New Orleans French Quarter Festival

The New Orleans French Quarter Festival is a 3-day music, food and cultural festival throughout New Orleans' Vieux Carré and riverfront each spring. French Quarter Fest features over 150 musical performances on 17 stages at Woldenberg Park, Jackson Square, and along Royal and Bourbon streets. Food booths in Jackson Square and along the riverfront serve regional cuisine from French Quarter restaurants. St. Anthony's Garden hosts a kid's performance and activity area. This year, the festival will be held April 9 - 11, 2010. Visit www.fqfi.org.

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

Hear the hottest jazz, Cajun, Zydeco, rhythm and blues, gospel, country and rock-n-roll music at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. An international musical and cultural event, Jazz Fest at the New Orleans Fairgrounds features performances by hundreds of internationally-renowned musicians and chart-topping bands, New Orleans arts and crafts, and mouthwatering Creole, Cajun and Crescent City cuisine. Jazz Fest has been called "the country's very best music festival" by Life magazine. Don't miss the the 2010 Jazz Fest, April 23- May 2. Visit www.nojazzfest.com.

New Orleans Mardi Gras.

The city's legendary festival since 1857, Mardi Gras is a two-week carnival of lavish masquerade balls, street parties, dances, music and over 70 extravagant parades. Like most passions in New Orleans, Mardi Gras embraces the city's social and cultural diversity, from the Zulu parade to the Comus Ball. Mardi Gras Season runs from the Twelfth Night of Christmas until Fat Tuesday - a New Orleans holiday when the town parties in colorful costume and joins in the vibrant parades. During Mardi Gras, the French Quarter is a spectacle of street parties, full of debauchery on balconies and Bourbon Street. For Mardi Gras parade routes and the best places to get Mardi Gras beads, masks, and king cakes, visit www.mardigrasneworleans.com.