New Orleans has two great events to help you commemorate the Fourth of July long holiday weekend . Essence Festival of Culture takes place June 30 – July 3 with events throughout the city focusing on fashion , music , food , community , culture , love , lifestyle , celebrity and beauty . Each day culminates with concert events at the Smoothie King Center and Caesars Superdome . This year ’ s headliners include Kevin Hart , Nicki Minaj , Janet Jackson and New Edition . www . essence . com /
And no Fourth celebration would be complete without fireworks . 4th Fest in Crescent Park includes dueling barges fireworks display , live music , food and drink . www . frenchmarket . org
Run for your life at the New Orleans version of the Running of the Bulls . Well , it is not quite as dramatic as the one taking place in Pamplona , Spain , and real bulls have been replaced by the Big Easy Rollergirls adorned in horns with plastic bats , but hey it all equals to less medical emergencies and more fun . San Fermin en Nueva Orleans is July 8 – 10 , with several events happening in addition , such as El Txupinazo , La Fiesta de Pantalones and El Pobre de Mí : Poor Me . www . nolabulls . com /
Let Them Eat Cake as we acknowledge our French heritage at French Market Bastille Day Celebration on July 9 featuring live music and other Francophile delights . www . frenchmarket . org
Cheers the summer at the 20th anniversary of Tales of the Cocktail July 25 – 29 . One of the world ’ s premier cocktail festivals , Tales welcomes the international bar and spirits industry for a week of seminars , tastings , networking and special events . With hundreds of opportunities developed specifically for bartenders , distillers and other bar and spirits professionals , Tales of the Cocktail
is the industry ’ s annual meeting place for the exchanging of new ideas , products and techniques . www . talesofthecocktail . org /
Enjoy a night in white linen at White Linen Night on Aug . 6 . This event art takes place in the Arts / Warehouse District predominantly on Julia Street and the Contemporary Arts Center . Thousands of people don their best white attire and stroll down Julia Street enjoying exclusive performances and exhibitions , gallery showings , parties , food and music . www . cacno . org /
Enjoy our city and All That Jazz at the Satchmo Summerfest on August 7 – 8 . Some of their best jazz performers in our city will be performing at this multi-day music festival celebrating the life of Louis “ Satchmo ” Armstrong . The event takes place at the New Orleans Jazz Museum . Along with music , there will be some incredible delicacies provided by top restaurants in the city , bart displays , parties and seminars . www . satchmosummerfest . org /
Everyone will be seeing red on Aug . 13 at the Red Dress Run , bringing out thousands of people dressed in red dresses who run ( saunter , stumble ) through the city to raise money for charity . It starts and ends at Crescent Park , where there is food , music and lots of beer . www . noh3 . com /
As you can see , there is no such thing as the dull days of summer in New Orleans . In addition to the events and festivals , hotels are running special , inexpensive promotions . Running from mid-July through the beginning of September , Coolinary New Orleans is a restaurant promotion featuring mouthwatering menus for lunch , brunch at special affordable prices . Come to New Orleans this year and experience a delicious summer .
8 | The French Quarterly