This past weekend was French Quarter Festival in New Orleans. I always have intentions of writing posts like this after we attend events so I am glad I am getting the opportunity to write this one.
We were able to attend three of the four days which is the most we have been able to do since having kids. I also was asked by their PR staff to come as a media representative and cover the Chevron Kids Tent.
If you aren’t local than let me tell you a little bit about this festival. It is four days long each April and it is free for people to attend. It is the largest free festival in the state and has music of all kinds on stages all around the city. There are also special events like dance classes, kids areas, artists exhibits and other merchants. This is all in addition to the culinary display that they have all over. The city’s best restaurants come together with an array of food that may or may not be on their typical menu. Much like the WWOZ Mango Freeze that you can only get at FQF and Jazz Fest.
Some of our favorite stages are the Abita Stage on the River, the Zydeco stage on Decatur and going out to the Mint.
{This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts, opinion and ideas are mine.}
Day One – Thursday
On Wednesday we had to go to New Orleans for a doctor’s appointment. Pax asked if we were coming back the next day for FQF and I said no because Justin had to work. He begged me to go and I told him if I could find a double stroller I would take the two of them.
Justin looked at me like I was slightly crazy when I told him I was going to take them by myself. I told him that we would park close to the river and what was the worst that could happen. In reality we had an absolute blast and I told them I would take them back next year because they behaved so well.
We were able to see 5 different stages, catch part of the second line and get some Mango Freezes in our belly from WWOZ. Plus they helped me walk all the way down Charters to pick up my media passes from the FQF Media Lounge.
Hat // Top // Necklace // Skirt // Flip Flops
Hat // Sunglasses // Tank (similar) // Shorts (similar)// Flip Flops
Day Two – Saturday
Friday Night we got an email from French Quarter Fest Inc. that they had decided to cancel the festival for Saturday. For days ahead they had been predicting severe weather in the area. They made the right call because the weather Saturday was incredibly dangerous and had us indoors all day long. Although we were willing to risk it…
If we had gone Saturday this was the outfit I planned…
Dress // Shoes
Day Three – Sunday
Between Saturday and Sunday we had a severe drop in temperature. The high for the day was supposed to be around 65 so back to the drawing board on everyone’s outfits.
When we arrived in New Orleans on Sunday morning it was absolutely freezing. The wind was whipping around and I didn’t think the kids were going to want to stay more than an hour. We made our way to the river front and out into the sun and it warmed up slightly.
Our first stop was at the Chevron Kids STEAM Zone. Each year there is an interactive area for the kids to participate in art and science projects and an area with bands and other entertainment. This year the entire area was dedicated to STEAM initiatives. The boys were able to participate in a variety of activities ranging from learning to build a circuit to robotics and even a lesson on cotton candy. I will let you guess which was there favorite.
After spending over an hour in the Kids STEAM Zone we moved on to eating and listening to music. We were able to catch some gospel music on the Tropical Isle Stage in Woldenberg Park, the Vettes on the GE Stage and lots of Cajun music on the Zydeco Stage. We made our way down to Jackson Square but it is so hard to get in with the stroller that we didn’t even try. We were able to catch a street brass band playing in front of the cathedral and the boys danced and danced and gave their tips to show their appreciation for the show.
Some of our other highlights were getting to see the NOLA 300 sign, running through a bubble waterfall and trying crawfish boil French fries.
At the end of our day Pax looked us at me and said, Mom, why would anyone want to live anywhere else? I don’t know baby. I don’t know….