In the closing hours of 2011, it is always great to reflect back on how much fun we’ve had in the past year. Today, we’re going to look back at some of our favorite festivals from 2011. One great thing about living in New Orleans is that we always have a festival going on. The only downside is that it makes this post a challenging one to write! So without further ado, here are our favorite festivals from a variety of categories:
Po-Boy Fest
Most Improved Festival: Po-Boy Festival. Po-Boy Fest has always been a winner as far as location and substance: the beautiful Oak Street and delicious po-boys, respectively. Unfortunately, previous years ran into some overcrowding issues that dampened the fun. Thanks to forward thinking by the organizers and extended hours, everyone was able to truly enjoy the great sandwiches including the winner of best meat po-boy and my favorite from Blue Dot Donuts, plus the amazing music, like Rebirth Brass Band.
A small part of the World's Longest Oyster Po-Boy! (Photo credit: New Orleans Road Food Festival)
Most Underrated Festival: New Orleans Roadfood Festival. Still in its infancy – as far as New Orleans festivals go – the Roadfood Festival gives you something that few other festivals in the city can: the taste of local foods and those from across the country. Despite having vendors from as far as Iowa and Massachusetts, it seems as if most attendees tend to simply stumble across the Roadfood Fest. Selfishly, that suits us just fine as we’ll get to enjoy the amazing March weather while cheering as New Orleans’ bravest take on New Orleans’ finest in the fireman versus policeman beignet challenge.
FQF food stalls in the shadow of the St. Louis Cathedral (Photo credit: OffBeat Magazine)
Best Festival:French Quarter Festival. For years now, French Quarter Fest has taken top billing in our house. First, the price simply can’t be beat. French Quarter Fest gives up everything it has to offer for the low, low price of FREE! That’s right, free admission for four days of music, food and the French Quarter! With more than 200 musical acts, everyone will have a band (or seven) they’ll be itching to see. But music isn’t the only high point of French Quarter Fest, as the food is arguably second to no other New Orleans Festival in terms of quality and diversity. It is down right impossible to beat free admission, amazing music and a great food selection.
We struggled for weeks to narrow down our list of New Orleans festivals to these three, so I know we probably missed one of your favorites. Let us know what we left off in the comments and have a happy and healthy new year!
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