Railyard Films and 100 Men Hall present “City of a Million Dreams” Dinner/Movie/Concert
By Southland Music Line
January 16, 2023
Bay Saint Louis, MS – The 100 Men Hall invites the public to an evening of dinner, film and concert. The music and film viewing are free to the public while food and bar will be available for purchase. The Hall will screen Jason Berry’s film “City of a Million Dreams,” which includes historical footage and profoundly personal interviews about the fascinating and legendary jazz funerals of New Orleans at 6PM on Wednesday, January 25th at the 100 Men Hall.
The evening will begin with a performance by the Dr. Michael White Quartet. Dr. Michael White is an accomplished, multi-faceted New Orleans-based clarinetist, bandleader, composer, musicologist, jazz historian, and educator widely regarded as one of the leading authorities and culture-bearers of traditional New Orleans jazz music. He has performed in over two dozen foreign countries, played on over 50 recordings, received countless awards, made multiple national television appearances, and been featured in major media publications.
Jason Berry achieved prominence for his reporting on the Catholic Church crisis in Lead Us Not Into Temptation (1992), a book used in many newsrooms. He has been widely interviewed in the national media, with many appearances on Nightline, Oprah, ABC and CNN. USA Today called Berry “the rare investigative reporter whose scholarship, compassion and ability to write with the poetic power of Robert Penn Warren are in perfect balance.”
Jason Berry will be present for a Q&A after the screening. Pass Christian Books will have available both Berry’s City of a Million Dreams, as well as his earlier history,” Up From the Cradle of Jazz: New Orleans Music Since World War II, for purchase. If you would like to have your book signed by the author, only books purchased from Pass Books will be signed by the author at the event.
The screening is free to the public, but event coordinators ask that attendees secure a free ticket online to make sure adequate seating is available. The event is sponsored by the New Orleans Tourism and Culture Fund.
Food for purchase by BEACHSIDE’s Chef Joe Castoro. Chef Joseph, a graduate of the Florida Culinary Institute, brought his skills to the tiki bar and grill at Bay Marina, which his parents own and where his famous burgers had a following. After many years as a chef in fine-dining restaurants in south Florida, Michelle [Beauregard] said Chef Joe had always wanted to do something like Beachside.
Doors at 100 Men Hall and a cash/credit bar will open at 5:30PM. The iconic and historic 100 Men Hall was founded in 1894 by 12 civic-minded African American Bay Saint Louis residents whose goal was to “assist its members when sick, bury its dead in a respectable manner, and knit friendship”.
The Hall now owned by Rachel Dangermond, grew to become a robust performance venue included on “the Chitlin Circuit”, an historic nationwide network of performance spaces, and a stop on the Mississippi Blues Trail map.
Located at 303 Union Street in Bay Saint Louis, the 100 Men Hall is a 501c3 nonprofit organization (Hundred Members Debating Benevolent Association), supported by tax deductible donations. Additional information about the venue’s history and other activities can be found on the100menhall.com or by emailing 100menhall@gmail.com.
