The electric atmosphere of New Orleans will generate the energy of the Ace 2013 Spring Convention & Exhibits.

Seven years since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Crescent City, New Orleans is thriving and building on its long, rich history.

The French, Spanish, Acadians, Africans and American Indians combine to create a rich ethnic blend that is exemplified in New Orleans jazz, French and Spanish architecture, Cajun and Creole cuisine, festivals, river and flavorful history. This makes for a colorful backdrop for the Ace 2013 Spring Convention & Exhibits.

Culture and Art
The first operas in America were performed in New Orleans in the 1790s, when the Spanish-style townhouses of the French Quarter and the exquisite Greek Revival mansions of the Garden District were built. Restaurants offered foods of many cultures, as well as distinct Cajun and Creole cuisines. Ante-bellum New Orleans was the musical hotbed of the nation, and artists and craftsmen from around the world immigrated to the vibrant port.

Visitors of all classes enjoyed the luxuries, and perhaps the decadences, of "the city that care forgot." Residents reveled in cultural and recreational opportunities far beyond what most cities of New Orleans' size could offer. New Orleans was the cultural capital of the South.

Today, New Orleans is undergoing a creative renaissance and reclaiming that title. The city boasts world-class museums, including Smithsonian affiliates the National World War II Museum and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Artist studios and galleries line the streets of the French Quarter/Marigny, Warehouse/Arts District and Magazine Street. Performing arts groups, their shows and the venues that host them, speckle the map. All around the city, historic neighborhoods are being revitalized by architectural restoration and gentrification.

The city has been — and continues to be — a favorite muse for an incredible legacy of artists, artisans, performers, musicians, writers and chefs.

Music
In the 18th century, the French and Creoles lived for musicales, balls accompanied by string orchestras and picnics set to Old World brass bands. In the 19th century, proceeds from public balls helped finance the first full-time opera company. Whatever has changed over the last three centuries, the musical heritage remains.

The classics are still going strong in an ensemble of companies and programs, such as the Delta Festival Ballet, New Orleans Opera, and Musical Arts Society. In 1991, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra was the only full-time, player-managed symphony orchestra in the United States.

The city's penchant for jazz dates back to West Indian slaves of African descent. On Sunday afternoons, slaves socialized in Congo Square (now part of Louis Armstrong Park on Rampart Street), where they performed tribal dances and chants with stirring rhythms to African percussion.

It has been suggested that Charles "Buddy" Bolden was among the onlookers at the Square and that he mixed those tribal and Creole elements with African-American ragtime and spirituals, folk songs, the blues, and even the cries of the street vendors who once filled the Vieux Carré, interpreting them with a European brass sound.

Some time in the Gay '90s, Buddy put his cornet to his lips and blew hot notes and cool tunes that became the music we call jazz. He'd invented an American original and a worldwide phenomenon.

Ace is excited to visit this historic city for the Ace 2013 Spring Convention & Exhibits. Make sure you join us.