New
Orleans Events 2011
Some of the more
popular events
in the New Orleans Area for 2011
Summer
Wednesday at the Square
March 30 - June 15, 2011
Wednesdayatthesquare.com
Every Wednesday during April and May there is a free concert located at Lafayette square in the heart of the new orleans CBD. They have some big name acts that play one set among with an opening act. It goes from 5:00 till about 7:30 and is typically packed with the downtown work crowd. There has also been a fall season of WATS lately.
The Bayou Boogaloo
May 20-22, 2011
TheBayouBoogaloo.com
A new festival by nola standards, This Mid City event became a bid deal pretty quick. It's FREE, there is good music, and all sort of other events. It's a full blown Festival that even has a Disk Golf Tournament.
Greek Festival
May 27-29, 2011
www.greekfestnola.com
This is the smallest
event to make this list. There's no better "filler" than
gyros, feta salads, ouzo, and athletic events harkening back
to Olympian days. Don't come to NOLA for this, but if you're
here it's pretty fun. The Greek Festival is held out by the
Lake on the far North side of the city by UNO. More "souvlaki"
then you can handle--guaarrrrraaannttteeeed!
French Market Tomato Festival
June
There really isn't
much to the French Market Tomato Festival. But as the weather
turns, a touch muggy in the summer, it's a great excuse for
me to leave my Uptown apartment, go to the Quarter, and get
drunk in the middle of the day on the finest Bloodie Mary's
the great state of Louisiana has to offer.
Satchmo Summer Fest
August
www.satchmosummerfest.com
Unlike the other
"Summer Festivals", Satchmo Summer Fest is worth a
trip to New Orleans for just this purpose. It was started as
a way to commemorate the Great Louis Armstrong near his birthday,
and to help out the struggling tourism industry during the dreadfully
hot days of Summer in the Big Easy. There are all sorts of free
concerts and other musical events in and around the Quarter.
The music is more Jazz related than the Rock and Roll atmosphere
of the French Quarter Fest with arts, crafts, and great food
to boot. Due to Katrina, the celebration's location has been
moved. Check the website above for more details.
Fall
Voodoo
Fest
http://www.voodoomusicfest.com/
Voodoo Fest is no
less than awesome! It is held right before Halloween every year.
It's one of the larger Hip-Hoppin, hard-rockin music festivals
in the US. It's held over one weekend and not as big as Jazz
Fest, but has grown immensely over the past few years.
Halloween
on Frenchman Street
All the holidays
are great in New Orleans; Christmas, St-Patty, Cinco de Mayo,
New Years.............but HALLOWEEN is especially great. This
big party is actually behind the Quarter in "The Marigny"
on Frenchman Street. If you can't find it, then you're too old
to be attending raging street parties.
Winter
Mardi Gras 2012
Fat Tuesday - February
Click
Here for the Mardi Gras Page
The carnival season is a special time in nola. Check out our videos.
Spring
Tennessee
Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
www.tennesseewilliams.net
This is the first
major festival of the year in the Quarter. Many of the events
require tickets and they include literary classes, theater events,
and other stuff like that. Not really our cup of tea, but the
Tennessee Williams Literary Festival is the premier event for
anyone looking to come to New Orleans for a non "Frat Like"
experience. Even though the theatre was affected by Katrina,
they worked hard and made the 2006 festival a success. The festival
will be just as great in 2007!
French Quarter
Fest
www.frenchquarterfestival.com
This is the second
of many events held in the French Quarter. Most of the Music
is Free, featuring local bands and small stages. Pleasant crowds
and early spring make this a great time to visit New Orleans
and the Quarter. Rooms are cheap and generally available compared
to Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. The 2006 festival had about 350,000
people attending, making it a huge success!
Jazz Fest
April-May
www.nojazzfest.com/
Many locals and
music lovers from around the world consider Jazz Fest the premier
event in New Orleans, even over Mardi Gras. The crowds are not
as bad, but it is still a carnival-like atmosphere. It's one
of the largest music festivals in the US, and features 20 or
so stages. Top rock names ranging from Phish, Dave Matthews,
and others mix with local favorites like Dash Rip Rock and Cowboy
Mouth. There are two weekends, hotel rooms can be tough to get.
Many of the big names play shows in other venues around the
city. Depending on who's playing, it moves smoothly from a jammy
vibe, to a jazzy groove, to a high-energy rock and roll atmosphere,
to a funky good time, all in the matter of a little stroll from
one stage to the next or a foot tappin' whiling a little time
away.
