French Quarter Fest 2023 – Sunday

It was cool and breezy for the day of the 40th French Quarter Fest (FQF), perfect for picnicking and dancing to local favorites. We started behind the Old U.S. Mint with Happy Talk Band. We’re used to seeing young people join the ranks of our city’s bands to learn from their elders, but the 10-year-old son of one of the band members truly held his own on keyboards. It was impressive.

Afterward, we tried the Cochon King BBQ Brisket Burnt Ends and got a box of Original “Yellow Bag” Crawfish 5lb Combo ($30) from Louisiana Fish Fry with NOLA Crawfish King – my first crawfish of the season.

My friend, Louis Sahuc’s wonderful photo gallery on Jackson Square closed after his passing, but his work lives on in a new 2-room location at 317 Exchange Place. We dropped in for the opening and were offered drinks and French Quarter stories as we celebrated Louis’ work. Then it was back to the music!

French Quarter Fest 2023 – Saturday

Saturday, day 3 of French Quarter Fest, is usually crowded but rain kept the stages empty for much of the day. Many people who normally drive in for the day from across the lake and other neighboring areas opted to stay home. Rather than face the impending deluge, we joined an out-of-town friend and her first-timer friends for brunch at Muriel’s on Jackson Square. In addition to my Shrimp & Grits, I was thrilled to share the Crawfish & Goat Cheese Crêpes

French Quarter Fest 2023 – Friday

French Quarter Fest (FQF) expands on Fridays to more of the eventual 20 stages of indigenous music and 60 local food booths scattered throughout the historic Vieux Carre. My favorite festival of the year, FQF is also one of the city’s most profitable – generating an economic impact of $190 million in 2019. We started our day at the Abita Stage with Big Chief Bo Dollis Jr. & the Wild Magnolias singing local favorites, some wearing their beaded and feathered Mardi Gras Indian suits.

We’d been intrigued by the offerings from fest-newcomer, Monday, since spotting their sign yesterday promising – Whole Snapper (deep fried)

French Quarter Fest 2023 – Thurs.

My favorite festival of the year,  French Quarter Fest, (FQF) is celebrating its 40th year.  With over 20 stages of indigenous music and over 60 local food booths, locals and visitors can enjoy the best of our city’s offerings. After wandering across the Quarter checking out this year’s dishes, we started our day with the Walker’s Southern Style BBQ Cochon de Lait Po-Boy ($12). I’m not normally a sandwich fan and prefer Po-Boys even less, but we usually get 2 to 4 of the pulled pork and cole slaw Po-Boys before the fest ends.

Kermit Ruffins and the Barbecue Swingers were on the Abita Stage

Fat Tuesday 2023 – Costumes!!!

Everywhere else it’s just Tuesday, but in New Orleans it’s the explosive fireworks finale of over a month of festivities ending in 7 straight days of parades. There are plenty of Uptown parades on Fat Tuesday – the Krewe of Zulu and Krewe of Rex are 2 of the city’s oldest, but after attending dozens of parades (and me dancing with the Pussyfooters in 2 of them), for us – Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday in French) is for wandering the French Quarter and Marigny taking in all the silly, imaginative and/or beautiful costumes people create. For my husband, it’s his favorite day of the year and he can spend weeks conceiving and preparing his ideas. This year was his most spectacular creation – the St. Louis Cathedral.

Krewe of Carrollton – Behind the Scenes 2023

Krewe of Carrollton, the 4th oldest Carnival parading organization (after Rex, Proteus, and Zulu), is a traditional parade with big floats and plenty of bands and dance krewes. I couldn’t wait to dance down St. Charles with my Pussyfooters sisters!

The roads were blocked off nearly 2 miles from where we were to line up so I started my day with a solo trek past decorated houses. I did get to walk past the Femme Fatale floats and was particularly impressed with the float topped with a compact featuring an actual mirror.

Krewes of Freret & Themis Parades 2023

Krewe of Freret is one of my favorites of the season. The original Krewe paraded for 40 years until the 90’s. In 2011, some children of the previous membership and others gave the parade a reboot. The addition of Grammy-winner Trombone Shorty’s float with the super-long trombone prop has given the ever-evolving parade new continuity. His cover of Ernie K-Doe’s Here Come the Girls was playing as he rode past, throwing goodies to the crowd.

Krewes of Pontchartrain and Choctaw Parades 2023

I didn’t take many photos of the Friday night parades – Oshun, Cleopatra and Alla, but we had a great time kicking off the Uptown parade season. It was a cold, wet night but the wind stayed away so it was manageable. One of the floats helped our family out with a gender reveal – it’s a girl! And I loved cheering on my Pussyfooter sisters as they danced past. I’ll be joining them for Carrollton, Muses and Thoth.

‘tit Rex Parade 2023

Though ’tit Rex rolled Sunday afternoon as usual, it was no longer the last parade of the weekend since Krewedelusion was moved to Sunday night this Carnival season. ’tit Rex is one of my favorite parades of the year. A more adult version of the shoebox parades local children make in school, the floats are pulled down a long sidewalk staging area by cords or ropes before heading to the street route through the Marigny. This year’s theme was, “Hot Tip,” inspiring floats featuring everything from matchsticks to manicured nails. 

Along the sidewalk staging area, kids and adults set up mini-spectator displays – some complete with Moon Pies, barbecues and portalets.

Parades! Krewe Boheme, Krewe du Vieux, Krewedelusion

Carnival is a season. Mardi Gras is a day (Fat Tuesday). Though there have already been several parades this year, most of us still think of the French Quarter’s satirical  Krewe du Vieux Saturday night parade as the official-unofficial start of “parade season.” Since 2019, Krewe Boheme (with a Covid interruption) has been rolling the preceding Friday. The whimsical Bywater/Marigny/French Quarter walking parade was established by artists and the krewe’s symbol is a green fairy – the nickname for absinthe, a super-intoxicating liqueur.