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New Orleans Events
Voodoo
City Park holds this annual music festival, which has a plethora of local bands and international artists across a host of stages. There’s usually a big name to close the festival out. Past acts have included Blink-182, Snoop Dogg and Fatboy Slim.Venue: City Park.
Website: http://www.thevoodooexperience.com
Mardi Gras
More than two weeks of all-out merriment involves lavish balls, street parties and over 70 extravagant parades in what's unabashedly billed as 'the greatest free show on Earth'. Mardi Gras itself is the final day and the climax of celebrations, which stop at midnight sharp, in observance of Lent. It is a day of flamboyant costumes and big parades, with a King and Queen elected each year to ride on the largest float. A distinctive tradition is 'throwing' - trinkets and gifts are thrown from passing floats into the crowd.
Venue: Various streets and venues in New Orleans.
Website: http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com
Tennessee Williams – New Orleans Literary Festival and Writers’ Conference
This is an annual literary and dramatic festival to commemorate the writer, who lived in and wrote about the city, most notably in A Streetcar Named Desire. Various competitions and staged productions happen across the city.
Venue: Various venues.Website: http://www.tennesseewilliams.net
Black Heritage Festival
Held at New Orleans' Lake Charles Civic Center, the annual Black Heritage Festival is a celebration of African-American traditions, culture, arts and music. The lively festival includes a great programme of live gospel, zydeco, blues and dance music, poetry slams, culinary tasting sessions, family entertainments, pageants, heritage displays and art exhibitions. This fun weekend event is a great celebration of African-American culture to which all are welcome.
Venue: Lake Charles Civic Centre.Spring Fiesta
What better way to celebrate Spring and the beautiful gardens, courtyards and historic homes of New Orleans than to take part in the annual Spring Festival? It is a gorgeous celebration designed both to entertain and educate, and one of the highlights is a stately parade of horse-drawn carriages through the French Quarter called the 'Night in Old New Orleans Parade'. Another highpoint of the festival that always draws large crowds is the crowning of the Spring Fiesta Queen and her court at Jackson Square.
Website: http://www.springfiesta.comFrench Quarter Festival
A great opportunity to experience New Orleans culture at its best, this popular event serves up a great mix of live music alongside regional food and drink specialities provided by the hundreds of street vendors in attendance. Musical styles include jazz, gospel, classical, Latin beats, blues and Cajun. There are also plenty of handicraft stalls dotted around the area and the event closes with a great fireworks display.
Venue: Various in the French QuarterWebsite: http://www.fqfi.org
Tales of the Cocktail
A huge celebration of one of New Orlean’s most loved items – the cocktail. As well as seminars, competitions and presentations from master mixologists, there’s food, music and libations in almost every cocktail bar.
Venue: Various venues.Website: http://www.talesofthecocktail.com
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
New Orleans is the home of jazz, and it remains one of its proudest traditions. An all-round, Louisiana-style cultural feast, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival features great music, Cajun cooking and regional crafts. First and foremost comes a top line-up of rock, folk and jazz featuring headline acts. Meanwhile, a small army of cooks serves up regional specialities. In the Louisiana Folklife Village, artisans create folk masterpieces using techniques passed down through the generations.
Venue: Fair Grounds Race Course
Website: http://www.nojazzfest.com
Halloween
In a city with as much spooky history as this, it’s only right that New Orleanians celebrate Halloween. On the night, locals fill the French Quarter dressed in elaborate costumes and there are parties across town.
Venue: French Quarter.Saints and Sinners Literary Festival
Originally conceived as an innovative way of reaching the wider community with information about HIV/AIDS and bringing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities together, the Saints and Sinners Literary Festival has evolved into one of the region's most eagerly anticipated literary events. The popular festival now consists of numerous book readings, a playwriting competition, panel discussions, author interviews and nightly party events.
New Orleans Wine and Food Experience
A city-wide celebration of cuisine, that takes place at more than 75 restaurants and other venues. As well as special dinners and seminars, there is the Grand Tasting, which takes place in the Louisiana Superdome, and features hundreds of dishes and wines.
Website: http://www.nowfe.comEssence Festival
This is one of the largest music festivals in the South, concentrating on soul, R & B, gospel and jazz. It usually attracts a famous international headline act.
Venue: Louisiana Superdome and various smaller venues.Website: http://www.essencemusicfestival.com
Tales of the Cocktails
A huge celebration of one of New Orlean’s most loved items – the cocktail. As well as seminars, competitions and presentations from master mixologists, there’s food, music and libations in almost every cocktail bar.
Venue: Various venues.Website: http://www.talesofthecocktail.com
Satchmo SummerFest
Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong is one of New Orlean’s favourite sons – they named their airport after him, after all. This was a one-time festival that was held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth, but now is an annual four-day event, with music across the city.
Venue: Various venues in the French Quarter.Website: http://www.fqfi.org/satchmosummerfest
