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Festivals
Tennesse Williams Literary Festival
The Tennessee Williams Literary Festival is an annual five-day literary festival in the city of New Orleans.
The festival is dedicated to the Pulitzer prize-winning American playwright Tennessee Williams. Every
year, it features several events related to the long career of that writer, as well as writing workshops,
panel discussions, literary readings, stage performances, a book fair, music, writing ontests, and other
events related to American literature, poetry, drama, opera, film, photography, art, history, culture, and
cooking. The signature event is the Stella and Stanley Shouting Contest that closes the festival.
French Quarter Festival
French Quarter Festival is a free, annual music festival held in early April, located in the historic French Quarter. Founded in 1983 with the first festival held in 1984, the festival features primarily New Orleans music, such as jazz, blues, and zydeco from hundreds of local musicians, as well as food from dozens of New Orleans restaurants.
New Orleans Food and Wine Experience
Each year, hundreds of wineries and restaurants participate. Menus feature local flavor
and innovative new creations inspired by diverse cuisines. Top chefs from around the city
create culinary experiences like no other. Over two dozen restaurants feature special
dining evenings throughout the New Orleans festival. The weekend also features over
1,000 wines from around the world, with special tasting events from wineries. You can
enjoy grand tasting events, promenade evenings in the French Quarter, and seminar
series to hone your palate.
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana. The term "Jazz Fest" also refers to the days surrounding the festival and the many shows at unaffiliated New Orleans nightclubs scheduled during the festival weekends. Jazz Fest is held annually on the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May at the Fair Grounds Race Course, a horse racing track in the middle of New Orleans.
Cajun-Zydeco Festival
New Orleans’ only festival that features exclusively Cajun and zydeco music. The
festival takes place in late June inArmstrong Park in downtown New Orleans. Admission is
free.The festival showcases a lineup that includes many of Louisiana’s most beloved Cajun
and zydeco performers and has’ great seafood, a large arts market, activities for kids and
lots of misting fans to keep everyone cool.
Running of the Bulls
San Fermin in Nuevo Orleans the annual Encierro (bull run) festival in New Orleans, which pays homage to the wold famous Encierro of Pamplona, Spain, or "The Running of the Bulls."One small difference- our bulls are none other than the Big Easy Rollergirls and participants from other roller derby leagues across the country! Takes place annually in mid-July.
Southern Decadence
Southern Decadence is an annual six-day event held in New Orleans by the LGBTQ
community during Labor Day Weekend, culminating in a parade through the French
Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day.
Krewe of Boo
Krewe of Boo became the official Halloween Parade in New Orleans in 2007, and it’s grown every year since! With floats constructed by Kern Studios, America’s premier float- building organization, the parade frightens and excites the crowds. Kern artists design 3- D papier mâché and fiberglass props that mimic all of Halloween’s spooky creatures.
Parade riders will throw various items to onlookers as they pass by, much to the delight of both children and adults. Parade throws will include candy, chee wees, pralinettes, light-up medallion beads, voodoo doll pins and magnets, doubloons, and children’s toys.
Christmas Eve Bonfires on the Levee
The earliest bonfires on the levees were relatively simple in design and
assembly, with long logs arranged into a pyramid-shaped cone, some as high
as twenty feet. Shorter horizontal logs holding the structure in place gave it a
ladder-like appearance. Most of today’s bonfires still incorporate that design,
but more imaginative creations have since evolved. Some of the most
elaborate structures resemble old Cajun cabins, pickup trucks and other
indigenous cultural motifs. At dusk, usually around 7:00 p.m., the structures
are doused with flammable liquids and set ablaze, lighting the sky and the
surrounding area with towering flames that would be impossible for Papa Noël and hisreindeer to miss. The crowds that gather to watch these spectacular conflagrations enjoy a free show and, in some locales, free bowls of hot gumbo are served up by local residents. The blazes are often accompanied by displays of fireworks, set off by the fires themselves. These Christmas Eve bonfires are most commonly found in St. James Parish (county), some 30-40 miles upriver from New Orleans. As many as 100 or more bonfires may be erected in the adjoining communities of Gramercy, Lutcher and Paulina, and more may be scattered in other locations in St. James and neighboring parishes.
Mardi Gras
Celebrations are concentrated for about two weeks before and through Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Usually there is one major parade each day (weather permitting); many days have several large parades. The largest and most elaborate parades take place the last five days of the Mardi Gras season. In the final week, many events occur throughout New Orleans and surrounding communities, including parades and balls (some of them masquerade balls).