2012 New Orleans Festivals
Festival Season is Year-Round in New Orleans
New Orleans is the Festival Capital of the World. We have dozens of festivals that celebrate our unique food, music and multicultural heritage all year-long.
You'll find great music at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, Essence Music Fest and Voodoo Festival; exotic food specialties at the New Orleans Food and Wine Experience, Po-Boy Festival and others; and exciting celebrations our city's diverse culture at Fiesta Hispanica, St. Patrick's Day, Southern Decadence and more. We have writing and visual arts festivals commemorating our historic literary and film traditions like the annual Tennessee Williams Festival, FringeFest and the New Orleans FilmFest. And, of course, there's the biggest festival of them all – Mardi Gras, which is celebrated here like there's no tomorrow!
Nowhere else on the planet is there a greater selection and wider diversity of fabulous special events than those you can experience in New Orleans. On nearly any week or weekend you choose to come down here you will find SOMETHING good going on. Check out our festival calendar below, pick the festival(s) that you'd like to experience for yourself, then make your reservations and come on down for the most fun you'll ever have. We guarantee it!
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October 22, 2011-January 29, 2012
If you enjoyed Prospect1 and Prospect 1.5 you'll want to come back for an encore as Prospect.2 spreads even more fabulous works of art across New Orleans. |
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February 13, 2011
Put on your running shoes, take to the streets and see the sights of the Crescent City on foot. |
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February 10-February 21, 2012
Make plans to attend the greatest free show on earth with dozens of parades, lots of beads and plenty of fun. |
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March 3-4, 2012
An annual festival of African American culture at the Audubon Zoo that celebrates the soul of New Orleans. |
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March 4, 2012
Put on your running shoes, take to the streets and see the sights of the Crescent City on foot. |
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March 14 - May 30, 2012
Looking for something free and exciting to do in downtown New Orleans on a Wednesday afternoon in the spring? Come to Lafayette Square for a taste of great music, food and fun! |
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March 17, 2012
With a little luck of the Irish, you’ll be in New Orleans for all of the St. Paddy’s Day festivities. |
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March 21-25, 2012
For years literary aficionados have come to New Orleans for the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival. |
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March 24-25, 2012
Come taste the best of what the Bayou State has to offer, including a bite or two out of the "world's longest po-boy" (and maybe even an alligator or two)! |
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March 31-April 1, 2012
A weekend of top acts in traditional jazz, gospel, brass and Mardi Gras Indians celebrating the traditions that arose by the banks of the Mississippi. |
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April 12-15, 2012
With outstanding live music and great Creole and Cajun foods, the French Quarter Festival rocks the Quarter. |
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April 27-29 & May 3-6, 2012
New Orleans annual spring celebration of music, food, art, fun, and did we mention music? Not to be missed. |
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May 18-20, 2012
Relax alongside beautiful Bayou St. John as Bayou Boogaloo, a FREE music, art and food festival, celebrates our Mid-City neighborhood. |
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May 22-27, 2012
Join thousands of wine and food lovers at the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience. |
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May 25-27, 2012
Opa! Come dance, eat and be merry, Greek Style, by the Bayou St. John every Labor Day weekend. |
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June 9-10, 2012
Laissez le bon temps rouler! Let the good times roll, and they do – for FREE! - at the Cajun-Zydeco Festival. Two days of swingin' Cajun and Zydeco music, fabulous food, colorful crafts and "passin' a good time" in the French Quarter. |
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June 9-10, 2012
Where else but in New Orleans will you find a festival celebrating tomatoes? It happens annually when the Creole tomato harvest comes in and what better place than in the French Market, the oldest urban outdoor market in the U.S. |
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July 6-8, 2012
Spend your 4th of July holiday in New Orleans to celebrate the talent of Essence music festival. |
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July 13-15, 2012
Get your running shoes on and prepare to be chased through the French Quarter by the Big Easy "RollerBulls" as New Orleans harmlessly duplicates the thrill of Spain's Running of the Bulls. |
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July 24-29, 2012
Only in New Orleans, where the cocktail was first created, could there be a week-long celebration of exotic libations. |
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August, 2012
Beat the heat by staying "cool" within an affordable price range as some of New Orleans' top restaurants offer deep discounts on their fabulous culinary selections. |
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August 2-5, 2012
Three days of outdoor concerts, music history seminars, jazz exhibits, a jazz mass, a second-line parade, and local food. |
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August 4, 2012
Three days of outdoor concerts, music history seminars, jazz exhibits, a jazz mass, a second-line parade, and local food. |
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August 11, 2012
Put on your red dress – yes, you men too! – and join in with the 3-H Club as they run for charity while celebrating the joys of beer and life's other pleasures. |
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August 11, 2012
Save your dirty linens from the weekend before for this event! The most quirky and fun annual art walk through Royal’s Street famous galleries and shops. |
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August 29 - September 3, 2012
Dubbed “Gay Mardi Gras," this celebration of GLBT culture features elaborate costumes and high fashion. |
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Come out and enjoy the fabulous seafood our city is famous for and be assured that it's as good as the music you'll be hearing at this annual September event in the Fulton Street Mall. |
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This American roots music festival recognizes the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop, reggae and soul. |
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On the last weekend of September and every weekend during October, visitors can enjoy a piece of Germany in the heart of New Orleans. |
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October 12-14, 2012
This FREE weekend festival presents many of the top performers from southern Louisiana and Mississippi, plus delicious food and unique visual art. |
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October 12-18, 2012
New and established filmmakers premiere their latest full-length features, shorts and animation and music videos. Get inspired through the art of film. |
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October 26-28, 2012
Held each October around Halloween, Voodoo Music Experience brings together great music, food & crafts. |
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October 31, 2012
Thought Halloween was just a silly holiday for trick or treating? Think again. Halloween in New Orleans is an all out celebration complete with a parade, music festival, cemeteries, and plenty of voodoo magic. |
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November 3-4, 2012
See your favorite swamp critters, chow down on Cajun food and dance to zydeco at Swamp Fest. |
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A feast for the ears, the eyes and the soul with its examination of all things literary. |
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November 10-11, 2012
Bring your unproduced play or one-person show or just bring yourselves and enjoy the premieres of new works that may one day light up the marquee along the Great White Way. |
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November 18, 2012
Meat, cheese, veggies and plenty may-nez, as we say here, as well as anything else that can be stuffed between two halves of a French bread loaf. Come out to the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival and find out what the fun's all about. |
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December 1-31, 2012
Get a taste of the Holiday Spirit - experience some New Orleans-style Christmas cheer. |
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December 31, 2012
Start the New Year off right in New Orleans with one of the greatest New Year's Eve parties in the country complete with great live music, food, and fireworks. |
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