Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine, Inc. Convenes in New Orleans August 17-23

**MEDIA ADVISORY ** CONVENTION NOTICE **
** PHOTO OPPORTUNITY ** MEDIA ALERT **

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2012

Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine, Inc. Convenes in New Orleans August 17-23
AEAONMS brings philanthropic efforts to New Orleans with student aid affair comedy show, a book bag program and more

WHAT: 119^th Imperial Council Session/101^st Imperial Court Session of Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine, Inc. (AEAONMS)

WHERE: New Orleans Morial Convention Center (MCCNO), Hall B; New Orleans Marriott Hotel, 555 Canal St.

WHEN: Friday, August 17-Thursday, August 23, 2012

DETAILS: The 119^th Imperial Council Session and 101^st Imperial Court Session of Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Noble Mystic Shrine, Inc. (AEAONMS) will be held August 17-23, 2012, with more than 3,100 Shriners, Daughters and family members from throughout the United States and abroad for this annual convention. The Shriners are best known for their philanthropic activities that impact communities they work in nationally. Their three national programs are National Diabetes, Shriners as Mentors and the Students Aid Programs.

The Shriners will donate 1,000 backpacks to students from Joseph A. Craig Elementary and Paul B. Habans Elementary schools on Wednesday, August 22 from 9-11:30 a.m. Pencils, crayons, notebooks and other classroom materials will be presented to children of families in need.

The highlight of the 2012 convention will be the Grand Parade on Wednesday, August 22 from 6:30-9:30 p.m., which will feature Shriners motorcycles, 15 floats, dune buggies, mini-cars, clowns, bands and marching units. The parade will proceed from Basin St. to Canal St.; and Canal St. to Tchoupitoulas St.; and Tchoupitoulas St. to Poydras St. (where the parade will disband) in downtown New Orleans.

TRAFFIC ALERT: Some streets/intersections will be closed from 6:30-9:30 p.m. during the parade on Wed, Aug. 22, which will impede traffic flow. For more information or a copy of the map, please contact Tara Letort at tletort@neworleanscvb.com

Additionally, there will be meetings and competitions for the various groups within AEAONMS, including precision motorcycle riding; team drills of motorized units; competitions for clowns in makeup and skits; and precision marching units. Each of these groups will have awards banquets at various locations in the New Orleans area.

AEAONMS is primarily a benevolent, charitable and fraternal organization. Its membership is dedicated to the principle of fostering civic, economic and educational development programs that include but are not limited to the following: third world countries in developing programs of mutual interest to AEAONMS and Africa, annual grants to the National Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Legal Defense Fund and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), voter education registration drives and open dialogues with White House officials and congressmen.

AEAONMS's last meeting in New Orleans was in 2006, and this year's convention is expected to generate an estimated $3.6 million in economic impact.

WEBSITE: www.aeaonms.org
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/Ancient-Egyptian-Arabic-Order-Noble-Mystic- Shrine/390294347800

MAJOR EVENTS (All Events Taking Place at MCCNO, unless otherwise noted):

• Tue, Aug 21; 12:30 p.m.: Music Festival with Drum & Bungle Corp., Hall B
• Tue, Aug 21; 8 p.m.: Student Aid Affair Comedy Show with Big Sean Larkins, Double D, and Shaun Jones, (open to the public), New Orleans Marriott Hotel, Grand Ballroom
• Wed, Aug 22; 9 a.m.: Book Bag Program, Joseph A. Craig Elementary School
• Wed, Aug 22; 9 a.m.: Breast Cancer Walk, location TBD
• Wed, Aug 22; 6:30-9:30 p.m.: Annual Street Parade (see map and parade route above)

MEDIA CONTACTS:
AEAONMS: Warren C. Spears, 504-417-2060, wespears@bellsouth.net
New Orleans CVB: Tara Letort, 504-220-7414, tletort@neworleanscvb.com; Kelly Schulz, 504-421-0962, kschulz@neworleanscvb.com
MCCNO: Rosalie Mortillaro, 504-582-3027, rmortillaro@mccno.com

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