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    Southern Decadence

    4.6 (9 reviews)
    Open 6:00 am - 6:00 AM (Next day)

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    Jen B.

    Every year during the weekend preceding Labor Day (unless a hurricane is coming at us, and even then) Southern Decadence is home to the biggest gathering of queer and queer friendly folks in New Orleans. In the bars and in the streets, thousands of people of all backgrounds gather to celebrate, dance, costume, drink and generally get decadent. There are dance parties, house-parties, parties in the street, & parties on balconies, all of which include carrying on, frivolity, and grand amounts of decadence. There is normally a parade at 2pm on Sunday which always provides some very colorful photo opportunities, and there is always lots and lots of glitter. This is not a 'family friendly' event by the conventional use of the term, it is however a FAMILY event, if ya get what I mean. From the website: "It is one of the largest annual celebrations and festivals in New Orleans, and has become known as the "Gay Mardi Gras." People begin to arrive on the Wednesday before Labor Day, and generally don't even think about stopping or going home until the following Tuesday. With over 120,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender participants, and an economic impact estimated to be in excess of $125 million, the city has recognized the festival's importance with Official Proclamations to welcome the event."

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    9 months ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Fabulous fun. Great parade!!!!.. Old fashion way. No politics or massive floats. Just people having fun.

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    New Orleans Oyster Festival - Chargrilled oysters

    New Orleans Oyster Festival

    4.2(19 reviews)
    0.7 kmFrench Quarter
    $

    I love this fest!! I only got to go Sunday (2017)…read more Saw a couple of awesome bands, and had some great food. Antoine's had an Oysters, baby scallops, and peas penne pasta in a white wine sauce topped with a two cheese mix and panko. Let me say, for $8, it was a generous portion ....but even more importantly, it was generous on flavor! I have been saving up to go to Antoines, but I'm going to have to go anyway (lol). I was completely satisfied. I also had a Fried Oyster Po boy from Acme Oyster House. I think it was ok, but the bun to oyster ratio was not in the oyster's favor. The Brass-O-Holics are an awesome group, and their unique twist on classic R&B and hip hop had the crowd dancing, and grooving. Excellent musicians, soloists, and very tight. I will look for them again. Although I didn't get to hear/see Bag O Donuts, I've seen them before and they are also, and excellent, entertaining group.

    This was my first time going to oyster fest and I was only there for 30 minutes because of the…read moredreadful Summer heat! Other than the heat, the food was delicious! (Fave to least) Red Fish Grill Oyster BBQ Po-boy This was probably my top favorite out of all the vendors! I mean you get some mad flavor from the crystal bbq and the blue cheese dressing cool down some of the spice - perfect combo! Trennese Oyster Ceviche Oh this was great especially being in the heat. This came with 4 total and each topped with shrimp chunks, white fish, and bell peppers - very delicious and fresh. Mac n' Cheese with Boudin The shell pasta was perfectly cooked and the cheese was the perfect consistency. I can't recall oyster being in this dish but it was defiantly seafood mixed in. DTB Oyster and Grits Nice texture in the grits with pickled veggies on top! Corn meal oysters were a bit small, but the overall flavors were on point. Little Korea BBQ Ice Pops - (Mango, Vietnamese Coffee, Cherry & Chocolate Chips) My favorite had to be the mango! It had a nice and smooth texture, very refreshing. My only request is changing the date to a cooler season. I wasn't able to enjoy my time at the festival because I spent my time complaining about the heat. I'm apologizing for not having the prices because it was too hot and I was too lazy to take a photo of each vendor. I will do better next year!

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    New Orleans Oyster Festival
    New Orleans Oyster Festival - Festival stage

    Festival stage

    New Orleans Oyster Festival

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    Louisiana Seafood Festival - Village People

    Louisiana Seafood Festival

    4.3(20 reviews)
    4.1 kmCity Park

    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.

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    Louisiana Seafood Festival - The Wise Guys

    The Wise Guys

    Louisiana Seafood Festival - The Stage

    The Stage

    Louisiana Seafood Festival - Beer!

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    Beer!

    Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival - Trudy Lynn

    Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival

    4.0(22 reviews)
    0.6 kmTremé

    Family friendly festival for anyone of all ages. I love how this festival takes place in the small…read moreLafayette Square Park yet they're able to fit so much in there. Two stages, a large art and a large food section. I also love that they have a bike valet, completely for free so you don't have to risk parking your bike in the streets where it can get stolen or vandalized. Entering the festival, there's tons of grass area to sit and enjoy the music. Everyone is pretty respectful and not rowdy. There's a huge food section which has about 6-10 vendors. The food is very reasonably priced and not jacked up for the festival. Most vendors also take credit card which is great. Entry to the festival is also completely free! They do take donations though! Overall, very fun family oriented festival. Not too crowded and easy to get to. Parking would definitely be a problem so get there early!

    Every year I volunteer with the NOFF on the weekend so I can finish my shifts and head over here…read morefor music and BBQ. Eventhough it started pouring down today and with muddy ground, we still had so much fun. The food was plentyful and so tasty. The best way to try all the food is to bring a bunch of your friends and share foods to know which line to stand. Because of the rain, this year it was only myself and another friend end up going to the festivals. We both also end up getting free swags from Southern Comforts. A win win for us.

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    Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival - Ghalia Volt

    Ghalia Volt

    Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival
    Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival

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    NOLA FoodFest - Pecan Pie from the Round Top Cafe in Texas.

    NOLA FoodFest

    3.9(20 reviews)
    1.2 kmCentral Business District

    We went to the "Houston Crawfish & Music Festival" at the "Houston Fair Grounds". 1. Houston had…read morenothing to do with this, it was vendor ripping people off. 2. It was at 4603 Orem Road, not the Houston Fair Grounds. 3. The charged $75 per person for "VIP" all you could eat. Yet all of us who paid VIP stood there and watched as they filled the orders of cash customers and ignored us. Basically they took the money of the prepaid bought the crawfish and sold it to the cash customers. All VIP started complaining as they were running outvof crawfish before we got any. 4. Crawfish was undercooked, potatoes were still raw in the middle. 5. Drinks were $12 to $16 for one. This was a huge rip off stay away from any event that has NOLA FEST GROUP LLC on it. Totally unorganized.

    I went to this festival with high hopes. I haven't been to this fest since 2010 and remembered…read moreliking it back then. This yr I was rather disappointed in both the food and the lack of vendors. There were about 30 vendors out there (which I thought to be rather small). I could literally walk the whole area in 5 minutes that's how small it was. I really like Dunbar's food in general and tried their strawberry shortcake. It was a letdown as they used frozen strawberries and it was caked in whipped cream. The ribs from this BBQ place in Memphis was so-so. The guy who was sitting next to me with his ribs said, "These are the best ribs I have ever had." I, on the other hand, thought the ribs were average at best. This is a festival I will probably skip in future years unless I happen to be in the Quarter that weekend during the day. FYI: Prices were reasonable as most items were between $4-7 for decent-sized portions.

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    NOLA FoodFest - The Fry Bar's Thyme, Gouda & Garlic Fries

    The Fry Bar's Thyme, Gouda & Garlic Fries

    NOLA FoodFest - Turtle Alley's Pecan Turtles

    Turtle Alley's Pecan Turtles

    NOLA FoodFest - The New Orleans Roadfood Festival is March 27 and March 28, 2010.

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    The New Orleans Roadfood Festival is March 27 and March 28, 2010.

    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

    4.4(240 reviews)
    3.1 kmFairgrounds

    The best party in the US! The food and music will blow your mind. It's a must do on anyone's list.read more

    As an avid concert-goer who has attended many outdoor concerts and festivals over the years, I…read morewanted to share an honest and balanced review of this year's experience. The artists themselves were very good overall. The Eagles delivered the classic songs fans came to hear, and standouts for me were and , who really managed to shine through. Crowd engagement during songs like" Hotel California"and Take it Easy" was fantastic, and the energy from the sold-out crowd was undeniable. That said, the overall venue experience left a lot of room for improvement. The performances often felt rushed, and sound quality throughout much of the festival seemed muffled or poorly balanced at times. For first-time attendees seeing some of these artists, I honestly think the sound issues may have affected their impression of otherwise talented performers. The venue itself was extremely crowded, with very long lines and very high prices throughout the event. Most importantly, I would not recommend this festival for individuals with disabilities or mobility concerns. Accessibility and crowd flow appeared to be significant challenges and made the experience much more difficult than it needed to be. This is not meant as a rant, but as constructive feedback from someone who truly enjoys live music and has attended many well-run outdoor events. With better organization, sound management, and improved accessibility planning, this festival could provide a much better overall attendee experience.

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    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - Yakiniku poboy

    Yakiniku poboy

    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

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    New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

    Bucktown Seafood Festival

    Bucktown Seafood Festival

    3.5(2 reviews)
    8.5 km

    A small neighborhood fair on the grounds of St. Louis King of France school. Great family…read moreatmosphere. Never too crowded. Good local bands. Decent food options. They had wristbands for the rides. $30 per wristband for 3hr time period. You can either ride from 12p-3p (black wristbands) or 3p-6p (green wristbands). Wristbands not valid if you have wrong color band on. Not sure what colors they used the other days but those were the wristbands for Sunday. Otherwise great family entertainment in Bucktown.

    This small town fair is actually just across the line from New Orleans into Metairie, a suburb of…read moreNew Orleans, but is its own town. In the parking lot to an elementary school, you buy tickets to exchange for food or for rides. There are a handful of rides, a few food booths, a few booths with stuff to buy of homemade knick knacks, a raffle or two. The highlight of the festival is the stage. I lived about a mile away from last year, and I could hear the music far into the night. Classic rock n roll. Wear comfortable shoes and bring cash. There is an ATM, but the fee is high. Parking is tight in the neighborhood. There is no dedicated parking lot for the festival, as they are in the parking lot. I would be careful parking to not block driveways, or park in lots that will tow if you are not spending money at that business. There are several popular restaurants nearby, so traffic can slow down. Enjoy the festival!

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    Bucktown Seafood Festival
    Bucktown Seafood Festival
    Bucktown Seafood Festival - Crawfish eating contest

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    Crawfish eating contest

    Southern Decadence - festivals - Updated May 2026

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