Gloria Powers, the executive director of the Big Easy Entertainment Awards, who helped the program grow into a major force in the local music and entertainment business, died Tuesday in Lafayette, after complications from a stroke. She was 66.
Powers worked as executive director of the annual Big Easy awards program since 1991.
The awards, sponsored by Gambit, which has a content-sharing partnership with WWL-TV, have grown to include more than 45 awards in music and theatre, with two gala events recognizing local music and theatrical productions.
From the event's earliest days, Powers worked with Executive Producer and Gambit publisher Margo DuBos as a hands-on administrator of the annual programs. Powers' contacts in the local music and entertainment industry proved beneficial for the annual Big Easy awards shows, which have grown into a major annual event, featuring performances by local and national artists.
A classical arts awards luncheon also honors achievements in classical music, opera and dance. This year’s event is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9.
In recent years, the organization which sponsors both events, the Foundation for Entertainment Development and Education, launched a successful fundraiser, Reds, Whites and the Blues, which became a popular event.
Powers, who often described herself as a cultural anthropologist, was also an event planner, producer and manager, handling projects for musicians across the city. She also coordinated living history performers who appeared in costume as historical figures from the city's past.
Powers had previously coordinated events for the City of New Orleans, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. She also served on the staff of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Voodoo Music Experience and the Delta Folklife Festival held in Ferriday, La.
Family members said a celebration of her life will be held Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Ave.
