Satchmo Summerfest 2021

Cancelled last year for the pandemic, Satchmo Summerfest made an abbreviated return with 2 days of music and food celebrating New Orleans native, Louis Armstrong’s birthday. The heat was extraordinary, dangerous even, as The Roots Of Music started things off with a concert outside the Old U.S. Mint, home of the New Orleans Jazz Museum where you can find Armstrong’s first coronet.

A Parade, 2 Festivals & Fireworks!

With a parade, 2 festivals, and fireworks – things felt almost back to normal this Independence Day weekend in New Orleans. Our normal is always a bit festive. The Creole Tomato Fest at the French Market featured (limited) food booths, virtual events, and trails of specialty menu items at participating bars and restaurants throughout the French Quarter. I was able to get my annual favorite – the Pontchartrain from George’s Produce ($10) – sliced tomato topped with lump crabmeat and remoulade sauce. 

The first NOLA Zydeco Fest took place next door on the lawn of the U.S. Mint, home to the New Orleans Jazz Museum.

Downriver Festival

This was my first time attending the Downriver Festival, now in it’s 3rd year at the U.S. Mint. The free fest offered lectures and historical walking tours focused on the importance of the Mississippi River and its contributions to the city’s culture. There were also food demonstrations and plenty of live music. We caught part of the Panorama Brass Band and missed most of Eddie “Lil Fats” Domino before settling in for the Colin Lake Band.

Creole Tomato and Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festivals

This weekend was the  27th annual Creole Tomato Fest and the 7th Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco Festival.  I had been looking forward to the festivals for 2 main reasons – the amazing Heirloom Tomato Salad I get every year from Covey Rise Farms and the Sliced Creole Tomatoes topped w/lump crabmeat and Remoulade Dressing ($7) from George’s Produce. If I had kids, I would love this fest for its many activities for children. The Tomato Fest has miniature golf, circus arts, crafting, storytelling, swing dance lessons, face painting and a “decorate a secondline hanky” booth.

Happy Jazz Fest!

Though we have festivals all year round, the Mac Daddy is probably  the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. All the other festivals are free so the $60 a day price tag keeps many locals away but Jazz Fest draws music lovers and bands from all over the country, even the world. We got there early and ate before the line for fest favorite Crawfish Monica ($7) from Kajun Kettle Foods got ridiculously long. The Prejean’s Restaurant Pheasant, Quail and Andouille Gumbo ($6) was delicious.

French Quarter Fest Saturday

The French Quarter Fest is as much about local cuisine as it is about our amazing music with over 65 local vendors tempting tastebuds with everything from spicy seafood to sweet snowballs. Saturday, the  festival was also the proving ground for Rouses Crawfish Eating World Championship. There were several rounds of competition culminating with the 4th annual win for Sonya Thomas AKA “The Black Widow.” She managed to pack 2.2 pounds of crawfish into her 100 pound body in 10 minutes. Louisianan hunk Adrian Morgan came in second with 2 pounds. I finished one Pulled Pork Sandwich topped with Cole Slaw ($6) from The Joint while watching

Satchmo Fest and White Linen

One of the luxuries of living in New Orleans is that good food and good music are so prevalent that you can skip things and they come back around. Last year, I dedicated myself to Satchmo Fest, the celebration of all things Louis Armstrong, and I skipped White Linen Night entirely. This year, I had lunch at Satchmo and spent the evening at White Linen.

Satchmo Fest

Satchmo Fest celebrates the life and music of Louis Armstrong, a native of New Orleans. It kicks off with a Friday night pub crawl, followed by a weekend full of live music, dancing and great food. The festival takes place at the Old U.S. Mint (1835). Built under Andrew Jackson, it is the only place in the United States to have been used as both a Confederate and a U.S. Mint.