NewOrleans.com's Guide to New Orleans Festivals and Events
With over 130 festivals a year, there's a celebration for everything and everyone
NewOrleans.com is your official source for New Orleans festivals and festivities. With over 130 festivals a year, there's a celebration for everything and everyone.
New Orleans' Biggest Festivals at a Glance
New Orleans' festival calendar is anchored by a handful of world-famous events. Mardi Gras (February or early March, depending on the liturgical calendar) fills the city with parades, masking, and neighborhood celebrations for weeks. French Quarter Fest, typically held over a long weekend in mid-April, is the largest free music festival in the South, with stages scattered across the Quarter and food booths showcasing local restaurants. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest) follows in late April and early May at the Fair Grounds, drawing international headliners alongside brass bands, gospel choirs, and Mardi Gras Indians. ESSENCE Festival of Culture arrives in early July at the Caesars Superdome and Convention Center, combining major concert performances with empowerment seminars, entrepreneurship sessions, and a massive marketplace. Beyond these four, the calendar stays packed with Satchmo SummerFest (early August), Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (mid-October), and Po-Boy Festival (typically October or November), among many others. Explore more below.
Published by NewOrleans.com, the official visitors' guide to New Orleans.
Upcoming Festivals in New Orleans
