Published: Thursday, May 05, 2011
DAVID GRUNFELD / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE Wilco lead guitarist Jeff Tweedy jams on the Acura Stage at the 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell Thursday May 5, 2011 at the New Orleans Fairgrounds.
For nearly 30 years, Ray Hackett has spent about six weeks of every year in New Orleans.
In addition to selling his "How Ya Gonna Clap?" necklace-cozies at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Hackett, whose home is in Missouri, makes his way south for Mardi Gras vending and to showcase his scrimshaw (art of engraving on ivory).
When asked how much a cozie costs, Hackett replies, "Three dollars, same as in 1983."The cost of manufacturing didn't go up significantly, Hackett said, so he figured he'd keep the price the same. "I just don't like change," he said.
While the (excellent) question printed on the brightly colored cozies, which hang from his stall, is not officially trademarked, he said he's the first to use it, so he's unofficially protected.
When Hackett is not in New Orleans, he's farming on two acres at home in Missouri. And when he's not in Missouri, selling his produce at farmer's market, he's visiting his family's philanthropic endeavors in Myanmar.
In January, Hackett brought a drip irrigation system to farmers in a town near the capital of Yangon. "They were real tickled to see it," Hackett said, adding that the improvement in efficiency was especially helpful in light of the devastation wrought by a cyclone in 2008.
Hackett said his family has had a presence in the country since 1913, when his grandparents arrived as missionaries. Hackett's father was born in what was then Burma, and remains devoted to helping an orphanage in Taunggyi, opened by Hackett's uncle in 1957.
While Hackett sells fruits and vegetables in Missouri, his mother sells baked goods, donating 100 percent of the profits to the family's philanthropic causes. They have raised $17,000 through the bread sales alone, Hackett said.
Hackett's extra efforts in New Orleans sustain him, he said, and allow him to make a trip to Myanmar every year or so.
A well-known sight near the front gates each day of Jazz Fest, Hackett, always holding the required permit, has had his share of battles with the New Orleans police and Jazz Fest officials.
Hackett fought to stay near the entrance of the fest, and won a court battle in 1991 with an injunction allowing him to remain within two blocks of the entrance, one of the fine-print stipulations of the permits.
Despite this year's incredible weather and large turnout, Hackett said that his sales are slightly down. He partly attributes that to the "28 years of feedbags" already around the necks of the throngs of returning fest-goers.
Still, he said, even with rising travel costs, it's worth it, and there's no doubt he'll be back at the gate next year. So how ya gonna clap?
read more: http://www.nola.com/jazzfest/index.ssf/2011/05/visting_new_orleans_jazz_fest.html
