Bad weather doesn't stop NOLA folks from reveling, and unseasonable cold and lazy mudbugs are no obstacle for a good ol' fashioned berl. Piles of freshly boiled crawfish, snowballs, and stellar Louisiana lineups draw droves of Tulane students, neighborhood friends and even some maroonies to McCalister quad each year for Tulane’s annual Crawfest.  This Saturday is no different.  

Enjoy some Jazz in Armstrong Park, rock the CASA to end child abuse, and enjoy some art after hours at the Ogden Museum. On this day in 1864, the Battle of Sabine Pass took place in Cameron Parish. Now, more to do this Thursday. 

With April designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month, organizations across the city will be hosting events in an effort to pull back the shade and bring discussions of abuse out of the shadows.  One such group, CASA New Orleans, an agency comprised of volunteer advocates for children and adolescents is bringing back the “Rock the Casa” concert, for the first time since Katrina, to encourage dialogue and awareness about child abuse and present opportunities to help children in need.

With Essence 2013 only three months out, it's time for local fest goers to begin circling their stages. Big names like  Beyonce and Trey Songz will grace the stage, as will local celebs like Mia Borders, Shamarr Allen, and Kourtney Heart. Click through for the day-by-day lineup.

Today in Louisiana history, Hurricane Camille hit the mouth of the Mississippi before she wreaked havoc on New Orleans on August 17, 1969. Tonight, get together with friends for the Saints’ preseason game, or get artsy in City Park with NOMA for their weekly after hours event. At 9:30, check out local celebrity Mia Borders at Antoine’s Hermes Bar.

If you didn’t wake up bright and early to put on your red dress and run amok for local charities, you might have enough energy left for the rest of the day’s events. Mia Borders is at the Rusty Nail, there’s a Freaksheaux at the Allways Lounge, and it’s also the Second Saturday of the month. Dirty Linen Night is bringing some art appreciation to the French Quarter after last week’s lily-white Julia St. affair. Today in Louisiana history, Treme Brass Band leader and snare drummer Benny Jones Sr. was born in New Orleans, in 1943, and a hurricane killed more than 400 people on the Louisiana Coast in 1856.  

The Fest powers threw open the gates of JazzFest's second weekend today, with four furious days of music, food and watermelon sacrificing lined up. Today's often been called Locals Thursday, and that's especially true at NOLA Defender, as we see some of our past special guest writers take the stage. At the Acura Stage, Hurray for the Riff Raff opens things up, while Honey Island Swamp Band is on at 2:25 p.m, while Flow Tribe and Mia Borders occupy the Gentilly Stage at from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Elsewhere, Kourtney Heart plays Congo Square at 11:15 a.m., and Stooges Brass Band stop off at the same spot at 2:45 p.m. Meanwhile, there's one more schedule change to pass along.

Today, French Quarter Fest swings into the weekend, The Lost Bayou Ramblers have a record release show at One Eyed Jacks, Mia Borders plays at the 12 Bar, and the Zydepunks & DeBauche unite their European sounds on St. Claude once again. This day in history, "Ain't That A Shame" by Fats Domino was released, it was his first tune to enter the Billboard charts (1955), and noted Cajun vocalist, guitarist and songwriter D.L. Menard was born in Erath (1932). Click through to view:

August 17th, when the world’s first commercial steamboat service began (1807), when the nation’s longest continuously running public farmers market, the Pike Place Market, opened (1907), when Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue was released (1959), when CDs were first released (1982), when Bill Clinton admitted to an  ‘improper physical relationship’ with Monica Lewinsky (1998), and when Michael Phelps became the first person to win eight gold medals in one Olympic Games (2008.) it’s Davy Crockett (1786), Marcus Garvey (1887), Robert De Niro (1943) and Sean Penn’s (1960) birthdays, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s (1935) last day. As for today:

August 3, when Yale and Harvard first dueled by boat, marking the first American intercollegiate athletic event (1852), when the National Basketball Association was founded (1949. It's birthdays for Tony Bennett (1926) and  Martha Stewart (1941), and the last day of Lenny Bruce (1966). Make sure you didn't leave your heart in San Francisco. You'll need it for the following: