New Orleans News | Press

New Orleans' monthly Media Update covers the latest travel and tourism developments around town. Please email jhollings@neworleans.com to be added to our media mailing list.

What’s New in New Orleans Hospitality Industry – October 2018

NEW BRAND:

For more information on our new brand, click here.

TRICENTENNIAL:

• New Orleans is celebrating its 300^th anniversary throughout 2018.
  • As one of the world’s most unique and diverse cities, New Orleans will celebrate with its citizens and open its doors to the world to share the city’s rich history and culture. During the Tricentennial, New Orleans will celebrate its past accomplishments, the resilience of its people and set the course for the future.

• The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) will open The Orléans Collection at the end of the month. The Orléans Collection is an exhibition of selections from the magnificent collection of the city’s namesake, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1689-1723).
  • On view from October 26^th, 2018 through January 27^th, 2019, The Orléans Collection will bring together, for the first time, a selection of masterpieces from institutions such as the National Gallery of London, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the National Gallery of Scotland to tell the story of the collection’s formation, its reputation, and its impact in early 18^th century Paris.

• Throughout 2018 several local businesses are offering special deals, packages, discounts and tricentennial-themed items that visitors and locals can take advantage of all year long. To learn more about the Tricentennial deals and packages click here. 

For the full Tricentennial calendar, click here.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• The 3^rd annual Beignet Fest will take place on October 6^th at the Festival Grounds at City Park, featuring every kind of beignet you can imagine, including several savory variations.
  • This year’s festival will bring 20 beignet vendors and a fun music lineup including the Confetti Park Players, the Imagination Movers, Soul Project, Eric Lindell and the Original Pinettes Brass Band.
  • All proceeds from the festival benefit the Tres Doux Foundation, which offers grants to local nonprofit organizations that provide accessible and quality programs for children with developmental delays.
     
• The 38^th annual Art for Arts’ Sake, hosted by the Contemporary Arts Center, will welcome more than 30,000 guests to stroll the Warehouse District art galleries, gift shops and exhibits along Julia Street, Magazine Street and the Contemporary Arts Center on the evening of October 6^th.
   
• New Orleans City Park and The Mortuary Haunted Mansion have partnered to bring New Orleans the largest Halloween event in the city: Scout Island Scream Park, which will open to the public on October 5^th.
  • For select days in October and November, Scout Island, a wooded area located in City Park, will be transformed into a land of terror with the eight dark acres of The Devil’s Swamp Haunted Terror Tour, Zombie Outbreak Battlefield, Scream Factory Haunted Fun House, Cirque du Fear Fright Zone, The Horseman’s Fright Zone and so much more.
  • The festival will have activities for all ages and families with small children are invited to attend early and take part in the pumpkin patch, hay ride and other kid-friendly activities.  
     
• Oktoberfest will take place at the new Deutsches Haus located at 1700 Moss Street along Bayou St. John.
  • The event sponsored by the Deutsches Haus of New Orleans will occur over three consecutive weekends in October: October 5^th – 6^th, 12^th – 13^th and 19^th – 20^th.
  • The Deutsches Haus was established in 1928 to preserve and foster Germanic heritage and culture in the Gulf South.
     
• The 13^th annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival will bring local and regional art vendors, live music and lots of great barbecue with an emphasis on Louisiana cuisine to Lafayette Square October 12^th – 14^th. 
  • This year’s festival boasts an impressive musical lineup featuring Little Freddie King, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and many more.
     
• The WWII Air, Sea & Land Festival 2018, will take place October 12^th – 14^th at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport and will present the best of the 2016 AirPower Expo with a weekend of entertainment, food, drink and flying aircrafts.
   
• The 29^th annual New Orleans Film Festival, presented by the New Orleans Film Society, returns to the city October 17^th – 25^th.
  • The closing-night film is A Tube to Cuba, which follows the Preservation Hall Jazz Band to Cuba where they set off exploring the island’s musical roots.
  • The New Orleans Film Festival is one of the few film festivals that is Oscar-qualifying in all three Academy-accredited categories: Narrative Short, Documentary Short and Animated Short.
     
• The 11^th annual Krewe of Boo, the Crescent City’s official Halloween parade, will roll October 20^th, starting in the Marigny neighborhood, then rolling through the French Quarter and ending in the Warehouse District.
  • The Krewe of Boo will continue their tradition of primarily throwing locally-made edible items and collectables to parade goers in an effort to reduce waste.
  • The New Orleans Zombie Run will take place the morning of the parade. The 2-mile race will begin in the Warehouse District and ends on Frenchmen Street. Participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite monster.
     
• The 1^st annual Country Smooth Fest, a two-day Country Music Festival, will take place at NOLA Motorsports Park October 20^th-21^st. Headliners of the festival include Hunter Hayes, Justin Moore and several others.
   
• The 19^th annual Voodoo Music + Arts Experience will return to City Park Halloween Weekend, October 26^th – 28^th, inviting attendees again to “Worship the Music.”
  • This year boasts an impressive lineup of artists including Mumford & Sons, Childish Gambino, Modest Mouse, Odesza and more.
     
• The 2018 Louisiana Seafood Festival, will be held October 26^th – 29^th, at Woldenberg Park for a weekend full of seafood, chef cooking demonstrations, an arts village, family activities and more.

For a full list of events, click here.

ATTRACTIONS:

• Seven not-for-profit museums in the French Quarter have joined forces to create the French Quarter Museum Association (FQMA), an effort to elevate the profile of history museums as an enriching cultural experience in city’s oldest neighborhood.
  • Current participating museums are The Historic New Orleans Collection, Hermann-Grima + Gallier Historic Houses, the Beauregard-Keyes Historic House and Garden Museum, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, the Louisiana State Museum, the New Orleans Jazz Museum at the US Mint and the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center.
  • FQMA’s first initiative was to open a much-needed Visitor Center as a central hub for information on current exhibitions and programming at all the participating museums.

RESTAURANTS:

• Galatoire’s has hired New Orleans native, Chef Phillip Lopez, to lead the kitchens of both Galatoire’s Restaurant and Galatoire’s “33” Bar & Steak after an extensive search. He will begin his role as executive chef September 3^rd.
  • Chef Lopez has more than two decades of experience in the food and beverage industry, and has served as Executive Chef, Creative Director and Owner of six culinary concepts around New Orleans. 
     
• Chef Donald Link is gearing up to open his latest concept, Gianna, an Italian restaurant.
  • James Beard Award-winning Chef Rebecca Wilcomb will be the executive chef.
  • Located on the corner of Magazine and Girod streets in the newly built Kalorama building.
     
• Picnic Provisions & Whiskey recently opened on the corner of Magazine and State streets by Ti Martin and Tory McPhail from Commander’s Palace and Darryl Reginelli, founder of Reginelli’s. The casual eatery will serve fried chicken as well as a mix of classic Southern dishes.
   
• Poydras & Peters, an American Brasserie, is now open in the Loews New Orleans Hotel with New Orleans native Thomas Hines as the Executive Chef. The restaurant features a diverse menu featuring American fare with Italian and Vietnamese influences.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has pushed the opening date of the new 972,000 square-foot facility back to May 2019.
  • This new, world-class terminal complex will completely replace the current facility.
  • The $1 billion project includes in-line baggage screening, a consolidated security checkpoint to three concourses and 35 gates, a 2,200-car parking garage and more concessions options located down the center of aisle.
  • The new facility is expected to increase the airport’s economic impact by approximately 20% in the next five years and will support 64,000 jobs and $6.4 billion in local spending.
     
• City Hall announced the historic riverfront redevelopment projects that will open access to the city’s riverfront with 3.2 miles of contiguous space from Spanish Plaza to Crescent Park. The development has an estimated completion date of early 2020.

Several new developments have broken ground across the city. For a full list of developments, click here.

CRUISES:

• In 2020 Disney Cruise Line will have a first-time homeport in New Orleans. The Disney Wonder will embark on six cruises during the limited-time season from New Orleans, including four-, six- and seven0night Western Caribbean sailings; a seven-night Bahamian cruise; and a 14-night Panama Canal voyage, departing February 7^th through March 6^th, 2020.

MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS:

                Meetings (3,000 or more in attendance) includes:

• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Scientific Assembly & Congress of Delegates | October 9^th – 13^th
  • The AAFP’s largest annual meeting
  • Hosting guest international speakers
  • Projected attendance: 10,000
     
• International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) Annual Employee Benefits Conference | October 14^th – 17^th
  • Learn how the new administration will impact your benefit plans
  • Key speakers: Amy Webb, Drew Pinsky and Vernice Armour
  • Projected attendance: 10,000
     
• Tableau Software N.A. Customer Conference | October 22^nd – 25^th
  • Tableau Software is a data software company with a mission to help users see and understand data
  • Projected attendance: 15,000
     
• American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Annual Scientific Meeting | October 28^th – November 1^st
  • Features sessions, meetings, presentations and authors focused on tropical and global health
  • Projected attendance: 3,200

New Orleans & Company is a nationally accredited, 1,100-member destination marketing organization and the largest and most successful private economic development corporation in Louisiana. New Orleans & Company and its members and partners influence thousands of decision-makers and millions of visitors to choose New Orleans through direct sales, marketing, public relations, branding, visitor services and local advocacy initiatives at our New Orleans headquarters and offices in Chicago, Columbia, SC, Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada and China. Consistently recognized as one of the top five destination marketing organizations in the country, New Orleans & Company celebrates its 58th anniversary in 2018. For more information, please visit: Neworleans.com/about, Facebook.com/neworleansandco and Instagram.com/Neworleansandco.

Media Contact
Julia Hollings
504-566-5019
jhollings@neworleans.com

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