“The World's Largest Block Party”:
French Quarter Festival ‘07

Festivalgoers fill the streets of the French Quarter

Culinary delights

The incomparable Charmaine Neville

Happy crowds

Festival Photographs by Brad Edelman.

No city in the U.S. throws bigger parties than New Orleans. No sooner are the streets swept clean from Mardi Gras and the viewing stands dismantled, than is the city already planning its next round of festivals and special events. Leading the pack on the second week of April is the annual French Quarter Festival.

Sometimes described as “The World’s Largest Block Party,” French Quarter Festival actually takes place over many blocks. Occupying a wide swath of the Quarter, from Bourbon Street to Decatur, and spilling over into Jackson Square and Woldenberg Riverfront Park, FQ Fest offers the best in local musical entertainment, culinary delights and colorful, imaginative works of art that capture the joie de vivre (joy of life) that makes New Orleans the unique place it is.

The dates of French Quarter Festival are Friday, April 13 through Sunday, April 15. During those three days you can enjoy 250 hours of free entertainment featuring more than 150 musical performances on fifteen stages throughout the French Quarter. Nearly 60 food and beverage booths located in Jackson Square, Woldenberg Park, and elsewhere will make up the “World's Largest Jazz Brunch,” a signature event, featuring authentic local cuisine from renowned area restaurants.

Begun in the mid-1980s to spur tourism and civic pride in the wake of the 1984 World’s Fair, French Quarter Fest has continually grown and expanded since then. It has become one of New Orleans’ premiere events of each year and the best part of all is that it is FREE! (except for food and merchandise, of course).

This year’s musical lineup once again spans the alphabet, from accapella to zydeco and everything in between. At any given time you’re likely to hear salsa, gospel, R&B, blues, Cajun, funk, rap/hip hop, classical, rock, cabaret, bossa nova, country/western and, of course, jazz. All genres of jazz. From brass marching bands to traditional (Dixieland) to modern styles. After all, jazz is what New Orleans is best known for and, if that’s what you’ve come to hear, you will not be disappointed.

Although this year’s lineup hasn’t been announced as of publication date, if past years are any indication, the top-featured acts of past years will likely be returning. Crowd pleasers at recent festivals have included zydeco superstar Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr.; trumpeter extraordinaire Kermit Ruffins; young Cajun fiddle sensation Amanda Shaw; bluesmen Coco Robicheaux and Little Freddie King; the “professor of the licorice stick,” clarinetist Dr. Michael White; and many others, including the world’s top brass bands. All performers at French Quarter Fest are local Louisiana homegrown musicians.

Also as in past years, festival-goers will be treated to such local delicacies as alligator sausage, Cajun meat pies, oyster patties, blackened catfish, corn and crawfish bisque (soup), pork chops on sugarcane sticks and, of course, the standard New Orleans favorites -- jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice and muffalettas. For those who simply prefer an old-fashioned hot dog, New Orleans famed Lucky Dog vendors will be out in force in their frankfurter-shaped pushcarts. Hamburger and fried chicken lovers will find what they’re looking for, as well.

Schedules are available at most major hotels, information centers and elsewhere throughout the city. For more information about the festival, call 522-5730 or go online at www.fqfi.com.

by Dean Shapiro