Festivals and celebrations
The big recurring events, grouped by type. Each page gives the usual timing with its source, the dates the organiser has announced (only from the organiser's own site, with the date we checked), recent dates, and practical notes.
Carnival
- Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) · Always a Tuesday, 47 days before Easter Sunday, so it falls between 3 February and 9 March.
- Twelfth Night, the start of Carnival · Every year on 6 January. Both Twelfth Night processions are tied to the date itself, not to a weekend.
- Krewe du Vieux parade · In 2025 and 2026 it rolled on the Saturday 17 days before Fat Tuesday (the third Saturday before Mardi Gras).
- Main Carnival parade season · Uptown parades run most days from the second Friday before Mardi Gras through Fat Tuesday; the exact line-up is set each year by the City C…
- Lundi Gras · The day before Fat Tuesday.
- Ash Wednesday · The day after Fat Tuesday, 46 days before Easter.
- Krewe of BOO! Halloween parade · A Saturday evening in mid-to-late October, one to two weeks before Halloween, rolling at about 6:30 p.m.
Music festivals
- French Quarter Festival · Usually Thursday to Sunday on the second weekend of April. 2026 was an exception and ran a week later (16–19 April).
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival · Usually two Thursday-to-Sunday weekends: the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May. In 2024, 2025 and 2026 the second weekend …
- Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo · Usually Friday to Sunday in mid-May; 2024, 2025 and 2026 all began on the third Friday of May.
- Essence Festival of Culture · Usually over the Fourth of July weekend. Whether it stays in New Orleans for 2027 was in doubt when we checked: the city contract was being…
- Satchmo SummerFest · A Saturday and Sunday at the start of August, ending on the Sunday on or just before Armstrong's 4 August birthday. In 2027 that puts it on…
- Freret Street Festival · A Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was traditionally held in late March or early April but moved to the fall; 2025 was 1 November and 2026 wa…
Food festivals
- New Orleans Wine & Food Experience · Usually Wednesday to the weekend in early-to-mid June. It moved from late May in recent years, so older guides are out of date.
- Creole Tomato Festival · A Saturday and Sunday in early June: the first weekend of June in 2025 and 2026, the second in 2024.
- Oak Street Po-Boy Festival · One Sunday in late October to mid-November, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Culture & literature
- Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival · Usually Wednesday to Sunday in late March, the weekend closest to Williams's 26 March birthday, avoiding Easter Sunday where it can.
- Southern Decadence · Labor Day weekend (the first Monday of September and the days before), with the grand marshals' walking parade on the Sunday afternoon.
Traditions
- St. Patrick's Day parades · St. Patrick's Day is 17 March. The Irish Channel parade usually rolls around 1 p.m. on the Saturday before, after a noon Mass at St. Mary's…
- St. Joseph's Day altars and Super Sunday · St. Joseph's Day is always 19 March, with most altars open on the 18th and 19th. Uptown Super Sunday is usually the third Sunday in March; …
- All Saints' Day (La Toussaint) · Every year on 1 November.
- Christmas Eve bonfires on the levee · The bonfires are lit at about 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. A Festival of the Bonfires in Lutcher, usually on the second weekend of December, pr…
Holidays
- Easter weekend · Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon on or after 21 March, so between 22 March and 25 April.
- Halloween in New Orleans · 31 October, followed the next day by All Saints' Day.
- Christmas and Réveillon dinners · Réveillon menus are offered through December; Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are 24 and 25 December.
- New Year's Eve · 31 December.
Sports
- Crescent City Classic 10K · The Saturday before Easter Sunday, so it moves with Easter between late March and late April.
- Bayou Classic · Thanksgiving weekend: a parade on Thanksgiving Day, the Battle of the Bands on Friday and the Grambling–Southern game on Saturday.
- Sugar Bowl · Traditionally 1 January; now set each season by the College Football Playoff rotation, from 31 December to mid-January.
Seasonal
- Celebration in the Oaks · Nightly from the day after Thanksgiving through 1 January.
Not running: don't plan around these
Calendar and resale sites still list these. As of 26 October 2026 none had a current edition announced by an organiser:
- Voodoo Music + Arts Experience: last held October 2019; on indefinite hiatus.
- BUKU Music + Art Project: on indefinite hiatus since 2022 (report).
- Tremé Creole Gumbo Festival: paused by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation after the November 2025 edition (foundation notice).
- Louisiana Seafood Festival: we found no edition since 2017, and its website no longer resolves.