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Donna Poniatowski Sims

Home Featured Authors & Panelists Featured Participant Lineup 2025 Donna Poniatowski Sims

Dr. Donna Poniatowski Sims, educator (K-12 and university), and husband, Chef Charlie Sims, owned the New Orleans music club Donna’s Bar and Grill, located at 800 N. Rampart, from 1993-2010 (noted for featuring brass bands and jazz). Donna is a published photographer and has written numerous curricula for educational purposes. Charlie was the chef for Donna’s Bar and Grill and Head Chef for Amtrak’s City of New Orleans.

Schedule

11:00 am to 11:45 am
Bienville Building, Conference Center 173
Donna’s Bar & Grill New Orleans
Donna Poniatowski Sims with moderator David Johnson

Noon to 12:45 pm
Cavalier House Books Tent
Book Signing

Donna’s Bar & Grill New Orleans

The book, Donna’s Bar and Grill—New Orleans, contains first person narratives that bring stories of the “Brass Band Headquarters” to life through the sharing of memories and memorabilia. The many photographs and taped interviews of the musicians (and patrons) of the iconic French Quarter music venue, Donna’s Bar and Grill, written by the owner, Donna Poniatowski Sims, articulates the story of how Donna’s was instrumental in the evolution and promotion of brass bands and Mardi Gras Indians into New Orleans club venues in the 1990s and early 21st century.