#LoveWriteLight: Our Love Letter to New Orleans

LWL_BlogPost

As we approach the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2015, our community is coming together in a myriad of ways to honor lives lost, lives changed, and communities reborn. One of the projects we are working with as a company is Love, Write, Light. This movement shares our love stories with New Orleans, while raising money to light 17 evacuation sculptures around the city. These Evacuspots (pictured above) mark the official neighborhood meeting places where residents can go for a safe ride in case of a mandatory evacuation. Visit the Love, Write, Light website to donate and share your love letter. You can read our full love letter here or see the excerpt below…

Love. Write. Light.

…Our team is lucky and we know it. We promote, celebrate, and share New Orleans with people from all over the world at BBC Destination Management.

We spend many weekday nights parading around the French Quarter with clients—taking in the visual beauty, sounds, and smiles…so many smiles. You would think we would get tired of parades. You would think that we would become a jaded bunch, rolling our eyes at the site of beads and masks. That could not be further from the truth. As soon as the band starts up, “When the Saints Go Marching In” our eyes well with tears. We watch as the city transforms our guests. Once the humid air hits their faces, it creeps inside them. The love grows as they shed their normal selves and take part in the parade. They step foot onto the worn French Quarter streets and, without ever being taught, they know exactly what to do next. They dance, they laugh, and they share joy with others—they live in that moment…the moment they fell in love with New Orleans.

This magic is something that cannot be explained over a conference call. We plan events for years with clients. We manage doubts about parades, venues, music, and food. We encourage clients as we lead them in the right direction for an authentic, seamless, and culturally enlightening event—and they trust us. We promise them the perfect New Orleans experience and we deliver. But, New Orleans does most of the work. The way the city takes over our events and makes every moment original is mystifying. We cannot fully explain this phenomenon—it is simply magic. Thank you for your magic, New Orleans.

Love,

BBC Destination Management