HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF NEW ORLEANS JAZZ AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL: ARTISAN VENDORS, CRAFT EXHIBITIONS, AND CULTURAL EDUCATION
Since the 1970s, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has taken strides in showcasing regionally and nationally acclaimed artists and crafters of various cultural backgrounds. Having grown in diversity over the years, the festival now hosts hundreds of creators on-site throughout both weekends. Attendees can observe demonstrations and shop an eclectic mix of jewelry, clothing, artwork, and housewares.
Contemporary Crafts
The alluring showcase of Contemporary Crafts is located in Heritage Square on the festival grounds. Visitors can indulge in compelling artwork, hand-crafted pottery and clothing, stunning jewelry, and glamorous sculptures.
Congo Square African Marketplace
Jazz Fest attributes its heritage to the culture, crafts, and people of the African diaspora. At Congo Square African Marketplace, visitors can shop the eccentric fabrics, glittering jewelry, and ancient skills of international artisans.
Louisiana Marketplace
In true Louisiana fashion, various historic arts and crafts are rooted in diversity and tradition. At Louisiana Marketplace, visitors can shop hand-made jewelry, Creole and Acadian furniture, and other whimsical offerings from local artisans.
Louisiana Folklife Village
The Louisiana Folklife Village presents visitors with real-time exhibitions of centuries-old crafting traditions. In the shady area near the Fais Do Do stage, visitors can pop in and out of each tent with new insights on various skills. This village has everything from ironwork for French Quarter balconies to building Mardi Gras floats. Visitors can even witness the beading of Mardi Gras Indians’ suits.
Native American Village
Located among the tents of the Louisiana Folklife Village lies the Native American Village. Louisiana’s indigenous people have a rich culture and history to celebrate. Visitors can indulge in fry bread, observe intricate basket weaving and beading, and watch live pow-wow dancing.
The Grandstand
One thing that sets the Grandstand apart from other cultural showcases is air conditioning. Visitors can cool off while appreciating various art exhibits, cajun cuisine, music heritage, and more.
Remembering the Legacy of Backstreet Cultural Museum’s Sylvester “Hawk” Francis
Visitors can commemorate historian Sylvester “Hawk” Francis, founder of Backstreet Cultural Museum, all weekend. For the past thirty years, Francis shared the museum’s offerings with attendees at his booth in the grandstand, including the history of New Orleans’ jazz funerals, second lines, Skull and Bone gangs, and Mardi Gras Indians. This year, Francis’s daughter Dominique Dilling Francis continues his legacy.
George Fest: A Celebration of George T. Wein
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is a grand display of local and international culture and talent today because of George T. Wein. As the founder of Jazz Fest, Wein changed the way the music industry functions in New Orleans. Visitors can pay homage to Wein by browsing the pictorial tribute in the Grandstand.
From the Third Ward to the Thirteenth
Pay tribute to the greats of New Orleans music. Milagros Collective is hosting an exhibition highlighting musicians Dr. John and Art Neville. “Both Dr. John and Art Neville, whose songs and personalities reflected a vast spirituality, a great sense of humanity, and a deep funk, made important contributions to the music and the singular culture of the Crescent City,” says the Jazz Fest website.
Cultural Exchange Pavillion
New Orleans’s multicultural heritage has always been at the forefront of Jazz Fest. Each year the Cultural Exchange Pavillion highlights international musicians, dancers, and crafters in a way that allows visitors to interact and exchange. Peurto Rico will take the spotlight in 2023 in what Jazz Fest calls “Pa’lante Puerto Rico.”
Stay at Maison Dupuy
One of the best ways to experience the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is by staying at a hotel in the middle of it all. Maison Dupuy resides right in the heart of the French Quarter. Make a reservation at Maison Dupuy today.