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New Orleans Festivals
New Orleans is famous for its annual Mardi Gras celebration, but the Big Easy keeps the party going year round with the "Big Four" music festivals.
Mardi Gras | Carnival
Mardi Gras is America’s quintessential festival. The ten-day Louisiana gala (which includes New Orleans’ Carnival) exemplifies debauchery at its finest. Parades, beads, balls and masks take New Orleans’ center stage as hundreds of thousands of people descend upon Bourbon Street and the French Quarter just before Lent begins. The most raucous part of the affair is the last five days, from Friday to Fat Tuesday, when hurricanes are flowing, king cakes are rising and tops are – well, tops are rising, too. These early February festivities in New Orleans, Louisiana should be on every traveler’s to-do list. (Avital Binshtock)
Essence Music Festival
The Essence Music Festival is usually scheduled over the July 4th weekend. Organizers call the festival event a "party with a purpose," with over 195,000 participants gathering for empowerment seminars as well as a soul-stirring celebration of music, culture, and heritage. The Louisiana Superdome hosts diverse concerts by some of the best R & B, jazz, classic soul, world-beat and neo-soul artists like Patti LaBelle, Teena Marie, Destiny's Child and Jill Scott.
French Quarter Festival
This free festival usually takes place in early April. The streets of the historic Vieux Carre are transformed into a huge concert, with 13 stages featuring traditional and contemporary jazz, rhythm & blues, Cajun and zydeco, New Orleans funk, classical, swing, rock, international and the many diverse sounds that are part of the city's rich cultural gumbo. Jackson Square and Woldenberg Riverfront Park also serve as the site of the "World's Largest Jazz Brunch" with nearly 60 booths serving a variety of beverages and specialties from well-known New Orleans restaurants.
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
The granddaddy of jazz Festivals, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival started more than 30 years ago in Armstrong Park and eventually moved to the New Orleans Fairgrounds Racetrack to accommodate audiences that now number more than 500,000 over a 12-day period. Twelve different stages and tents offer continuous all-day music, including traditional jazz, Dixieland, brass, gospel, Cajun, zydeco and rhythm & blues.
Satchmo Summerfest
One of New Orleans' newest traditions, Satchmo Summerfest began in 2001to commemorate New Orleans native Louis Armstrong's 100th birthday. The Satchmo Summerfest festival takes place in early August.
Source: New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (except where noted)
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