French Quarter Fest in New Orleans Exceeds Expectation
The 41st annual French Quarter Festival was held on April 11-14 to an enthusiastic crowd under crystalline blue skies and with festival-perfect weather.
There were musical performances by approximately 1,700 local musicians, including the Queen Diva Big Freedia, Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band, Amanda Shaw, Irma Thomas, Teedra Moses, Honey Island Swamp Band, John Boutté, Grammy Award-winning New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and Robin Barnes on 20 stages throughout the French Quarter during Festival weekend.
The four-day festival celebrated local music with representation in a cross-section of genres from traditional and contemporary jazz to zydeco, R&B, New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, Latin, R&B, classical, and even cabaret.
Over 60 on-site vendors provided a variety of culinary choices to festival goers. Local restaurants included Volvo's Seafood Restaurant, Bao Mi, Miss Linda the Yakamein Lady, and Couvant offered authentic Louisiana-style food to guests, both local and far-flung.
More than 1,500 dedicated community volunteers contributed to the French Quarter Festival's success, working to keep the event safe, clean, organized, and running smoothly for musicians and patrons alike.
In recent years, French Quarter Festival generated a total economic impact of $190 million; the festival also generated nearly $15 million in tax revenue for state and local governments. French Quarter Festivals, Inc. is a private, non-profit 501c(3) organization, first produced in 1984 as a way to bring residents back to the Quarter.
Based on this weekend, clearly it worked.
