News

Blaine Kern Studios East Bank Location Renovation On Schedule

Posted: October 24, 2008

Entertainment Complex To Host Must See Tourist Attractions and Premiere Event Venues

October 24, 2008: Start up the band. The word is out. Kern Studios has finalized plans to expand to its new East Bank location. The company has secured the former Delta Queen Steamship terminal site and the former River City Casino site, encompassing a massive 400,000 square foot complex just upriver from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The complex will be the new corporate headquarters for Blaine Kern Studios. The company will manage all assets from its offices there, including its float building operation, its commercial and entertainment sculpture business and the new Mardi Gras World, featuring one of New Orleans' most unique tours, retail outlets and party venues. In addition to these Kern staples, Blaine Kern Studios will be the site of New Orleans' new premiere private event venues – The River City Ball Room and Plaza and The Grand Oaks Mansion, which will include a full service restaurant.

The Mardi Gras World attraction will be better than ever. The guided tour will move through a magical maze of video presentations, expansive sculpture shop, mega-floats and more. To further enhance the tourist experience, Kern Studios is in development of a venue that will provide space for national traveling exhibits, such as "The Human Body" or "Be the Dinosaur". "The expansive space opens up endless opportunities," said Barry Kern, President and CEO of Blaine Kern Studios. "We want a destination that offers a variety of one of a kind, interactive experiences."

In addition to a first-class tourist destination, the multi-purpose complex promises to be a premiere private events facility that will host anything from an intimate wedding reception to a massive Mardi Gras ball. "We are currently renovating the old River City Casino site including the restoration of its antebellum mansion replica," Kern said. "That coupled with Mardi Gras World offers event planners the most unique collection of party venues in New Orleans all in one complex."

Kern Studios founder Blaine Kern, Sr. is having trouble reeling in his artistic impulses when contemplating the huge canvas that is the new complex. "My dad Blaine is like a kid in a candy shop," Barry Kern continued. "If he submits another conceptual drawing I might have to hide his pencils and drafting table."

"This is the biggest thing to hit the riverfront since the Battle of New Orleans," joked the elder Kern. "This one-of-a-kind entertainment complex will open the riverfront to more commerce and help to stimulate our economy."

Blaine Kern Studios will host its first private event on Saturday, October 25 for Longue Vue House & Gardens. The entire complex, including the Mardi Gras World attraction, will be fully operational on January 6, 2009 in accordance with Twelfth Night, the official kick off of the Mardi Gras season.