Mary Staes
Mary Staes is Digital Content Lead for Very Local. She works with our freelancers and crafts content for our social media platforms and website. Before Very Local, she worked with CBS affiliate WWL-TV as a web producer and weekend assignment editor for about 4 years. She has also handled broadcast coverage for 160 Marine Reserve training facilities while she served as an active duty Marine. As a native New Orleanian, she takes being "very local" to heart. She loves being intertwined with the culture and figuring out how there are less than two degrees of separation between us all, whether we're natives or not.
Here’s your guide to Jazz Festing in Place 2021
Upset Jazz Fest is canceled (again) because of COVID-19? We’ve got your guide on how to Fest at Home like a pro.
A Silent St. Joseph’s Night
During COVID-19, we’ve had to adapt the way we celebrate. Friday is St. Joseph’s Day, and Wednesday marked St. Patrick’s Day. The one-year mark of everything shutting down aligns with St. Patrick’s Day, and this year is definitely different. Even though celebrations don’t look the same, New Orleanians still have a way of making it happen!
What’s Happening in (virtual) New Orleans this week: Feb. 8-14
Another wave of COVID has much of the country on lockdown, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had online until we’re pandemic-free Here are some of the events we’re most looking forward to in Virtual New Orleans this week.
Sucre’ announces new ownership, return
More than a year after closing, local bakery Sucre announced its return on social media Thursday, this time with new female ownership.
What’s happening in (virtual) New Orleans this week: Oct. 5-10
New Orleans is slowly opening back up, but there’s still plenty of fun to be had online until we’re 100%! Here are some of the events we’re most looking forward to in Virtual New Orleans this week.
It’s fall ya’ll! Here’s what we found to celebrate the autumn solstice!
There a chill in the air and there’s pumpkin spice EVERYTHING (even masks)! Fall is here, so here are a few things we found to celebrate the change of seasons.
From comedy to his own clothing line, Mark Caesar is the embodiment of ‘Now or Never’
For close to 20 years, the New Orleans native has been making a name for himself in the comedy world. Now, during the pandemic, he’s still making stand up work and even launched his own clothing line, Now or Never apparel.
7th Ward Santa is gone and so is part of the Christmas magic for Black New Orleanians
While Hurricane Katrina may have taken many of our childhood photos, 7th Ward Santa was something that was here well before Katrina, and lasted beyond the storm. Unlike second lines or Super Sunday’s, which have become more mainstream (for lack of a better word) since the storm, 7th Ward Santa was something that was always ours.
Magazine Street’s Ghost Manor won’t happen in 2020
According to Ghost Manor’s Facebook page, the animatronic light show won’t be running this year because of social distancing measures.
Help the nation’s oldest WWII veteran celebrate his 111th birthday
Since the threat of COVID-19, there won’t be a celebration at the museum for Brooks’ birthday. Instead, the museum is asking people to send birthday cards that’ll be delivered to Mr. Brooks.