Festival Season Has Begun in New Orleans!
By Rachel C Vella
New Orleans, LA -Living in New Orleans, you get some great perks... like having the best musicians in the world playing in your backyard. Yes, it is springtime in New Orleans... with April flowers comes music for hours! The festivals are only just beginning in New Orleans...The Downtown Development District, once again, sponsors the YLC Wednesday at the Square. Located in Lafayette Square (only 8 blocks from the Canal Street- French Quarter side between St. Charles and Camp Street) Wednesday at the Square invites everyone to enjoy some of the greatest musicians in New Orleans: from Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball, to Blues legend, Walter Wolfman Washington... to the good ol' rock and roll of Bag of Donuts... and it's all free! Every Wednesday, at 5:00 pm, come rain or shine... New Orleans' down town is swinging! For twelve weeks, the YLC (Young Leadership Council) hosts the food and beverage tables as well as local artisans. For a full list of performers and more information visit: WednesdayAtTheSquare.com
Festival Season is officially kicked off around the second or third week of April with the wildly popular French Quarter Festival. This is one of New Orleans' most popular family events and the French Quarter is filled with the sound of children, music and fun! 2008 marked the 25th year ... silver anniversary of the festival. From Bourbon Street Blues to the old US Mint Zydeco stage, the French Quarter Festival hosts the South's largest free music festival. More information at FQFI.org
Living in New Orleans, you get some great perks... like having the best musicians in the world playing in your backyard.
Which leads me to the grand festival of all New Orleans.... Jazzfest!! Yeah baby! This year's New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival line up is going to knock your socks off! More headliners than a Grammy Show, more musicians of all kinds than you can name. Shall I? Let me just tease you with a few: Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Tim McGraw, and Jimmy Buffett.... Want more? Okay, how about Santana, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Sheryl Crow, Al Green.. I can go on and on with over a hundred more musicians!.
HOLY COW! You got to go! It's great food, music, arts and crafts. For two weekends April 25-27 and May 1- 4, the New Orleans Fairgrounds is the place to be for music lovers of all ages. A few tips for Jazzfest from a local... wear comfortable shoes, dress in layers, drink lots of water and if you get a little hot, go cool off inside the Fairground stands, the bathrooms are nicest there! While you are out and about grooving at Jazzfest, (on the second weekend) make sure to stop by the Contemporary Crafts booth, look for the Vella Vetro Art Glass and Custom Design and say hi to me!
Jazzfest is big, but this is New Orleans so it doesn't end there... in June, we have the Seafood Festival, the Creole Tomato Festival... then, in July, it is Essence Festival and it rocks all the way to Voodoo Fest in October, so grab your sun block and maybe a little outdoor chair and "get down" to New Orleans for festival time! 
