4G ✦ Wednesday, January 1, 2025 ✦ nola.com ✦ The Times-Picayune
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Grand Isle opens new public fishing pier The town of Grand Isle has opened a new 960-foot public fishing pier. Along with the 990-foot Grand Isle Fishing Pier next to Bridge Side Marina, which opened in summer 2023, the piers are free and open to the public. Located just before entering the island on Cheniere Caminada, the pier provides spots for fishing, sightseeing and enjoying Grand Isle’s coastal views. PROVIDED PHOTO
Library card can help you keep stick to goals BY JANE LEGROS
and DVDs, professional-grade cake pans, and more. Library locations are also regularly stocked with current issues of a variety of newspapers, magazines, and journals, making it easy to cut down on your consumption of products you might only use once. 3. Get into cooking with any number of the library’s vast collection of cookbooks or find new recipes in popular food publications like Bon Appetit, Good Housekeeping, Food & Wine, and more on Flipster, a digital newsstand featuring full issues of dozens of magazines, newspapers, and journals. 4. Spend more time in nature by starting a garden with the help of our seed libraries. Located at seven library branches — Alvar, 913 Alvar St.; Hubbell Library, 725 Pelican Ave.; East New Orleans Regional, 5641 Read Blvd.; MidCity, 4140 Canal St.; Latter, 5120 St. Charles Ave.; Nora Navra, 1902
Contributing writer
The new year is a time of change — starting new habits, setting goals, and embarking on new adventures. Trying something new can be daunting, but the New Orleans Public Library is here to help. Here are five ways to use your library card to help you dive into resolutions and make the most of 2025: 1. Achieve professional goals with LinkedIn Learning or Udemy, two massive online training libraries offering self-paced and ondemand content in fields ranging from art and design, business and marketing, technology and science, and everything in between. 2. Be more environmentally friendly by borrowing materials instead of buying them. In addition to books, the library lends out CDs
St. Bernard Ave.; and Rosa Keller, 4300 S. Broad St. — seed libraries offer hundreds of varieties for free. All can be grown in Louisiana. Plus, you can browse our collection of gardening books and magazines for inspiration on how to take your yard to the next level. 5. Save money by using your library card to its full potential. Here are some suggestions. n Ditch your streaming services and watch movies and shows with your library card on Kanopy or Hoopla and stream or download music for free on Freegal. n Cancel that Audible subscription and download audiobooks for free with Libby. n Use the library’s Culture Pass Program to get into museums and attractions around New Orleans with no entry fee. This is only a small sampling of the extensive products, services and resources you can access for
Kiwanis expands Terrific Kids program
PROVIDED PHOTO
From left are Ronald Bateman, School Board COO; Seth Shapard, School Board supervisor of assessments and accountability; Gerald ‘Robbie’ Robinson, Chevron corporate affairs representative; Susan Rodriguez, Kiwanis Club Terrific Kids chair; and Niko Testvich, Kiwanian and School Board member. The Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard is
more than 30 years, currently reaches
expanding its Terrific Kids program
more than 2,500 students annually in
to Plaquemines Parish schools. With
schools there. Representatives from
sponsorships from Chevron and
the Plaquemines Parish School Board
Stolthaven, the program will begin
and representatives from Chevron
there in January. Terrific Kids, which
and Stolthaven attended the Kiwanis
has been in St. Bernard Parish for
meeting in December.
free when you use your library card. Not a member? Visit nolalibrary.org or stop by your neighborhood library to sign up today. Plus, the library has a variety of free programs designed to help start the year off on the right foot by getting organized. Kick things off by attending the New Year, New Plans DIY Journaling Workshop at Mid-City Library, 4140 Canal St., at 11 a.m. Jan. 3 or at Nix Library, 1401 S. Carrollton Ave., on Jan. 7 at 5:30 p.m. Attendees can customize their planners or journals for the new year using stamps, stickers, stencils, and other colorful supplies. Lined journals will be provided, or you can bring your own. Jane LeGros is the director of marketing and communications for the New Orleans Public Library.
PROVIDED PHOTO
Shelby Goddard, adult programming librarian, shows off some of the giveaways attendees to the ‘New Year, New Plans’ journaling workshop at the New Orleans Public Library will receive.
LEARN BRIDGE IN A DAY 04 January 10am - 3pm
BOOK EVENTS WRITER’S CLINIC: The Jan. 11 clinic will feature Maurice Carlos Ruffin and Tad Bartlett, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave. in Metairie. Ruffin will lead “Starting and Finishing Your Stories” at 9:30 a.m., for writers of all kinds of prose stories. Bartlett’s session, at 11 a.m., is “Beginning and Endings.” The sessions, for beginners or experienced writers, are free. www.jefferson.lib.la.us. THE CRUSH TOUR: The event, celebrating the release of two editions in the romancelandia genre, will feature Alexandra Vasti &
Zoe Brennan, authors of “Earl Crush,” and Laura Piper Lee, author of “First Crush.” The program, set for Jan 18, 6 p.m., at Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St. in New Orleans, will include readings and discussion. www. bluecypressbooks.com. “THE MEETING OF AIR AND WATER”: Author Sharon LaCour will sign copies of her debut novel at Blue Cypress Books, 8123 Oak St. in New Orleans, on Jan. 23, 6:30-8 p.m. There will be a discussion and book signing. www. bluecypressbooks.com.
CLASSES PEOPLE PROGRAM NOLA: Registration is open for classes for seniors. The spring semester runs Jan. 21 to May 15 on two campuses, 2240 Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans and 6201 Stratford Place in Algiers. The class fee is $200 for unlimited in-person course enrollment; the online-only class fee is $150. peopleprogram. org. LEARNING BEFORE LUNCH: The Jan. 9 meeting will discuss “The Science and Research Behind Therapeutic Music.” Cathy Anderson, a harpist working with the Music for Healing and Transition Program through the state Health Department, will discuss how live music can heal the mind, body and spirit,
presenting historical references and current research. The program will be held at UNO’s Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center, 2000 Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans beginning at 10 a.m. Annual membership is $25, $30 per couple, or a $5 donation. www.learningbeforelunch.com. WALKING TOUR GUIDE CLASS: Applications are being accepted for the 2025 Friends of the Cabildo Walking Tour Guide Class. Classes start March 10, 2025. Almost 100 hours of class time across one month provide an overview of New Orleans history, architecture and culture. The walking tour guide class is offered one time per year at the Cabildo, 701 Chartres St. in New Orleans. friendsofthecabildo.org.
REGISTER at 9:30am • LUNCH PROVIDED JOIN US FOR PATTY TUCKER’S WORLD FAMOUS LEARN BRIDGE IN A DAY® EVENT. LEARN BRIDGE IN A DAY®! IS DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE THE MECHANICS, SCORING, AND BASIC BIDDING OF BRIDGE TO POTENTIAL BRIDGE STUDENTS. REGISTER BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE WWW.LA-BRIDGE.COM, BY CALLING 504-430-5178, OR BY EMAILING BRIDGELOVEANDFUN@GMAIL.COM Tickets $40 in advance/$50 at the door Location: 2709 Edenborn Ave., Metairie LA, 70002