Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi New Orleans: May 2011

Friday, May 13, 2011

Bon Jovi Shrine Number One FAN

This video was filmed at the Shrine on May 5, and Lupe is in it, so it's a bit surreal, but it's a great film of the Bon Jovi Shrine. Thank you for uploading it to You Tube!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

shrine

lupe

Friday, May 6, 2011

Cyndi Lauper Shrine gift from Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi

Cyndi, a photo by SmallAffair on Flickr.

Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi was happy to make an offering at the International Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Cyndi Lauper Shrine on the 2900 Block Maurepas.

Livin' On A Prayer - Contestant #2 Bon Jovi Tribute (air guitar) Contest

Today, a guest visited the Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi, which is happy to have the International Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Shrine of Cyndi Lauper across the street. This is the first time that anyone has visited the International Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi and explained that she now equates Jazz Fest with Bon Jovi.

Special performance of "Livin' on a Prayer" will be entered as Contestant #2 in Bon Jovi Tribute band (air guitar) contest.

Winner will be announced on SacredShrineNOLA's YouTube Channel soon!

Shrine Alley New Orleans???

I know there is technically no alley here, but I liked the way "Shrine Alley" sounded.

Now that there are 2 shrines on Maurepas Street (2900 block), it seems that we need a name for this sacred area. Rumor has it that a third resident will be building a shrine to Kenny G.

Someone will surely find a wonderful name for this phenomenon (block).

In this video, 2 Women explain that it is not a coincidence that the 2 musicians with shrines dedicated to them are the 2 musicians who really rock.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Cyndi Lauper Shrine

International Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Cyndi Lauper Shrine 2900 block Maurepas

Today the International "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper Shrine appeared on the 2900 block of Maurepas Street.

My neighbors from across the street, Louis A. Poche and Mary Marino Poche, mentioned that they might build a shrine to Lauper a few weeks ago. I've heard several rumors about shrines being built to Brett Michaels, Tesla, and John Tesh, but I should have known Louis and Mary were serious, as they have been enthusiastic supporters of the I.S.S.J.B.J. since 2009. Their creativity was obvious when they replaced a broken pay phone that is near the International "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" Cyndi Lauper Shrine.

Pay Phone Art

This morning, I returned from writing directions to my shrine on neighborhood street corners with sidewalk chalk.

Maurepas Chalk Jon Bon Jovi Shrine

I was delighted to discover this newest altar on the 2900 block of Maurepas Street and was even more thrilled to learn that Louis Poche referred to it on Facebook as the "International Shrine to Cyndi Lauper" since the full name of The Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi is actually "The International Special Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi." I am proud to see that the tradition of shrines on Maurepas Street continues to welcome pilgrims from around the world. When I asked Poche if the name of the shrine was the "Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Shrine," "International Shrine to Cyndi Lauper," or other, he reminded me that "The naming of shrines is less important than the devotion." May we never lose sight of this.

In honor of the newest shrine on Maurepas, I will be playing Cyndi Lauper (as opposed to Bon Jovi) today.

Maurepas runs parallel to Fortin - the street by the Jazz Fest entrance. If you walk up Sauvage to enter the Fairgrounds at the Sauvage entrance, you can turn right on Maurepas. There is a map to my Jon Bon Jovi Shrine on this blog, and The Cyndi Lauper shrine is across the street.

Directions to Cyndi Lauper Shrine and Jon Bon Jovi Shrine Jazz Fest

My vision for Maurepas Street has always been that someday each home will host a shrine devoted to a musician who is or is not directly connected to New Orleans Jazz and Heritage. Today I weep tears of joy. Cyndi Lauper performs on The Gentilly Stage at 5:25 pm.

I hope all Cyndi Lauper fans will visit this lovely altar, complete with lace gloves and an orange boa. As Mary Marino Poche explained, "Girls just wanna have fun."

Below is my reaction and discussion with the shrine creators.

Cyndi Lauper Shrine

Bon Jovi Shrine

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Sacred Shrine of Bon Jovi

Sacred Shrine of Bon Jovi, a photo by WWOZ New Orleans on Flickr.

Thank you, WWOZ, for this lovely photograph of The Sacred Shrine of Jon Bon Jovi. This picture was taken before his performance on April 30.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Less than 48 Hours Until It Starts All Over Again

There is still another weekend of Jazz Fest - a longer weekend - and I worry that my shrine activities have exhausted me. I certainly got what I wanted, and I met many wonderful people who visited the shrine on festival days.

The pages in the guestbook delight me.

However, I do work from home, and I really did not get enough sleep (I have this broken heart that makes it hard to sleep even when I am trying to), and I worry that the shrine is overwhelming me. Monday was a non festival day, and I actually made a barricade around my house so I could sit on the porch.

In an attempt to make this weekend's shrine activities more fun and less stressful, I am taking an inventory of where my energy is going regarding the shrine.

Morning Activities

Depending on the wind, each morning parts of the shrine need to be secured. This often involves a lot of going in and out of the house because I am just not a morning person, and it is hard for me to do anything without coffee, so I waste a lot of time looking for stuff.
Lupe really needs to go for a walk in the morning, so she's a little bit frisky. I imagine playing fetch with her in the back yard will help since walking her is not a good idea (see also: TJ's crowd anxiety when more than 12 people want to pet Lupe within a 5 minute period).
Writing about shrine on the neighborhood sidewalks with chalk. I actually love writing about the shrine with sidewalk chalk, and the chalk is more effective than flyers are. However, I have to leave the shrine and Lupe in order to do this. I should write with the chalk at night and hope it does not wash off, or beg anyone to help with this.
I absolutely have to eat something before noon. It is a little scary when I think my stomach growling is actually my BlackBerry.
Buying ice at Cansenco's can be done at anytime, but if I forget, I will ask somebody.
Dealing with the fact that I am not a morning person and that it is hard for me to pose for photographs while parts of the shrine are blowing around in the wind. Maybe breakfast will help with this?

Afternoon Activities

Feeling better because it is not morning.
Talking to visitors.
Making Bic lighters.
Trying to not leave anything valuable on the porch but also trying not to have to repeatedly go into the house.
Explaining that I will never scold Lupe for barking at strange men who try to enter the house or go up on the porch or touch me. I have trained my dog to protect me. She barks because I cannot. I should make a sign about Lupe and make it more clear that the porch and the house are off limits.

Evening Activities

This is the fun time when people visit the shrine, and I really love the evening.

The Contests are from 1 - 9 pm, and I can handle that.

I hope to continue the fun activities at the shrine, but I am worried that I am too tired to cope with guests who don't respect my boundaries.

I have been wearing a fox tail on my tool belt for a year, and a woman pulled it off because she loved it so much, so I had to sew my own tail back on. I did not lose my temper.

The Sacred Shrine will be able to receive guests this weekend, but if anyone has any suggestions about how I can make it less stressful (NOT suggestions about how I can make more decorations), please email me directly at sacredshrinenola@gmail.com.

The Sacred Shrine will be there for you.

~Tara Jill