The Beauregard-Keyes House will host a St. Joseph's Day altar, a tradition that has long been part of the Lower French Quarter after it became an Italian immigrant enclave in the late 19th century. Photo courtesy of the Beauregard-Keyes House.

Beauregard-Keyes House to host St. Joseph’s Day altar, lecture and concert

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The Beauregard-Keyes Historic House and Garden, home to the Corrado Giacona Family from 1904 to 1925, will again honor the patron saint of Sicily with its annual St. Joseph’s altar March 16-19. The public is welcome to join staff and volunteers in marking this sacred Sicilian tradition, which has been celebrated in the French Quarter since Sicilian immigrants began arriving in the city in the late 19th century. 

 There will be a private blessing of the altar at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 16, after which the public will be invited to visit and learn more about this important ritual. The altar will remain on view through Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m.–3 p.m.  Each visitor will be given the traditional prayer card, cookie, blessed bread, and lucky bean.  Suits made for the Black Masking Indian tradition will also be on display, as St. Joseph’s Day corresponds with this long-standing celebration of Black and Indigenous culture taking place on Super Sunday, March 20.

In preparation for the St. Joseph’s Day altar, advance culinary and financial contributions are welcome.  Anyone who would like to donate to the altar may email Chris Fountain ([email protected]) for further details. As in previous years, financial donations will be given to Covenant House New Orleans.

Wednesday evening, March 16, a special lecture entitled “Growing Up in Italian and Afro-Creole New Orleans” will be presented by historian/tour guide Denise Augustine at 6 p.m.  Born in the 1950s and having learned the art of storytelling through years of sitting at her grandmother’s kitchen table in Treme, Augustine is an expert at entertaining and engaging visitors with the unsung stories of New Orleans. She was raised in the neighborhoods in and around the French Quarter and is a seventh-generation Creole griot who grew up witnessing the city’s Afro-Creole and Italian communities living in close proximity. These neighbors shared a common religion, a love of food, and strong family traditions. Using her skills as a historian and tour guide, Augustine will guide us through the history of these interconnected communities to the present day.” Registration for the lecture is $5 and is available at bkhouse.org.

The Italian heritage celebration at the Beauregard-Keys House will kick off on Sunday, March 13, at 6 p.m. with a “Music of Italy” concert featuring the Electric Yat Quartet with violinists Natalia Cascante and Harry Hardin, violist Amelia Clingman and cellist Jack Craft with guest vocalist Barbara Davis. Back by popular demand, the versatile program will commemorate the history of the neighborhood once known as “Piccolo Palermo” with performances of Pucccini’s “Meson Dorma” from Turandot, favorites like “Santa Lucia,” “Volare,” “O Solo Mio,” “Buono Sera,” themes from The Godfather movies and more. Tickets are $35 and are available at bkhouse.org. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.  This is a BYOB (bring your own beverages) event and guests are encouraged to bring cups and bottle openers. Weather permitting, the concert will take place in the courtyard.

Per City of New Orleans COVID-19 Guidelines, anyone 5 years of age or older must provide proof of at least one dose of an approved COVID vaccine or negative PCR/antigen test within 72 hours.