Mirliton Festival Gets Country Club Kickoff, with Daiquiris

by Emma Boyce

It's almost time for the annual Bywater party that celebrates neighborhood ties and local vegetables: the Mirliton Festival. But before spreading out in Markey Park, fest fans are invited to relax poolside with a daiq. Tonight is the Mirliton Festival Kickoff Party, which aims to get everyone prepared for Mirliton madness, and introduce the world to a signature, delicious daiquiri: the Bywater Bomber. The party is hosted by the Bywater Neighborhood Association, and aims to continue the fest's mission of celebrating the rich Bywater culture.

The kickoff party begins at 8 pm at The Country Club (634 Louisa).

Free and open to the public, the party features DJ Bunny and DJ Lingerie, a pool (knowing New Orleans it’ll still be hot in November) and information about the upcoming Annual Mirliton Festival. The Country Club kitchen will also showcase dishes that will appear at the festival.

“The theme this year is the bombshell girl that would be painted on the [WWII] planes,” says Thompson. “Mirlitons [in the festival poster] look like bombs in the background.”

Although these five-dollar daiquiris don’t taste like mirlitons, their green coloring loosely connects them to the theme.

“The daiquiri is [made with] pineapple, fresh orange, fresh lime and has a natural green food coloring, rose water and Old New Orleans Crystal Rum,” says Thompson.

Thompson’s and Defend the Daiquiri’s goal is essentially to try and make the daiquiri something like a “badge of honor.”

Of all the drinks sloshing out of cups and onto the streets of New Orleans, daiquiris are particularly near and dear to New Orleans. You order them by the gallon; you get them in line at the drive-thru. They might as well make daiquiris our official frozen beverage.

“It sounds funny to hear [but] Defend the Daiquiri’s mission is trying to integrate daiquiris into programming in New Orleans…[and] trying to give different festivals an official daiquiri that we can design for them. Almost like a coat of arms,” says Thompson.

According to Thompson, creating revenue around the daiquiri helps protect certain New Orleans specific freedoms like drinking outdoors, something that is continually scrutinized.

The actual Mirliton Festival is expected to have around 6,000 people. While the kickoff does not anticipate nearly that many they still encourage everyone to come out for a good time. As with every good New Orleans event, if daiquiris aren’t your style, Abita will also be available.

SECTIONS:

Arts · Politics · Crime · Sports · Food · · Opinion · NOLA · Lagniappe

Defender Picks

SAMEDI

May 18th

DIMANCHE

May 19th

Mirliton Festival Gets Country Club Kickoff, with Daiquiris

ADVERTISEwith NOLA Defender

Contributors:

Staff Writers

Listings

Puzzler

Art Director:

Assistant Managing Editor

Managing Editor

Editor:

Published Daily by

Arts · Politics · Crime
· Sports · Food ·
· Opinion · NOLA ·
Lagniappe

ADVERTISE
with
NOLA Defender