St. Joseph's Day altars and Super Sunday
On 19 March, Sicilian-heritage families and churches open St. Joseph's altars laden with bread, cookies and fava beans; around the same week the Black Masking Indians come out in their new suits.
- When
- 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; the city's tourism board describes it that way, and 2025 (16 March) and 2026 (15 March) followed it. (source, checked 2026-10-26)
- Where
- Altars citywide; Uptown Super Sunday starts at A.L. Davis Park (Washington Ave & LaSalle St)
- Admission
- Free (donations welcome at altars)
Fixed date · 138 days away
About St. Joseph's & Super Sunday
St. Joseph's altars came with Sicilian immigrants in the late 1800s. An altar is built in tiers, covered with breads baked in symbolic shapes, cookies, citrus and the 'lucky' fava bean, and opened to anyone who wants to visit. Many altars are in churches, others in homes, schools and restaurants. Visitors are usually offered a bean and a piece of bread, and donations go to charity.
The Black Masking Indians, often called Mardi Gras Indians, spend the year sewing elaborate beaded and feathered suits. Besides Mardi Gras Day itself, they traditionally come out on the night of St. Joseph's Day and again on Super Sunday, when tribes parade together in daylight.
Super Sunday is a neighbourhood event, not a tourist show. Uptown Super Sunday starts from A.L. Davis Park in Central City around 1 p.m. Downtown and West Bank Super Sundays also take place, usually later in the spring, but we could not verify their dates and do not list them.
Weather moves it: in 2024 Uptown Super Sunday was pushed back a week, from 17 to 24 March, because of storms.
Tips
- Ask before photographing a masker up close, and never step between an Indian and the procession.
- At an altar, take the bean: tradition says a fava bean in your wallet means you will never be broke.
Dates, 2026–2035
| Year | Dates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Thu 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2026 | Sun 15 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Held |
| 2027 | Fri 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2027 | Sun 21 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2028 | Sun 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2028 | Sun 19 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2029 | Mon 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2029 | Sun 18 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2030 | Tue 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2030 | Sun 17 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2031 | Wed 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2031 | Sun 16 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2032 | Fri 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2032 | Sun 21 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2033 | Sat 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2033 | Sun 20 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2034 | Sun 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2034 | Sun 19 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
| 2035 | Mon 19 Mar | Fixed date |
| 2035 | Sun 18 Mar Uptown Super Sunday | Usual pattern, not announced |
Recent: 2024: 24 Mar 2024 (Super Sunday, moved a week for storms); 2025: 16 Mar 2025 (Super Sunday); 2026: 15 Mar 2026 (Super Sunday).
Sources
- neworleans.com/events/holidays-seasonal/saint-josephs-day/ (altar tradition and origin; Super Sunday third Sunday of March; checked 2026-10-26)
- offbeat.com/news/2025-super-sunday-this-weekend (2025 Super Sunday date; checked 2026-10-26)
- fox8live.com/2024/03/15/super-sunday-festival-rescheduled-over-stormy… (2024 weather postponement; checked 2026-10-26)
Also in traditions
St. Patrick's Day parades · All Saints' Day (La Toussaint) · Christmas Eve bonfires on the levee