This is an annual event put on by Audubon Zoo, with a bunch of sponsors, the weekend before the…read morehuge Zoo to Do. I have only been to the Kids version of it, but it's a blast... especially with a 2 year old. The zoo doesn't have all of the usual exhibits open, since it's after hours, but instead it is transformed into a giant playland with delicious food. Bouncy castles, bubbles, face painting, bracelet/necklace making, video games, etc., all included in the price of admission ($20 each for members, a little more for non-members). Food? There were a couple of national chains, but mostly local vendors set up with food. Lots of pizza, pasta, gelato, cupcakes, meatballs, and more - again, all included with admission. Kid friendly and delicious! The 3 hour event also features live music, although we were walking around looking at everything and couldn't really sit and enjoy the music. It was a nice, welcoming atmosphere and I highly recommend it for an evening out. The price is great, especially considering you're getting enough food to make a huge meal (and dessert) plus entertaining the kids for an evening.

Took my 2 year old grandbaby and it was worth every penny of the admission. Lots of food and drink…read moreavailable so there was no long lines. Lots of activities so there was plenty to do. We will be returning every year for this!

As far as I'm aware, this has been going on since 2009 and it is put on by the Bucket Brigade…read more There is one stage, and a whole bunch of tents set up selling GREEN items, or passing out information about their organization. It is located right on the bayou at Orleans Ave. and Moss. This year I paddled down on my friend's canoe and drank mimosas while watching Flow Tribe and Debauche play for free. There was a gorgeous Live Oak shade tree to sit under, the weather was magnificent, and the people were smiley and giddy. I saw a toddler cut a rug like no child I have ever seen, including a rock split at the end, the worm, and the robot. There was also an old man dancing in circles with a flower shirt on that said "Free Hugs" There aren't too many food vendors, maybe about seven or so, but I had a chicken pita that was a stone cold stunna from Beaucoup NOLA juice co. Other folks were eating big German Brats from what I could see. Beer is $4 and it is for a good cause, but that doesn't stop me from going across to ideal mart and buying a $2 tall boy (sorry environment) This festival is a perfect example of why New Orleans is a very tough city to contemplate leaving. Every time I get annoyed by an minor inconvenience and swear that I am moving someplace like Colorado there is a funky free concert on the bayou with all sorts of crazy odd characters that makes me want to stay. I hope they keep putting this mini version of the Bayou Boogaloo on every year. I also hope that it grows, but not to epic proportions like FQF.

I really enjoyed myself at the Earth Day Festival. The weather was perfect this year…read more I spent a lovely afternoon sitting in the shade, listening to a great musical line-up, watching hoola-hoopers, eating delicious pork sliders and tamales, and learning about different green businesses in the area (holla, Green Project!). Oh, and I loved the solar-powered daiquiri stand.

This is a perfect family parade to go to because everyone is friendly and the crowds are not…read moreoverwhelming. Plus parking is easy breezy as you can park pretty much anywhere within a block or two of the parade route (you won't ever have to park blocks away like at other parades). This year the crowd seemed bigger than in past years. The weather was great so that was probably a big factor. All of us caught plenty of beads but more importantly we caught lots of vegetables! How can you not catch a ton of veggies when you have over 80 floats (most of them double deckers) throwing stuff to you. Family, convenience, booze, and veggies! I love the Irish-Italian parade in Metry!

This parade is a combination for the Irish St Patrick's Day and the Italian St Joseph's Day…read more Looks like people stake our their position way ahead of the start of this parade, as everyone seemed well entrenched when I showed up. Finding a parking spot for this parade was way easy. Most of the perverts..... Um.... I mean guys.... Walking and handing out flowers seemed like they had been drinking for quite some time when they got to where I was standing. One of the guys even walked behind where I was standing, opened the door to a port-a-john and puked in front of the John. Disgusting. I left soon after that. There were families with small children there watching. I am hoping they start out more sober, but who knows. The throws are cabbages, carrots, ramen noodles, beads and fake flowers. The floats were nice. I was only able to catch two strands of beads, but the kids around me seemed happy. Even without catching anything, I would have given the parade more stars had I not witnessed one of the participants in the parade puking in a parking lot. I haven't even seen that first hand in any of the Mardi Gras parades I have been to. Amazingly not cool. The only gender neutral restrooms are the port-a-johns set out by the city. But look before you walk in and pop a squat.

My first at the event. There were beers, food, music and pet adoptions. The food choice was…read moreplentiful and yummy! The only thing I think needs improvement would be a recycle water refill options. The weather waa nice but only when you are under the shades. The combination of beers and the blazing heats is not a good one. The line getting in was congested at time because it wasn't moving fast enough. I would suggest that they spread out the ticket sale to not get the line moving faster.

All goes to charity. Lots of people with their dogs. Glass of beer equates to $3. Samples a…read moredollar. All paid with tickets. Fun, safe crowd.

Shoutout to my sweet friend, Yelper Angie, who hooked me up with tickets for Saturday!…read more This was the first time I attended the festival so I wasn't sure what to expect! Fortunately my bestie was there earlier and told me where they parked and I figured out where it was being held in City Park! The festival is open from 11am-9pm and I avoided the heat and came around 5:30pm ish when it was cooling off! Plus I missed the slight drizzle that occurred earlier so that was good! The entrance fee is $10 I believe which isn't bad for a festival but it appears to be free when it initially started. I think that the Red Fish Grill's BBQ oyster poboy was delicious! Meanwhile I tried Galatoire's shrimp remoulade. I have never been to Galatoire's and have it on my list of classic New Orleans restaurants to experience. Well, the shrimp remoulade was just ok. I kind of expected to be blown away since they are a New Orleans institution where I believe you have to dress up and they will lend gentlemen a sports coat if they aren't wearing one. There were craft booths, various types of alcohol booths where you could sample their beverages, etc. But my favorite part was the music! I caught The Village People ending their set with their classic YMCA. And I closed out the festival listening to "The Romantics!" And can I tell you I thoroughly enjoyed dancing to their music and listening to them rock out! It was a good crowd and I was able to see them from where I was standing. Plus they did an encore! I thoroughly enjoyed this festival! My only suggestion is to have more shopping booths for the shopper in me! Hehe Happy Seafood Festing!

This was the mother of all seafood festivals, a true seafood lovers dream! From char grilled…read moreoysters to soft shell crab po boys to alligator sausage jumbalaya to crawfish sushi rolls, the options were endless. We grabbed a spot under the trees to protect ourselves from the scorching sun and were lucky to get a seat on one of the two random patio chairs/couches later on. The live band provided some great entertainment. Nice way to spend a day with the family tasting all the unique southern seafood dishes.

The energy here is unbeatable. Arrive early to enjoy the…read moreoutdoor pregame music venue. Our club level seats led to a private space under the seating area for drinks, food, and restrooms. It was lovely not to wait in line for the restroom, and everything was super clean and accessible. Go Saints!

The Superdome: Mecca of Sports Entertainment--and the Night Kanye Turned It Into Pure Electricity…read moreThere are stadiums, and then there is the Caesars Superdome. On a Sunday or Monday night when the New Orleans Saints are rolling, the building stops being concrete and steel and becomes something closer to a living organism. The air thickens. The noise doesn't just hit your ears--it vibrates through your chest, settles in your legs, and short-circuits whatever calm you walked in with. You feel the energy in your body before the kickoff even happens. It's so exhilarating you can't think straight. That's not hype. That's the baseline experience of a prime-time Saints game in the Dome. The Superdome has earned its reputation as the Mecca for sports entertainment the hard way--through decades of deafening "Who Dats," miraculous comebacks, Super Bowl victories, and the kind of communal roar that makes visiting teams look like they just stepped into a different dimension. On those Sunday and Monday nights the building feels sacred in the loudest, most profane way possible. The lights, the smoke, the black-and-gold sea, the way the roof seems to trap every decibel and throw it back at you twice as hard... it rewires your nervous system. You don't watch a game here. You survive it, and you leave changed. Then Kanye West showed up and proved the Dome can do the exact same thing for pure spectacle. New Orleans was a fortunate stop on the world tour, and the production was nothing short of amazing. This wasn't a concert that politely occupied the same space as the Saints. It claimed the entire building. The stage, the lights, the sound design, the sheer scale of the visual and sonic assault--everything was dialed to the same intensity the Dome is famous for on game nights. You could feel that same physical charge in your body the moment the first beat dropped. Thinking became optional. The only available response was pure, involuntary reaction. He played all the hits. Of course he did. And the crowd stayed on its feet for the entire show--no exaggeration. People weren't just standing; they were out of their seats in that specific, frantic, communal way that only happens when the room has fully surrendered. The energy never dipped. Every track hit like a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter. The production elevated everything: the lighting, the staging, the way the Dome's unique acoustics and sightlines were weaponized instead of merely tolerated. It felt less like a concert and more like the building itself had been waiting for this exact collision of sports-cathedral atmosphere and unfiltered artistic force. There's a reason the Superdome feels different from other venues. It has absorbed decades of pure, unfiltered New Orleans emotion--grief, triumph, defiance, celebration--and somehow that residue still lives in the walls. On Saints nights you feel it in your bones. On this night, with Kanye running the show, that same current was redirected into something just as overwhelming. The production was flawless, the song selection was ruthless, and the crowd never sat down because sitting down simply wasn't an option once the energy locked in. This was awesome in the original sense of the word--something that inspires awe and a little bit of beautiful disorientation. The Dome reminded everyone why it remains the Mecca for sports entertainment, and then Kanye reminded everyone that the same temple works just as well when the religion is pure performance. One for the ages. New Orleans got lucky. The rest of the tour had to settle for ordinary buildings.

I bought the VIP ticket. The swag bag and goodies were amazing! A toy for my pup, pens, a cup,…read morekoozies, dog treats, I was truly happy. I thought that VIP ticket got you in early to the fest, but I read the post wrong. I got there 30 minutes early. It was ok, we chilled with our pup until they opened up to let us in. The staff was very helpful and friendly. They were amazing with our dog. I truly enjoyed all of the vendors. The food was delicious. I had the monte cristo, crawfish mac and cheese and pork fries! My mimosa was pretty good too. It was fun walking around and petting the rescue pets and seeing everyone with their own pets. They had water bowls everywhere for the dogs. The bands were fun to listen to. They even had a dog giving kisses! I got lots of treats for my pup and learned a lot about other local vendors that cater to pets in the city. I will definitely go back next year. Oh! And the location of the fest was genius. On the river, sun and shade. It was a great day.

Mardi Gras for the Mind…read more Love how Tulane 's mission to create, communicate, and conserve knowledge extends beyond the university as the New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University is free and open to the public. So much fun to be able to experience a great lineup of authors. Lead by well-known author Walter Isaacson and Cheryl Landrieu, the book festival is held annually on the undergraduate campus. Learned about innovation, food, and community with Kimball Musk moderated by Walter Isaacson. Interesting to learn about community gardens as well as the beginnings of Tesla, PayPal and Zip2. Loved hearing from Jake Tapper about his career in the news as well as writing novels. Maureen Dowd was the perfect moderator for this session. Have you ever used Khan Academy? Amazing how Sal Khan transformed a way to virtually tutor his family after Katrina into a way to offer free online education globally. The future? Education in the Age of AI. So lucky to meet authors and get a book signed at the festival tent. Grab a tote bag or a cup of coffee from PJs for free. Closed with the Queen of Soul, Irma Thomas, and a second line. Let the good times roll! There is literally something for everyone. I have it Book-marked for next year!

This is an annual event that my family looks forward too each year. This time was even better than…read moreprevious years. The organizers put together a fabulous day that includes crafts, book readings, live entertainment, local foods and much more. City Park is the perfect setting as there is plenty of room for all the families as well as ample parking. Speaking of parking, there are free shuttles to and from event that is available at local libraries. Event starts at 1pm and concludes at 7pm with fireworks! I was impressed that the food vendors had low prices and family friendly choices. We hung out with Curious George and other characters. The Book Boys did a scavenger hunt and played games with the kids. Several tents had crafts set up, including coloring, mini books and face painting. Our favorite part overall was picking out free books to take home and getting some of our books personally signed by their authors!! We can't wait for the next Nola book festival.