Mar. 3, 2025
Zulu Lundi Gras Festival
The Zulu Lundi Gras Festival is a fun-filled day allowing the people of New Orleans and our city visitors an up-close look at the Zulu Characters. The festival is free and open to the public. This event is hosted by the members of the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club and we welcome you to a fun and exciting day of food, music, arts, and crafts along the beautiful riverfront of New Orleans. With three stages, the line-up is star-studded each year. Check back for this year's line-up. It continues until the arrival of the Zulu King and Queen aboard a Coast Guard Ship. From there, the royals will meet Rex and the Mayor of New Orleans. www.lundigrasfestival.com/
Mar. 4, 2025
Mardi Gras Day
Louisiana was founded by explorer Pierre Le Moyne D’Iberville on Mardi Gras Day 1699. Mardi Gras Day - also known as Fat Tuesday - marks the final day of Carnival Season! It is always the day before Ash Wednesday, and is the biggest day of celebration during Mardi Gras. Zulu and Rex parades roll, but other parties and city-wide celebrations occur as well. Some highlights on that day are the Skull and Bone Gang, St. Anne Walking Parade, the Bourbon Street Awards,, Zulu and Rex.
Mar. 15, 2025
Irish Channel St.Patrick’s Day Parade
Celebrate St. Patrick's Day New Orleans Style with the annual Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Parade. Don’t miss this truly essential New Orleans St. Patrick's Day experience and enjoy our "throws" which include flowers, beads, kisses, cabbage, and much more! The traditional Mass scheduled before the parade at St. Mary's Assumption Church (923 Josephine St. New Orleans, La.) is scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. on. This mass open to the public. The Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club will continue to provide New Orleans and our global guests with the vibrancy, deep culture, and strong sense of community the Irish Channel has instilled in us since well before our club began in 1947. Starting as a small celebration in the Irish Channel and growing to a global St. Patrick's Day experience with attendees in the hundreds of thousands, the Irish Channel St. Patrick's Day Club is proud to share our history, craic, and unique sense of Irish-American culture every year at one of our several events. www.facebook.com/events/1419476062022769/
Mar. 16, 2025
Mardi Gras Indians Super Sunday
Super Sunday is a day for the city's Mardi Gras Indian tribes to put on their colorful suits and "strut their stuff" while Mar.ing in a procession through the streets. In keeping with traditions that date back to the 19th century, Uptown Super Sunday typically* is the Sunday closest to St. Joseph's Day (Mar. 19). During their processions, the participating Mardi Gras Indian tribes, led by their Big Chiefs, often meet other tribes performing colorful dances, chants and other rituals. Each tribe and their Big Chief tries to outdo the other in a friendly competition witnessed by appreciative spectators. The largest and most popular of the Uptown Super Sunday festivities is the procession staged by the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Council in the Central City neighborhood, originating at A.L. Davis Park (Washington and LaSalle streets). Another celebration takes place at Bayou St. John and Orleans Avenue in Mid- City, where the Tambourine and Fan organization stages its annual Super Sunday parade. Various other Mardi Gras Indian gatherings and processions are also staged on Super Sunday at certain locations around the city, and there are related festivities at the Backstreet Cultural Museum in the city's famous Treme neighborhood. Check local listings as the date gets closer. All Super Sunday Mardi Gras Indian outdoor gatherings and processions are free and open to the public.
Mar. 17, 2025
Downtown Irish Club Parade
The Parade begins at Washington Park with a pre-party at the Marigny Brassiere (corner of Frenchmen St and Royal St) beginning at 4 p.m.. Live music will be provided by "Catie B. & The Hand Me Downs". The parade start is 6:30 p.m.. The Parade Grand Marshall is John Fox and the Man of the Year is AJ Duvio. There will be a Block Party at the end of the Parade at The Ugly Dog Saloon sponsored by Ugly Dog Saloon. The Block Party will start earlier in the day and be well under way when we arrive.
Mar. 19 - 23, 2025
Danny Barker Banjo & Guitar Festival
This annual music festival celebrates the life and legacy of New Orleans’ own Danny Barker with citywide music performances, a variety of panel discussions and exclusive workshops, interviews, special events, and more. The mission of the Danny Barker Banjo and Guitar Festival is to showcase and highlight the many contributions and accomplishments of NEA Jazz Master Danny Barker: musician, singer, songwriter, educator, raconteur extraordinaire and author – who played guitar and banjo with many top jazz artists over the course of his 70 year plus career – and served as a mentor to numerous young New Orleans artists who have since come to prominence, including Wynton Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Leroy Jones, Gregg Stafford and Dr. Michael White. www.dannybarkerfestival.com/
Mar. 19 - 23, 2025
New Orleans Bourbon Festival
The motto of a city that knows how to host a party. Now couple that with a historic relationship to Bourbon, world-renowned food, music and culture. This in-person event starts with the Ultimate VIPs judging the whiskey competition all day Thursday, Mar. 20th, followed by dinners and hosted events in the early evening and finalizing the day with a VIP Welcome Party. Friday and Saturday, Mar. 21 and 22, offer daytime seminars and evening Grand Tasting events. Join us for one or more nights of sipping on the smoothest bourbons, enjoying delicious food, and mingling with fellow bourbon enthusiasts. Sample from a wide selection of bourbons and learn about the history and production of this beloved spirit from industry experts. www.neworleansbourbonfestival.com/
Mar. 19 – May 7, 2025
Wednesdays in the Square
Wednesday at the Square, sponsored by the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans, presents a series of free outdoor concerts featuring well-known local artists. The weekly concert series highlights a variety of indigenous musical styles, including jazz, rock, funk, swamp-pop, Latin rhythms, and more. New Orleans’ most famous brass bands are known to play at this annual concert series. Plus, admission is FREE and open to the public.
The 2025 Wednesday at the Square Concert Series will take place at Lafayette Square Park
Mar. 20 - 23, 2025
Louisiana Crawfish Festival
Come out to celebrate our most famous Mudbug at the Louisiana Crawfish Festival’s 50th anniversary. There will be food, rides, games and live entertainment. The Mission of the Louisiana Crawfish Fest Foundation is to help those in need. Louisiana Crawfish Fest Foundation's goal is to support community programs in St. Bernard Parish and the surrounding areas. The purpose of this organization is to not only promote St. Bernard Parish and the culture and tourism through the Louisiana Crawfish Festival, but also to be charitable, patriotic, educational, and other public-spirited purposes that have an impact on our community. www.louisianacrawfishfestival.com/
Mar. 26 - 30, 2025
The Tennessee Williams and New Orleans Literary festival
For 39 years, TWFest has brought award-winning writers, historians, scholars, journalists, actors, musicians, and cultural experts together to present five days of literary revelry in New Orleans. Thousands of book and theatre lovers come to New Orleans from all over the country and abroad for our writer's craft sessions, literary panels, theatre events, literary walking tours, culinary events, author interviews, and music events. And don’t forget our Stella and Stella Shouting Contest! www.tennesseewilliams.net/
Mar. 28 - 30, 2025
Annual Saints and Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival
The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival was founded in 2003 and has grown into an internationally-recognized event that includes LGBTQ+ publishers, writers and readers. The Festival features panel discussions and master classes around literary topics that provide a forum for authors, editors and publishers to discuss their work benefitting emerging writers and for fans of LGBTQ+ literature. www.sasfest.org/
Mar. 29, 2025
Freret Street Festival
Freret Street has become one of the most vibrant streets in the city, with tons of restaurants and businesses that have popped up on the strip. The Freret Street Festival includes three stages of music over 200 food and art vendors and plenty of pet adoptions through Zeus' Rescues. The Fest stretches' from Napoleon Ave to Valmont St and includes all of the merchants in the Freret Shopping District. freretstreetfestival.org/
Mar. 29 - 30
Congo Square Rhythms Festival
The Congo Square Rhythms Festival celebrates New Orleans traditions that stem from the African diaspora. The festival occurs in Congo Square, the location in New Orleans where enslaved Africans and free people of color gathered on Sundays and continued their traditions of song, dance, and drumming. The festival is free to attend and highlights include lots of gumbo, African dance and drumming, live music, and an arts market. www.jazzandheritage.org/events/2024-congo-square-rhythms-festival/
Apr. 3 - 6, 2025
Overlook Film Festival
This film festival celebrates all things horror in America's most haunted city. Experience feature length & short films from both master filmmakers & emerging artists alike. In addition to the films, the festival hosts signature live events and activities which include live shows, radio plays, performances, interactive entertainment, and one-of-a-kind immersive experiences. Most of the screenings and events take place at the Prytania Theaters in Canal Place and the Historic Prytania Theater Uptown. The festival screens a selection of feature length and short films, contemporary to classic, including festival favorites, anticipated new releases and world premieres in the horror, thriller, and sci-fi genres from both emerging artists and master filmmakers. In addition to the films, the festival hosts signature live events and activities which include live shows, radio plays, one-person performances, interactive entertainment, games, and one-of-a-kind immersive experiences, all an essential part of our genre summer camp weekend. www.overlookfilmfest.com/
Apr. 4 - 5, 2025
Hogs for A Cause
Hogs for A Cause welcomes 85 local and regional BBQ masters and the best backyard chefs to compete in seven categories: Whole Hog, Ribs, Pork Butt/Shoulder, Porkpourri, Sauce, Fan Favorite, and Fundraising Champion. The barbecue festival is a two-day event full of music, local beer, and fundraising. Both New Orleans musicians and national musical acts will keep you dancing all weekend long to whet your appetite to try every food option from Alabama white sauce to cracklin cochon de lait nachos. Hogs for the Cause has been voted Best Local Charity Event in New Orleans for many years. They have become the premier nationwide source of funding for families with children fighting pediatric brain cancer. https://hogsfest.org/
Apr. 10 – 13, 2025
French Quarter Festival
Each year, thousands of attendees from descend upon the crown jewel of the city. This celebration highlights the food, music, art and culture of the city and state of Louisiana. This year’s festival promises an incredible lineup of performances across 22 stages including the spectacular Chevron Evening Concert Series featuring The Chapel Heart Band, The Original Pinettes Brass Band with Mia X, Little Freddie King and Rockin Dopsie & The Zydeco Twisters. Entertainers represent every genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to R&B, New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, Latin, Zydeco, classical, cabaret, and international making it the largest showcase of Louisiana music. There is delicious cuisine from some of the city’s best restaurants and caterers served in Jackson Square, the Jazz Museum at the Mint, JAX Brewery, and Woldenberg Riverfront Park. https://frenchquarterfest.org/
Apr. 18 – 20, 2025
Gay Easter Weekend
The flamboyant and fabulous gay Easter weekend begins with Bunnies in the Big Easy, a charity fundraiser put on by Ambush Magazine happens on Friday, Apr. 18, 2025. This event is located at a wonderful venue and includes an open bar and food with the proceeds going to Food For Friends. The Marigny Bunny Hop, a bar crawl through the Marigny neighborhood is on Saturday, Apr. 19 at 2 p.m. Participants don Easter bonnets and go from bar to bar trying o win prizes for Best Bonnet, Butchest Bonnet and most Glamour Bonnet. The final event is the Gay Easter Parade put on by Ambush Magazine and the city’s LGBT community. Their route passes most the gay bars, restaurants, shops and businesses in the French Quarter. It is a rainbow of sequins and glitter as their participants include Flamboyant Drag Queens and Kings riding in horse-drawn carriages and convertibles wearing their glittering Easter best. The parade is kicked off with the annual Easter Bonnet Contest at Good Friends Bar, a LGBTQ+ neighborhood bar at the corner of Dauphine and St. Ann St. www.ambushmag.com
Apr. 21 – 27, 2025
Zurich Classic
The Zurich Classic is New Orleans’ premier golf tournament and the only PGA TOUR event in the region at TPC Louisiana in Avondale. The Zurich Classic boasts a rich history, with play dating back to 1938 and past winners including golf greats like Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper, Davis Love III, DavidToms and Vijay Singh. Zurich North America has a special relationship with New Orleans, the host city for the Zurich Classic, and with the Fore!Kids Foundation, which plans and oversees the Zurich Classic and distributes the proceeds to nonprofits. Since 2005, when Zurich became title sponsor of the PGA TOUR event, Zurich has stood by the city and its people, from the depths of Hurricane Katrina through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. zurichgolfclassic.com/
Apr. 24 – May 4, 2025
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
This world renowned festival is held at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots, the third oldest racetrack in the country. This music, food and art festival enjoys a mixture of local, national and international artists. With 13 stages of soul-stirring music—jazz, gospel, Cajun, zydeco, blues, R&B, rock, funk, African, Latin, Caribbean, folk, and much more—the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is a singular celebration. The 2025 musical lineup includes Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Luke Combs, Lil’ Wayne & The Roots, Lenny Kravitz, Kacey Musgraves, Santana, John Fogerty, Harry Connick, Jr. Patti LaBelle, My Morning Jacket, Gladys Knight, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Cheap Trick, Babyface, Diana Krall, The Revivalists, Irma Thomas, Big Freedia, Tank and the Bangas, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and many more. The festival is a cultural feast in which thousands of musicians, cooks and craftspeople welcome attendees annually. www.nojazzfest.com/
May 16 – 18, 2025
Bayou Boogaloo
