Pick up your paddles and get ready to bid.  The New Orleans Auction Galleries is holding an estate sale this Saturday and Sunday at 10 am. The auction boasts a mix of paintings, furniture, estate silver, porcelain and Asian pieces. 

by Emma Boyce

An old way to bid local returns to the Warehouse District this week. This Thursday from 5 pm to 8 pm New Orleans Auction Galleries (510 Julia St.) celebrates its grand reopening with a preview reception and a full weekend of auctions, featuring over 1,700 lots.  

by Mary-Devon Dupuy

Tonight, Cajun Pawn Stars breaks from their normal assessments of swamp boats and Civil War memorabilia to delve into the artsier side of collecting with one of New Orleans’ most ubiquitous canines. Whether he’s in his Saints jersey or his colorful pink tie, George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog is a New Orleans symbol that’s virtually impossible to miss. In this week's episode, George’s son Jacques is making a guest appearance to determine whether or not one alleged owner of a Blue Dog original is the real thing.

Indulge in a French Quarter night stroll on Royal Street with wine, food, and art this Saturday at Dirty Linen Night. As the French Quarter’s response to Julia Street’s “White Linen Night”, Dirty Linen Night affords New Orleanians the opportunity to pull last week's suit out of the hamper, save some quarters set aside for the Laundromat, and saunter down the Royal Street Artist’s District’s array of galleries and shops, all while enjoying some liberating libations.

The Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association hosts its annual home tour today until 4 p.m., with Washington Square Park serving as the epicenter. This year, the tour doubles as a chance to peek inside the spots where creative minds lay their head. Among the featured homes are those of Blue Dog creator George Rodrigue, filmmaker-author Glen Pitre (Hurricane on the Bayou, Cigarettes and Nylons) and author Troy Gilbert (Dinner with Tennessee Williams). Other than offering a chance to checkout how these notables' gardens grow, the event serves as a tribute to the neighborhood fixture Lloyd Sensat, who often showed up at these types of gatherings dressed as Bernard de Marigny. He was also partial to suspenders.

In certain scenes, George Rodrigue's Blue Dog displays an aptitude in nature few cartoon characters have ever shown. Turns out, the ubiqutious dog comes by it naturally. When he was younger, Rodrigue became an eagle scout. Now, at age 67, Rodrigue will be further honored as a distinguished Eagle. The award is given to Eagle Scouts who have gone on to be successful in the hike of life. Now that Rodrigue has gone as high as Boy Scouts will allow him, there's only one option left. The blue dog himself is rumored to be starting Weblos soon.

Even Andy Warhol was "...afraid that if you look at a thing long enough, it loses all of its meaning." Replace meaning with value, and you've got today's debate posed over at The Chicory. Lance "Varg" Vargas questions the recent use of George Rodrigue's infamous Blue Dog on the cover of the Mardi Gras edition of a certain, NOLA-based publication. For Vargas, the sight of the canine likeness brings to mind the fact that there are other artists in New Orleans that don't typically get Rodrigue's level of exposure. But, after all, as Warhol also said: "Isn't life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves?" Read the full letter here.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that George Rodrigue and his Blue Dog are just about impossible to avoid in NOLA. But, maybe, just maybe, one demographic fell through the cracks. That's right... kids. Well, now, your children can also experience the Blue Dog. Well, only if you bought your kids an iPad or iPhone. But, if you did, they can now play the Blue Dog Counts, 

Merely seeing local artist George Rodrigue's iconic blue dogs freakin'. everywhere. apparently wasn't enough for one man. The still-on-the-loose thief apparently took Rodrigue's recent public art push to mean that the public can take Rodrigue's art. As Rodrigue met with a client Friday at his Royal Street gallery, he apparently didn't see two of his latest dogs -- worth tens of thousands of dollars -- fly off the wall. The would-be thief walked into the back of the gallery where he was obscured from view, and put two paintings in a shopping bag. The appended, sort of boring security video reveals that the thief looked in Rodrigue's direction, pretended to check out some fliers, and walked out without even being greeted. So much for customer service protocol, eh George?