For this third anniversary of America’s worst disaster, people across southeast Louisiana will gather on Friday, August 29, to honor the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the heroes who tried to save them and who have worked to help with the recovery.

WWL-TV has partnered with fire stations to sell "Remembering Katrina" Memory Bells but the remaining supply is very limited.  We apologize for any inconvenience, but wish to thank the people of south Louisiana for their overwhelming support of this program.  More than 15,000 bells have been purchased in just a matter of days.

Donations will benefit local fire department charities and school scholarship funds.

Please join members of the Eyewitness News team at noon on Friday, August 29 at one of the following locations for a memorial program and live broadcast: 

• New Orleans City Park Peristyle
  
• The Pavilion in Lafreniere Park in Metairie
  
• Chalmette High School Gym in St. Bernard Parish
  
• Our Lady of Lourdes, 313 Westchester Blvd., Slidell
  
• Belle Chasse High School Theater, 8346 Highway 23, Belle Chasse
  

If you don’t have a “Remembering Katrina” bell just bring any bell to the ceremony.

Other Katrina Anniversary Events

ORLEANS PARISH

Levees.org hosts premiere screening of documentary “The Katrina Myth: the Truth About a Thoroughly Unnatural Disaster," produced by FoodMusicJustice.org
Free admission
Thursday, August 28
Touro Synagogue, 4238 St. Charles Avenue
6:30pm - Cocktails & hors d'oeuvres with live jazz band "Some Like It Hot"
7:30-8:30pm Presentation and premiere of 10-minute documentary and after-show discussion

“Days of Hope” at Louisiana Children’s Museum

Two-day commemoration of the third anniversary on Friday, August 29 and Saturday, August 30 is designed to inspire hope for the future and give children a voice for their own thoughts about what lies ahead. 

National experts in child learning will visit the museum, including national children’s television producer Alice Wilder (Super Why!, Blue’s Clues) who will lead writer’s circle workshops in the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood exhibit. Children and families can write their own story in a brand new book, illustrated by prominent local artist Katie Rafferty.

Megan Lambert, Instructor of Children’s Literature Programs for The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, will provide special story times using The Carle’s inquiry-based model, The Whole Book Approach.

Inspired by the world-renowned Eric Carle book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, butterflies of all shapes and sizes will be crafted and suspended in the three story atrium, creating a dramatic display.

Also on display during Days of Hope are several exhibits of children’s work including the Doors of Hope, a gift from the youth of New York to the youth of New Orleans through the public arts organization CITYarts in New York. Memory boxes, journals and urban planning designs from students at MLK Jr. Charter School also will be on display.

Days of Hope programming is 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 29 and Saturday, August 30. The Museum is open on those days from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located at 420 Julia Street.

 

Worship Service
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, 5800 Canal Boulevard

Service will include debut of a new book called The Essence of Grace.

On August 29 at 7:00pm, the church will unveil the debut of a book that tells the stories of 17 faith-filled people of the Grace community coming home to New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina, and the grace they experienced that has given them healing and hope.

The evening is being billed as "The Essence of Grace:  An Evening of Healing and Hope."  The book was created as a way of giving thanks to God for all the members, partners, supporters and volunteers who helped rebuild the congregation and community. 

For more information, contact Caitlin Moen, the editor of the book, and Grace's Coordinator for Community Development at coordinator@gracenola.com or 651-276-1676; or Pastor Leon Philpot at lphilpot@cox.net or 218-779-8566.

Katrina Memorial Display at Immaculate Conception (Jesuits) Church, Baronne Street

Beginning August 23-24 and continuing through Labor Day weekend, an interactive display will be placed at the entrance to the church, which remains open from 6:30 AM until 5:30 PM daily. The display will invite the public to post notes, photos, and prayers related to their Katrina experiences. The display will also allow individuals to deposit specific prayers and petitions, which will be remembered throughout the week at the church’s various Masses. For more information, contact  the parish office at (504) 529-1477.

Katrina Anniversary Mass – St. Louis Cathedral

New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes will celebrate the 7:30 am Mass at St. Louis Cathedral on Friday, August 29 to commemorate the 3rd Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

Mass for Hope and Healing - Immaculate Conception (Jesuits) Church, Baronne St., New Orleans

 Katrina Memorial Interfaith Service

Friday, August 29

7:00 p.m.
Temple Sinai, corner of Calhoun and St. Charles Ave., New Orleans
504-596-3023

Archbishop Alfred Hughes will join with religious leaders from Protestant Christian, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, and Sihk faiths to recall the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and celebrate the accomplishments of the community as it continues to rebuild.  People of all faiths are invited to attend.

Eastern New Orleans Candlelight Vigil & Day of Remembrance
Thursday, August 28
7:00 p.m.
On the Levee at 9630 Hayne Blvd.

Jazz Funeral
Friday, August 29
8:00 a.m.
Begins at corner of Canal St. & Carrollton Ave., ending at Charity Hospital Cemetery on Canal at City Park Ave.

Wreath-Laying at Algiers Ferry Landing
Friday, August 29
9:00 a.m.

Bell-Ringing Ceremony
Friday, August 29
9:38 a.m.
Charity Hospital Cemetery, Canal St. at City Park Ave.

Katrina III: Stories of Helping and Hope
Friday, August 29 
7 p.m.
Loyola University
The heroic events directly following Hurricane Katrina will be celebrated at Loyola University New Orleans during an anniversary program called, Katrina III: Stories of Helping and Hope.  The program will feature the courageous story of and an appearance by Molly the Pony; the uplifting sounds of Shades of Praise gospel choir; and heroic stories of first responders including Joe Cull, McFarland Institute Chaplain assigned to counsel the New Orleans Police Department in the days immediately following Katrina.  Katrina III: Stories of Helping and Hope takes place Friday, August 29, at 7 p.m., in Roussel Performance Hall on Loyola’s main campus.  Admission is free and open to the public.  For more information, contact the Office of Public Affairs at smsnyder@loyno.edu or call (504) 861-5882.

JEFFERSON PARISH

Katrina Memorial Mass - St. Lawrence the Martyr Church, Metairie

St. Lawrence the Martyr, 2505 Maine Avenue, will host a memorial Mass on Friday, August 29 at 9 a.m. commemorating the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

 

Prayer Service of Remembrance and Hope - St. Catherine of Siena Church, Metairie Road & Bonnabel Blvd.
Friday, August 29

7:00 p.m.

On the evening of August 29, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. St. Catherine of Siena Church will celebrate a Holy Hour in remembrance of the storms of three years ago.  The Eucharist will be brought to the main altar of the church from our Perpetual Adoration Chapel, The Chapel of the Holy Innocents.  The setting for our prayers that evening will be Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. 

Call 504-835-9343 for more information.

PLAQUEMINES PARISH

“First Parish Hit – The First Parish to Recover” anniversary events
Friday, August 29

9:00am
Roger Halphern Memorial Park (Rex Field)
35410 Highway 11
Buras

1:00pm
Belle Chasse Auditorium
8398 Highway 11 
Belle Chasse

Events will include:
Recognition of those who aided in the recovery: FEMA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, LRA, Plaquemines businesses and more.
Unveiling of Plaquemines Parish new Community Centers
Recognition of the completed work: Debris clean-up, canals, drains, parish buildings & more.

 

ST. BERNARD PARISH

Friday August 29
7:30am
Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church, 2320 Paris Road in Chalmette, will observe the third anniversary with a reunion/memorial Mass at 7:30 a.m. celebrated by the Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre, an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.  Refreshments will be served in the school gym immediately following the Mass, sponsored by the Archbishop Janssen Knights of Columbus 3068.

8:30-10:00am
The St. Bernard School Board will hold its third annual Day of Reflection Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in the Chalmette High School Gymnasium at 1100 E. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette. This year’s theme is “Be Somebody’s Hero.” The event is open to the public. Tickets cost $5 per person and must be purchased in advance. For information or tickets, call 301-2000 or go to the School Board Administration Office at 200 E. St. Bernard Highway in Chalmette.

11:00-11:30am
St. Bernard Parish Government will hold a Katrina Commemorative Service at 11 a.m. at Shell Beach where officials will rededicate the Katrina Monument and unveil a corrected and updated list of victims' names.  The memorial site on the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet will now have the names of 163 St. Bernard Parish victims of Hurricane Katrina who died as a result of the storm, whether it was during the actual event or because of the evacuation.  The newly engraved monument includes about 20 more names and corrected spellings for several of the initially listed victims. A few names were removed because the people originally were listed as missing, but they indeed survived.