Events
January
Celebration in the Oaks
Location: City Park
504-482-4888
Admission Charged
Celebration in the Oaks lights up City Park's
collection of ancient live oaks with millions of lights. Visitors can walk the
two-mile stretch or drive or ride a horse drawn carriage.
Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic
Held in early January
Location: Superdome
504-587-7713
New Orleans' oldest annual sporting event,
originating in 1935.
Antiques & Collectibles Appraisal Day
Held in late January
Location: Lakeside Shopping Center on Veterans
Blvd.
504-835-8000
The "Antiques & Collectibles Appraisal Day, “a
one-day event similar to PBS' "Antiques Road show " is one of the Louisiana
State Museum's most popular activities. It's presented in conjunction with the
Friends of the Cabildo and is sponsored by Neal Auction Company.
February
Mardi Gras
Held in late February - Easter
Location: A variety of locations throughout New
Orleans
New Orleans' Mardi Gras is the world's most
famous street party... and with good reason! The annual celebration of excess
overtakes the French Quarter and crowds the streets with wildly costumed
revelers!
March
Mardi Gras
Held in late February - Easter
Location: A variety of locations throughout New
Orleans
New Orleans' Mardi Gras is the world's most
famous street party... and with good reason! The annual celebration of excess
overtakes the French Quarter and crowds the streets with wildly costumed
revelers!
St. Patrick's Day Festival
Held on St. Patrick’s Day
Location: Downtown New Orleans
See the city go Green for this annual event
Tennessee Williams Literary Festival
Held in late March
Location: Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré
985-876-4278
The festival is an annual five-day celebration
held in late March, which showcases national and regional scholars, writers, and
performing artists. Programs include panel discussions, theatrical performances,
a one-act play competition, lectures, literary walking tours, musical
performances, and a book fair.
April
French Quarter Festival
Held in mid April
Location: French Quarter
You can't get more New Orleans than this showcase
for hundreds of local musicians on 14 stages throughout the historic Vieux
Carré. There's jazz, from Dixieland to contemporary and brass bands, classical,
Cajun and Zydeco, rhythm and blues, gospel and everything else in between. One
can sample classic New Orleans cuisine from nearly 60 food and drink booths,
tour private patios, enjoy fireworks over the Mississippi River, participate in
children's activities, join in a second-line parade, attend art exhibits & music
workshops and lots more.
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Held in late April – early May
Location: Fair Grounds Race Course
504-943-2200
Jazz Fest celebrates a passion for a style of
music wild yet disciplined, chaotic yet ordered… a musical gumbo of tastes
authentically New Orleanian in the number and variety of its ingredients. The
10-day cultural and musical festival has grown into the nation's premier jazz
showcase, welcoming over 500,000 visitors to the Big Easy every year.
May
New Orleans Wine & Food Experience
Usually held in late May
Location: French Quarter
New Orleans is a place of pilgrimage for foodies
and wine enthusiasts throughout the year, but never more so than during the New
Orleans Wine & Food Experience... this non-stop celebration of the joys of the
grape and the sublime ecstasies of fine food. The Wine & Food Experience
constitutes five basic events - Vintner Dinners, The Royal Street Experience,
Seminars, Grand Tastings, and Brunch. Each of these is an event unto itself, and
all are eagerly anticipated.
June
Great French Market Tomato Festival
Held in early June
Location: French Quarter
Only in a city as consumed with food as New
Orleans could you have an eagerly awaited festival honoring the tomato. The
city's chef's- amateur as well as professional- will be out in force to sample
and rate the first crop of native tomatoes. Silliness you say? Just another
excuse for New Orleans natives to party? Well, there may be a hint of truth to
those sentiments, but there's also no denying the importance of the tomato to
the city's culinary culture.
July
Go 4th on the River
Held on July 4
Location: Woldenberg Park
504-378-2694
When New Orleans throws a party, everybody shows
up! Expect this Go Fourth on the River celebration to be more of the same, as
thousands flock to the Crescent City to watch a truly spectacular display of
fireworks echoing off the man-made canyons of downtown New Orleans and
reflecting off the Mighty Mississippi. New Orleans celebrates our nation's
Independence with a full day's worth of events. The entire riverfront gets into
the act, with many area businesses hosting special Independence-themed shows.
Essence Music Festival
Held over the July 4 weekend
Location: New Orleans, Superdome and Ernest N.
Morial Convention Center
504-587-7713
The annual Essence Festival not only zeroes in on
African-American-oriented forms of music but also offers "empowerment seminars"
that help educate and inform the African-American community...and there's no
shortage of attendees!
August
Satchmo Summer Fest
Dates vary in August
Location: French Quarter Louisiana State Museum's
Old U.S. Mint
504-568-6972
It truly is a "wonderful world," as jazz great
Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong told us in his haunting 1968 hit song. Louis "Satchmo"
Armstrong gained fame through his incredible musical talents and through these
talents, increased New Orleans’ standing as a city of international cultural
significance. New Orleans repays this debt with the Satchmo Summer Fest, a
three-day celebration of the life, legacy, and music of "Satchmo."Satchmo Summer
Fest is a weekend's worth of musical performances, lively seminars, captivating
exhibits, children's activities, great New Orleans food, and partying New
Orleans-style!
White Linen Nights
Usually held in mid August
Location: French Quarter
Named for a long tradition of trying to beat the
summer evening heat, White Linen Nights has become a staple in late-summer
activities for the people of New Orleans. Wearing white linens, as the name
would suggest, travelers and locals take to a friendly stroll down the streets
of the Art District. And the artwork on display in New Orleans' fabled French
Quarter is stunning. One is able to view a wide selection of art; from the most
avant of avant guarde to traditionalist paintings in a dozen styles.
September
Southern Decadence
Held in early September
Location: New Orleans, Superdome and Ernest N.
Morial Convention Center
504-587-7713
Would you miss a party called "a happening of
haberdashery fit for an LSD Alice in Wonderland?" What started out as a going
away party for some friends, has now transformed the first Sunday before Labor
Day into one of the largest, albeit "oddest," parties you may ever attend.
Southern Decadence! Indeed, the images conjured up when one thinks of the term,
"southern decadence," could include tobacco, plantations and such. Maybe even
the flowing dress of a southern debutante. Though you may find the flowing dress
at the Big Easy's Southern Decadence celebration, it will most likely be on a
MAN!
Meat Pie Festival & Triathlon
Dates vary in September
Location: Ntachitoches
Natchitoches has always been Hot and it's about
to get Hotter! Famous Natchitoches Meat Pies celebrate with a cook-off,
demonstrations, entertainment, eating contests and more. The Meat Pie Tri is
held on Sunday: run, swim and bike through the National Landmark Historic
District. The festival takes place at the downtown riverbank along the fabled
Cane River Lake and features big name talent, a Meat Pie Eating Contest, a Meat
Pie Making Contest and a Triathlon, aptly named the Meat Pie Tri, are just some
of the events lined up.
October
Louisiana Swamp Festival
Dates vary in October
Location: Audubon Zoo
504-861-2537
See swamp critters; chow down on Cajun jambalaya
and gumbo and dance to Cajun and Zydeco music. Bring home a piece of
Louisiana's rich arts and crafts heritage from the Craft Village! New Orleans'
Audubon Zoo hosts the Annual Louisiana Swamp Festival...a mélange of the
artistic craftsmanship and good-time philosophy of the Cajun way of life. It's
become one of the largest fall festivals in the city and one of Audubon Zoo's
major yearly events.
New Orleans Film & Video Festival
Held early – mid October
Location: Landmark Theatres at Canal Place,
Contemporary Arts Center, Prytania Theatre, Entergy IMAX Theatre at the Aquarium
of the Americas
504-452-1216
The festival attracts record-breaking crowds and
offers year-round programs including the French Film Festival each spring.
Labeling the festival, "Cannes on the Mississippi," the Times-Picayune movie
critic David Baron confirmed its importance as a permanent part of the City’s
cultural landscape.
Voodoo Music Experience
Held in mid October
Location: City Park
504-482-4888
The producers of the Voodoo Music Experience in
City Park bring you some of the hottest bands for this 2 day event.
The New Orleans Media Experience
Held in late October
Location: French Quarter
The New Orleans Media Experience is a ground
breaking, first of its kind media convergence festival featuring the best
available content in the areas of film, advertising, videogames and music. This
weeklong celebration highlights the interrelation of content in each of these
disciplines and present continuous screenings, exhibitions, panels, special
events and nightly theme parties in grand New Orleans style.
Halloween in New Orleans
Held on October 31
Location: French Quarter
On the corner of Bourbon and Conti you might
stumble upon (literally) a gaggle of Elvi out for a stroll... just down the
block you could run into howling, growling werewolves... and of course, there's
generally just a bit too much skin exposed in many a costume! Another great
costume-watching spot is around Frenchman and Chartres streets, and of course
the local parties are the absolute best place to find costumes sinister and
sublime.
November
Louisiana Renaissance Festival
Held weekends all of November – early December
Location: Nearby Hammond, LA
The most exciting holiday shopping and
entertainment in Louisiana! Open rain or shine every weekend, the "Louisiana
Renaissance Festival" brings to life what an English village and festive market
place could have been like, mixed with a little bit of Louisiana spice!
Annual Run Through History
Held in early November
Location: Metairie Cemetery
504- 486-6331
The New Orleans Track Club and Lake Lawn Metairie
Funeral Home and Cemeteries hold their annual run through history at Metairie
Cemetery. When the first race was run on the site where the Fair Grounds is
today, Millard Fillmore was President of the United States! That was in 1852 and
Fair Grounds was known as Union Race Course. In 1872, the Metairie Association
abandoned racing at the legendary Metairie Race Course and transferred racing to
the Fair Grounds, where they formed the Louisiana Jockey Club. Since its
beginnings, Fair Grounds, as it came to be known just after the Civil War,
endured the adversities of changing ownerships, wars, floods, fires, epidemics,
hurricanes, economic hardships, racing prohibitions, politics and all forms of
gaming competition.
Celebration in the Oaks
Held late November – early January
Location: City Park
504- 482-4888
See New Orleans' historic City Park transformed
into a holiday wonderland. Its ancient oak trees are aglow with massive
ornaments along the two-mile driving tour that is spangled with over two million
sparkling lights and lighted displays. Celebration in the Oaks is one of the
most beautiful holiday light exhibits in the country, attracting over 500,000
visitors annually. The Driving Tour features scenes appropriated from the season
and South Louisiana including a 52-foot paddle wheeler, jazz musicians and a
recreation of an Acadian Village alive with Zydeco music.
December
Candlelight Tour of Historic Homes and Landmarks
Held most of December
Location: French Quarter
Feel the romance and heritage of New Orleans on a
tour of 19th-century homes and landmarks. It is possible to walk through much of
New Orlean's rich history and stunning architecture on a self-guided tour of
historic landmarks. The fascinating tour includes the Beauregard Keyes House,
Gallier House, the Louisiana State Museum's 1850 House, the New Orleans's
Pharmacy Museum and the Old Ursuline Convent.... most decorated in the style of
Christmas past.
New Year's Eve
Held on December 31
Location: Jackson Brewery
504- 566-7245
A large street party, a lit ball dropping from
the sky, thousands counting down to the next year - no you're not in Time
Square, but rather Jackson Square! Every year, a week following the relaxation
of Christmas, hundreds of thousands pour out to the Jackson Brewery to welcome
in another year of living and partying in New Orleans.
Arts & Entertainment
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
225 Baronne Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-523-6530
Call for schedule of performances
Season runs from September – May
New Orleans Opera
305 Baronne St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-529-2278
Call for performance schedule
The history of opera in New Orleans is the
history of Opera in America. Evolutionary progress through heredity is reflected
in a great culture transplanted from Mother France to the Paris of America, New
Orleans, where the first resident opera company in America was founded.
New Orleans Ballet
225 Baronne St.
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-522-0996
Call for performance schedule
Anthony Bean Community Theater
1333 S Carrollton Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70118
504-862-7529
The theater was established to meet the demands
of New Orleans residents interested in learning about and participating i
New Orleands
