French Quarter Fest – Day 1

French Quarter Fest is my favorite festival of the year. In it’s 34th year, the 4-day free festival features local food booths and music on 23 stages throughout the Quarter. Thursday’s weather was beautiful, 72 and sunny with a breeze coming off the river. We arrived in time to see Cha Wa, a Mardi Gras Indian band in the tradition of The Wild Magnolias. They played many favorite “Indian” songs including Let’s Go Get ‘Em, Shoo Fly and  Indian Red. During the break, we filled up on a chicken plate from Mona’s and my favorite fest food – a Cochon de Lait Po-Boy from Walker’s Southern Style BBQ (AKA Love at First Bite).

Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday – Photos!

Super Sunday is easily one of my favorite days of the years. The magnificent Mardi Gras Indians show off the plumed and embellished suits they spent the year carefully designing and crafting. Elaborately beaded panels often portray tales of fighting and loss. One family told the story of the wife’s battle with illness and her husband carrying her through the fight. One of the children in the Red Flag Hunters was adorned with sparkly images of Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and friends.

Favorite Things 2015

Better late than never, I’m finally updating my favorite Things list. First, I’d like to thank everyone who reads this blog (in over 100 countries!). Here are Your Favorite Posts of 2015:

5 – French Quarter Fest – Sunday

4 – Southern Decadence 2015

3 – Big Easy Birthday

2 – Endymion Extravaganza – My First Ball!  (your favorite post of all time)

1 – Street Musicians – Tanya and Dorise

Now to the list! The categories are: Food & Beverage, Music & Entertainment, Culture, Shopping and Giving & More. 

Jazz Fest Sunday

With more reasonable crowds and lots of favorite local musicians playing, Jazz Fest’s final Sunday was a balmy-weathered blast. Big Chief Kevin Goodman & the Flaming Arrows were on the Jazz Fest Heritage Stage and I spotted Alphonse “DooWee” Robair, my favorite Mardi Gras Indian artist, dancing among them. We started the day with a delicious Cochon de Lait ($9) from Love at First Bite  and a Nectar Creme from Plum Street Snoballs ($4). When I worried I wasn’t going to get a “local” pour of the sticky, sweet syrup, the woman next to me in line laughed, “If you ordered Nectar Creme, they already know you’re a local.” True Dat.

Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday 2015

This was my 6th Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday and it still shocks my senses. Music swirls with the smell of grilled meats as everyone gathers at A.L. Davis Park to see the Indians’ elaborately crafted suits which weigh up to 150 pounds, cost up to $5000 (though I’ve heard $9000 once) and can take up to a year to design, construct and bead. When I moved here in 2009, the tribes were still fighting  for their right to a permitted parade. This year, I spotted Mayor Mitch Landrieu shaking hands with police parade escorts before things got rolling.

French Quarter Fest 2014 – Saturday

With the weekend in full swing, all of the over-20 stages and dozens more food booths opened throughout the Quarter for day 3 of French Quarter Fest. The first day, we parked ourselves in front of the Abita Stage and watched masters of their craft all day. Friday, we enjoyed all that again as well as watching well over 100 children take the stage throughout the day.  Saturday, we hit every corner of the Fest – from the Mint to the Aquarium and from Bourbon Street to the river.

Pussyfooters Blush Ball

The Pussyfooters, a spectacular gathering of impressive women over 30, is best known for dancing in parades dressed in burlesque-ish pink and orange figure-enhancing confections. The organization also holds an annual Blush Ball to raise money for various causes benefitting women, children and the community. This year’s “Party with a Purpose” raised $30,000 for the Metropolitan Center for Women & Children (Metro). 

French Quarter Fest Friday

For 30 years, the French Quarter Fest has been bringing together the best of New Orleans music and food. The festival continues to grow in size and scope, this year adding a film festival and an additional stage on Decatur St. bringing the total to 21. With 800 local musicians to see for free and over 65  local restaurants offering local cuisine, the festival is my favorite every year.

Favorite Things in NOLA 2012

I must confess that I didn’t get out as much in 2012 because Hollywood South is booming and I worked a lot. Even so, here are my 2012 favorites in a nutshell followed by my Favorite Things in NOLA 2011 and Favorite Things in NOLA 2010. Anything named previously in my Favorite Things in NOLA 2011 is marked with an Asterix*.

I have divided the list into categories this year including: Food & Beverage, Music & Entertainment, Culture, Shopping and Giving & More.

Congo Square, Roadfood Fest, Mardi Gras Indians and Rebirth at d.b.a.

What a perfect weekend! March madness has begun and festival season is in full swing. Saturday was marked by perfect weather. It was warm and sunny with a constant balmy breeze. City Park hosted Hogs for the Cause, an all-day music fest benefitting children with brain cancer. We decided, instead, to stay in the French Quarter which was was hopping with activity. It was NOLA Pyrate Week  so, occasionally, you ended up waiting in line behind someone dressed as a pirate or seated next to a table full of them. We also crossed paths with a gathering group of hoop-skirted young ladies preparing for the Spring Fiesta parade.