
Dianne "Gumbo Marie" Honore'
Native Curator of Louisiana heritage
Presentations, Tours, Events
Dianne "Gumbo Marie" Honore'
Native Curator of Louisiana heritage
Presentations, Tours, Events
Native Curator of Louisiana heritage
Presentations, Tours, Events
Native Curator of Louisiana heritage
Presentations, Tours, Events
Growing up in the historic port city of New Orleans cultivated Gumbo Marie's love of Creole food, music and people from around the world. As a professional tour guide/historic interpreter, chef and trained nurse, her work is her joie de vivre!
Talkin up Louisiana history!
Dianne "Gumbo Marie" Honore' interviewing author Kim Vaz-Deville and Jewish Historian Julie Schwartz on the tv show Future Focus.
Born and raised in the heart of the French Quarter and Treme, Dianne was immersed in Louisiana's history. She became a licensed tour guide 30 years ago while studying history at Loyola University, the University of New Orleans and archives around the city. After years of research and experience along with centuries of documented family ties to Louisiana she brings a personal perspective; making your experience richer with a greater depth of understanding. #AfroCreole
Cultural contributors to our events and blog include local authors, musicians, masking baby dolls, Louisiana historians, local activists.
I love being able to share Louisiana's heritage! Growing up in an authentic Creole restaurant also prepared me for doing the things I do today like giving cooking demonstrations and classes at the French Market and New Orleans School of Cooking! You can find some of my favorite recipes here. Some have been evolving in my family for well over 150 years! .....Join our pot of gumbo, hang out and enjoy! Did you know the word gumbo comes from the Angolan word kingombo and means 'okra.’ xoxo Dianne "Gumbo Marie"
Hosting New Orleans first Black Storyville Cultural Heritage Awards 2017!
Winners included:Left to right
Joell Lee, Founders Choice Award
Kim Charbonnet, Treme Sidewalk Steppers
Bianca San Martin, Ritmeaux Krewe
Merline Kimble, baby doll
Queen Cherice Harrison Nelson, Guardians of the Flame
Big Chief Dalcour, Creole Oceolas
Janice Kimble, baby doll of the year
Kenneth Young (dtr pictured) Black Seminoles
Jari Honora, Janice Duplantier Smith, Lenora Gobert, Lolita Cherrie, Creolegen
Karen LeBeau, artist
Keith Weldon Medley (not pictured), author
We carry on a Mardi Gras masking tradition called the baby dolls. It started around 1912 in the neighborhood where Louis Armstrong lived called Black Storyville! Our mission is to preserve the tradition through educational outreach by utilizing different platforms. We parade, host special events, offer Baby Doll tours, volunteer in our community, and mentor youth. Learn more about the baby dolls here baby dolls
Photo credit: Cedric Ellsworth
Our oldest cemeteries reflect the practices of Catholicism and Voodoo and are interesting to behold. They are sacred places for many locals. Our families are entombed here as well as great contributors to our community. They are not museums. They are burial grounds. A proper introduction to our burial culture and the truth about Voodoo and Catholicism practices are a must. Our most benevolent Voodoo practitioners maintain their privacy although there are a few who openly practice. Louisiana voodoo was born between enslavement and the French crown who required citizens of Louisiana to practice Catholicism. Originally they were healers, nurses of the sick, and spiritualists of African and Creole descent but secrecy, outsiders' influence, and Hollywood turned Voodoo into something many see as pop culture. Voodoo is a world religion and should be respected as such. Voodoo Queens rarely ever truly exist while many refer to themselves as such. Also, realize most of Louisiana Voodoo is passed from one generation to the next, not always, but typically in black families. For more information on this you might want to start with a solid read and a good lecture. One book about Marie Laveau I recommend is by author Carolyn Morrow Long: "A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau"
These are staples we know always deliver:
These are staples we know always deliver:
Jazz club: SNUG HARBOR. Always great music, separate dining which is casual with a wonderful local menu!
Jazz club: SNUG HARBOR. Always great music, separate dining which is casual with a wonderful local menu!
Pictured above musican Arséne Delay. Photo credit: James Demaria
Organizations founded by Gumbo Marie™
The Amazons Benevolent Society ™ raise funds for cancer patients
Unheard Voices of Louisiana™ research and programs on marginalized groups in LA history
The Catiche Destrehan Bed n Breakfast Named for Dianne's 6th generation great grandmother, this bed and breakfast is located in Natchez, MS or "Litt
Organizations founded by Gumbo Marie™
The Amazons Benevolent Society ™ raise funds for cancer patients
Unheard Voices of Louisiana™ research and programs on marginalized groups in LA history
The Catiche Destrehan Bed n Breakfast Named for Dianne's 6th generation great grandmother, this bed and breakfast is located in Natchez, MS or "Little New Orleans, where the River runs wide and the HIstory runs deep."