • Have you seen the Okra Man?

    Have you seen the Okra Man?

    Photo of Mr. Okra by Miranda H., via Flickr Creative Commons
    Photo of Mr. Okra via Flickr Creative Commons

    Have you seen the Okra Man around New Orleans?

    Mr. Okra is a fruit and vegetable vendor who travels the city of New Orleans vending from his truck. His unmistakable call over his P.A. system—“I have cantaloupes! I have tomatoes!”—can be heard from blocks away, and people await him on their front porches so they can buy their fresh produce for the week. Learn all about Mr. Okra in this article by Ian McNulty for New Orleans Magazine.

    The Confetti Park Players are so delighted to feature Mr. Okra on a song on their CD, We’re Going to Confetti Park. More info at confettipark.com/music

    This is a traditional adapted by Katy Hobgood Ray and Arthur Robinson (Mr. Okra). The song was produced by Katy and Matt Aguiluz and recorded at Marigny Recording Studio in New Orleans.

    Featuring: Scott Albert Johnson, harmonica; Arthur Robinson, vocals; David Rosser, guitar. Kids chorus: Lily Bell, Luna Bell, Elisa McDonald, Charleston McLean, Millie Moffett, Hrilina Ramrakhiani, Sadie Strong, and Virginia Strong.

    The Confetti Park Players is an all-ages children’s choir in New Orleans, Louisiana. Our home base is in Algiers, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Led by songwriter Katy Hobgood Ray, the Confetti Park Players meet weekly to sing, make rhythms, learn traditional New Orleans songs, and practice the craft of songwriting. The songs we sing are a mixture of fun and whimsical originals by contemporary Louisiana songwriters, classic folk songs, nursery rhymes, jump rope jingles, fairy tales, and natural lore.

    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.
    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.

     

  • Sneak peek of fun new New Orleans kids music!

    On Feb. 12, I was a guest on WHIV 102.3 FM New Orleans, the newly launched community radio station for our fair city. Andrew Ward, the dynamic station manager, interviewed me about Confetti Park projects, including the children’s choir and our upcoming CD, “We’re Going to Confetti Park.” Listen

    We’ve been working with Matt Aguiluz at Marigny Recording Studio to create a whimsical, magical CD of original children’s songs inspired by life in Louisiana. The CD features a chorus of children singing about pirates, frogs, snoballs, and Candy Land balls along with a star-studded lineup of musicians (Johnny Vidacovich, Jon-Erik Kellso, Evan Christopher, Matt Perrine, Patti Adams, Beth Patterson, Tom McDermott, Roger Lewis, James G. Thornton, Greg Schatz, David Rosser, Rick G. Nelson, Brian Coogan, Tim Robertson, Sarah Quintana, and more).

    Mr. Okra and Katy Ray.
    Mr. Okra & Katy Ray

    There is even a guest performance with Mr. Okra!

    We are shooting for a release date of April 2015.

    Check out Roman Candy Man, featuring Patti Adams of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on piccolo.