A New Orleans community center books Mahjong classes through December

The New Orleans Jewish Community Center has laid out its Learn to Play Mah Jongg series through the end of 2026 on its adult classes page. The classes are split between its two campuses: the Uptown center at 5342 St. Charles Avenue, and the Goldring-Woldenberg Jewish Community Center at 3747 West Esplanade Avenue in Metairie.

Every series on the page is priced the same, at $100 for members and $125 for non-members. The last two series of the year meet on Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Uptown from November 30 to December 8 with an instructor the page names as Sheila, and Metairie from December 7 to December 15 with an instructor named Sara.

What a beginner gets

The center pitches the course at true beginners and at players who want a refresher. No experience is needed, the game is taught by National Mah Jongg League rules, and a current year card is provided, which matters because the League publishes a new card every year and everyone at a table plays from the same one.

There is one firm condition. A student has to be able to attend the very first class to register for the series, and the page says so in capital letters. Registration is online, or by phone at (504) 897-0143, which is also the way onto the waiting list.

“You MUST be able to attend the very first class in order to register for the series.”New Orleans JCC, adult classes page

A program with a waiting list

The fall calendar follows a busy spring. An archived copy of the same page from January 2026 listed three beginner series for February and March, two Uptown and one in Metairie, taught by Sheila Moragas and Renee Zack. Two of the three were already marked full. At the time the page described the course as six sessions, and priced it at $100 for members and $115 for non-members.

A tournament with a history

The same page carries the center's best-known Mahjong tradition. The Harriet W. Kugler Memorial Mah Jongg Tournament honors Harriet Wainer Kugler, whom the JCC describes as a longtime member, friend and employee, its first Mahjong class instructor, and the person who started the annual tournament.

The January 2026 copy shows the previous edition: that tournament, set for Sunday, January 25, 2026, was in its fourteenth year, cost $60 a person, ran three rounds, and was sold out, with a waitlist by email.

The next one is already on the calendar for Sunday, January 24, 2027, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The center lists four rounds of three to four games each, depending on the skill at each table, with players rotating tables after every round. Play follows National Mah Jongg League rules and the current year's card, and every player must bring their own card. Snacks, coffee, lunch, and cash and door prizes are included, and the price is $72 for JCC members and $90 for non-members, with an extra door prize chance for every $25 donation. The page welcomes anyone who knows how to play, from beginners to seasoned players.

A city that is playing

The JCC is not the only New Orleans institution putting tiles on the table. On July 23, 2026, Biz New Orleans reported that the New Orleans Museum of Art's volunteer committee will host Mahj at the Museum, an American Mahjong fundraiser with a reception on September 27 and a tournament in the museum on Monday, September 28, played by National Mah Jongg League rules, at $250 a player, to benefit the museum's exhibitions and programs.

Order of the Tile is not affiliated with the New Orleans JCC or the museum and does not sell lessons, tickets or sets.

Prim's view

A center that keeps its classes on the calendar months ahead is telling you something about demand, and a tournament that sells out in its fourteenth year is telling you the rest. What I admire most is the thread running through both. The woman who taught the first class is the woman the tournament is named for, and every new student who sits down Uptown or in Metairie is, in a small way, still her student.

If you have been meaning to learn, the gift of a calendar this long is that missing one series is no longer a reason to wait a year. Pick the series whose first night you can make, because they mean it about that first night.