Happy Mardi Gras!

Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to the practice of indulging and eating rich foods on the last night before the fasting of Lent begins at midnight, when Ash Wednesday begins. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is usually about fun and celebration … it has been called the party New Orleans throws for itself, and invites everybody else to attend! This year the party is subdued, with no parades to avoid large gatherings due to the pandemic. But you can’t break New Orleans’ Mardi Gras spirit! Other forms of celebration have emerged for celebrants to enjoy in safety. Consider checking out Mardi Gras for All, Y’all, Krewe of House Floats, or for more info on how New Orleans is celebrating safely, click here.

Mardi Gras for All Y'all! A Virtual Celebration! 2/12, 13 & 14, 2021

Mardi Gras for All Y’all is a 3-day event featuring iconic artists, chefs and personalities at famous New Orleans venues including Mardi Gras World, Antoine’s, Dookie Chase’s and more. The parades may be cancelled this year but the spirit of Mardi Gras will be in full swing as we celebrate Carnival and everything we love about it.

MUSIC
Preservation Hall Jazz Band • Gerald French New Orleans Original Tuxedo Jazz Band • The New Orleans Jazz Vipers • Doyle Cooper Jazz Band • Sam Price and the True Believers • Cha Wa • The New Orleans Suspects • Batiste Fathers and Sons • Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients Leo Nochintelli and George Porter, Jr. (The Meters) • The Andrews Family • Al “Carnival Time” Johnson • Herlin Riley • Marine Forces Reserve Band • Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra • St. Augustine Drumline • Dr. Sick and the Late Greats • George Porter, Jr.

LOUISIANA ICONS
Emeril Lagasse • Hoda Kotb • Bryan Batt • Walter Isaacson • Ashton Ramsey • Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews • Archie Manning • James Carville • Marcus Spears

CHEFS
Chef Amy Sins • Chef Toya Boudy • Zak Miller

PERFORMANCES BY
Krewe of Rolling Elvi • Muff-a-Lottas • Crescent City Fae • Saintsations • 610 Stompers

Watch live at 8 pm February 12, 13, and 14 on YouTube, NOLA.com, or Facebook Live.

Carnival Season Begins on 1/6/2021!

Epiphany, on January 6, has been recognized as the start of the New Orleans Carnival season since at least 1900; locally, it is sometimes also known as Twelfth Night. Carnival season is a time for eating, drinking and partying before the 40 days of Lent, characterized by sacrifice and fasting. Carnival is filled with parades, balls, parties and other celebrations culminating in Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday”. Mardi Gras always occurs on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, and Carnival ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday, as Lent begins.

LUNA Fête 2020 offers a light, diffused, but still breaking up the darkness!

LUNA Fête is a visionary initiative created by the Arts Council New Orleans to demonstrate the power of art to transform communities. This free and open to the public festival of light, art, and technology celebrates New Orleans creative industries and provides a memorable experience for diverse event attendees. Since its 2014 inception, LUNA Fête has presented some of the top light and projection-based artists in the world, while simultaneously providing training to local artists to advance their capabilities to create large-scale and interactive art animated with light.

In a year unlike any other, we present a light in the darkness. Despite the challenges of 2020 we know the creativity, imagination, and artistry that make up the spirit of New Orleans remain and provide a beacon of hope and healing for our future. This year LUNA Fête will be celebrated differently, with smaller installations illuminating public spaces across various corners of the city as we welcome new partners across multiple weekends.

Twilight to Sunrise - December 11 – 13th  & 18 – 20th

New Orleans Film Festival - 11/6-22/2020

The 31st annual New Orleans Film Festival will span three weeks this year between November 6-22, showcasing 150+ films virtually on our channel + open-air screenings of a selection of films from the program on two outdoor screens at the Lafitte Greenway between November 6-16. Open-air screenings will be limited to 50 people per screening in accordance with the City of New Orleans’ safety regulations.

The festival lineup will be announced on October 1st with passes and tickets going on sale on October 5th for NOFS members and NOFF2020 pass holders. Passes go up on Early Bird Sale on September 9th.

Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival - Festing In Place, 10/16-18/2020

We can't gather for a live festival this year, but we can still celebrate 15 years of the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival- virtually!  The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is bringing you three days of incredible music, food and crafts just as we always have.  We’ll revisit some of the most popular performances from past Blues Fests and we’ll even see some new performances from Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Little Freddie King!   And we’re doing this while raising money for a very worthy cause: the Jazz & Heritage Music Relief Fund – a fund that was created to support the Louisiana music community as we all do our part to bring live music events back!   There's two ways you can watch or listen October 16-18:  Community radio station WWOZ 90.7 FM will broadcast Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival live from Lafayette Square – over the air and in streaming audio at www.wwoz.org.  You can also catch the live stream via our Facebook and Youtube channel!