The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
Spirited Salon
Spirited Salons at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
What is a salon?
A salon is an intersection for the exchange of ideas. It is an invited gathering of diverse individuals who engage in lively discussion and debate around a certain topic as determined by the host. Although the salon concept begins in Italy in the 15th century, Parisian salons during the Enlightenment era endure as important incubators for radical ideas in a shifting political and philosophical landscape. During this same period, the salon format arrives in New Orleans and finds favor in a growing circle of Spiritualists, like Henry Louis Rey, who gathered around the seance table to commune with the dead. The Spirited Salon at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum was first introduced by Owen Ever and continues to be the premiere event for visitors to experience the Pharmacy Museum in a new and interactive way. Salon gatherings often abide by Latin philosopher Horace’s definition of the aims of poetry: “either to please or to educate." At the Spirited Salon, we aim for both.
What is a Spirited Salon?
Each year, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum Tour & Education Department writes, produces, and performs a brand new Spirited Salon. In the spirit of last year's Salon, Thrills, Chills, and Hard Pills to Swallow, THE ELEVENTH HOUR introduces guests to three new characters, all experiencing their own unique crisis of faith. In a new twist, this year's performance presents a multi-chronological exploration of hope, despair, preservation, and the relentless and elusive passage of time.
THE ELEVENTH HOUR
The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum's 2026 Spirited SalonTHE ELEVENTH HOUR is an immersive theatrical experience that invites guests to travel through three centuries of history within the walls of 514 Chartres Street. Here, guests encounter three of the house's occupants as they each experience their own crisis of faith. Through live performance, historical interpretation, and engagement with the Pharmacy Museum’s collections, guests will move through the building and experience its history as something living, layered, and continually shaped by those who inhabit it.
What is the importance of preservation, and how does what we choose to preserve define our identity? Should we be holding on to the past, and what are we willing to sacrifice to do so? As the three stories unfold across time, THE ELEVENTH HOUR explores what we inherit, what we fight to preserve, and what we ultimately choose to pass on to whatever—or whomever—comes next.
Thrills, Chills, & Hard Pills to Swallow
The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum's 2025 Spirited SalonOn this elaborate evening of Thrills, Chills, and Hard Pills to Swallow hosted by the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, a showcase of scary stories, chilling remedies, and as always, immersive time travel was curated by docents Owen Ever, Annika Bell, and Grace Kennedy. Guests experienced the 19th century French Quarter Pharmacy in all its glory, horror, and character. The evening was broken into three parts: “thrills,” “chills,” and to close the evening, “hard pills to swallow.” Guests enjoyed refreshments, the haunting atmosphere, and an exclusive look at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum after dark.
For its return following the Covid-19 pandemic, Owen Ever and Grace Kennedy invited the public to join an inspired and impassioned rebirth of the Spirited Salon. With the goal of making the Salon a yearly feature for the invaluable supporters of the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Owen and Grace enchanted audiences and the Spirited Salon gained a following that has seen returning guests each year since.