Events & Schedule

Festival Date, Time, and Location

November 18, 2007: 12 noon - 6:00pm
Oak Street at South Carrollton

Interactive History Presentation
Our Loaved Legacy, 1929-Present - at The Mockingbird

For too long the Rodney Dangerfield of New Orleans cuisine, the poor boy sandwich now boasts its own festival. After almost eight decades of being taken for granted and having its history misrepresented, the poor boy sandwich takes center stage on November 18th, from 11 am until 6:00 pm.

Experts in the history of the sandwich as well as the art of baking French bread loaves specially designed for the sandwich will engage in two lively panel discussions about New Orleans’ poor boy please see schedule below).

The panel discussions will be held inside the Mockingbird Bakery & Cafe, located at 8128 Oak Street.

Descendants of poor boy originators Clovis and Bennie Martin will be in attendance to discuss their family history. Copies of old menus, photographs, and other memorabilia will be on display, and festival-goers will be able to take home a history brochure that conveys the fascinating story of the Po-Boy’s origins.

A po-boy pop quiz will be available for those interested in testing their knowledge of poor boy history. Those who believe the local legend that the first poor boy sandwich was a French fry poor boy might want to attend the panel discussion before attempting the quiz.

11:00—Noon
Poor Boy Sandwich History
Bunny Matthews (Artist & Culinary Historian)
Tom Fitzmorris (WWL-AM Food Show & Culinary Historian)
Vance Vaucresson (Vaucresson’s Sausage Company)
Moderator: Michael Mizell-Nelson (University of New Orleans)

Noon—1:00 pm
French Bread Baking Traditions
Sandy Whann (Leidenheimer Baking Company)
John Gendusa (John Gendusa Bakery)
Moderator: Dana Logsdon (Culinary Historian/Baker)

1:00—2:00 pm
Birthing the Poor Boy
Martin and Gendusa Families
Celebrate the Martin and Gendusa families, whose ancestors created the poor boy loaf and sandwich.

Silent Auction

Come support the rebuilding and strengthening of our community by participating in the silent auction hosted by the Oak Street Association and sponsored by Haase’s. All proceeds from the auction will go toward strengthening our local economy and community spirit by enabling the Oak Street Main Street Program to continue hosting events that stimulate the Oak Street area economy throughout the year.

Local merchants and artists have come together and donated an array of items to be auctioned off throughout the festival in front of the White Pillars Emporium on the corner of Dante Street and Oak Street. Be sure to stop by early and often to check on the status of your item and see what is coming up next.

Here is just an example of the valuable items to be auctioned off.
A 4x6 100% wool rug from Maximilian’s International (valued at over $1000)
Two $100 gift certificates for Castellon Pharmacy
Two $50 gift certificates for Jacques-Imo’s Restaurant
$100 gift certificate for Asian Cajun Restaurant
$50 gift certificate for the Saltwater Grill
Many unique, hand-crafted items donated by Po-Boy Festival participating artist.

The holidays are coming and this is an incredible opportunity to get a jump start on your gift list, support your community and have a lot of fun at the same time. Help us make this a grand success!

Let the bidding begin…!

Kid's World

Carnival-style games of chance with a New Orleans twist!

Located in the One 2 One parking lot – 8216 Oak Street.

Play games for 1 ticket each or buy a bracelet for $20 and play all day! Collect play dollars for each game you win and then go shopping at the prize booth. Games include: The Aquarium, Gumbo Golf, Duck Huntin’, Hornets Basketball, Throw Me Somethin’ Mister, Honey…I’m goin’ ta K&B, Football Camp, FEMA Bucket Toss, Crawfish Boil and The Fairgrounds.

Other activities in the Kids Section include: face painting, tattoos, hair color, Build-a-Bear and various crafts. Free activities are in the back of the Kids’ section and include a duck pond and sidewalk chalk.