Don’t let the hot temps stop you from eating, drinking, and strutting your stuff through the late summer in New Orleans. From block parties to food and music fests to running in a fancy dress and/or drinking beer for a good cause, August has got something going on every weekend, with the fun spilling into September with the immensely popular Southern Decadence festival over the Labor Day weekend. Celebrate the end of summer and ease into fall with these August and September happenings in New Orleans.

COOLinary

Thursday, August 1 – Sunday, September 15, 2024

There’s no better time to try out an award-winning restaurant during your visit or revisit an old favorite than in August and September. For the month of August and the first half of September the COOLinary dining program offers discounted dining deals at participating restaurants located all over the city, and even stretching as far as Harvey and Kenner.

COOLinary was conceived as a citywide promotion to lure diners to local restaurants during the slower summer months. Over a decade in existence, this annual culinary tradition keeps growing. Dozens of participating local restaurants run the gamut from the iconic to the smaller, more casual ones. Make a reservation today, and bon appetit!

Museum Month

Thursday, August 1 – Saturday, August 31, 2024

During the month of August, be sure to take advantage of the Museum Month deal, when you can visit any of the participating museums for the price of membership of any one of them. The one-time admission fee to some local museums can run over $20, so this is a great opportunity to explore on the budget. The fees for the smaller museums are probably the best deal, ranging from $30 to $35 annually. You can buy a membership upon arrival.

Fidelity Bank White Linen Night

Saturday, August 3, 2024

Started in 1994 in an attempt to attract visitors to that revived area (now known as Arts District New Orleans), White Linen Night has been growing steadily, attracting more visitors and vendors every year. This popular, block-party style art event is held on the first Saturday in August in the Warehouse District, essentially serving as an open house for the galleries clustered on the 300-600 blocks of Julia Street.

That whole area is blocked off, hosting several stages for live music and dozens of food and drink stands. About 20 galleries on and around Julia St. are open to the public.

The block party is free (you can buy food and beverage tickets on-site). While there’s no dress code, as the event’s name suggests, consider wearing white.

Satchmo SummerFest

Saturday-Sunday, August 3-4, 2024

Satchmo SummerFest remains one of the August highlights and just the respite you’ll need from the summer trifecta of heat, humidity and afternoon downpours. This popular annual festival, traditionally held over the two days of the first weekend of August at the New Orleans Jazz Museum at The Mint (located at the beginning of Esplanade Avenue on Decatur Street in the French Quarter), is easy to navigate and get to.

The lineup is always stellar, with the best of the brass bands and the who-is-who of the Louisiana and New Orleans music scenes, and the mixture of indoor-outdoor activities to keep you cool and dancing.

And, don’t forget about the food! As in previous years, dozens of the best local restaurants will be vending everything from crepes to meat pies to tacos and fried chicken. Festival staples like beer and snoballs also keep returning, in addition to the cocktail stands selling margaritas, spiked lemonade, and mimosas.

Wear plenty of sunscreen!

Red Dress Run

Saturday, August 10, 2024

Traditionally held on the second Saturday of August, the Red Dress Run isn’t exclusive to New Orleans, but the local participants take it up a notch by costuming on top of wearing their best and/or most outlandish red dress, regardless of gender.

This is an annual fundraiser run for local charities organized by hashing groups (adults-only, non-competitive social running clubs) all over the world. They call themselves “drinking clubs with a running problem” and the local group, New Orleans Hash House Harriers (NOH3), is no exception.

The run starts and ends at Crescent Park at 2300 N. Peters St., though the whole two-mile route is kept secret until the day of the event. The beer starts flowing at the pre-party with live music at 9:30 a.m., and you can usually spot some of the sweaty Red Dress runners spilling into the night later that day. If you decide to run, online registration is available, a red dress is a must, and you must be 21 to participate.

Dirty Linen Night

Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Dirty Linen Night, as you may have guessed, takes after another annual art event, the White Linen Night. It follows the White Linen Night exactly one week after, on the second Saturday in August.

Although the Dirty Linen Night riffs off the White Linen Night, it’s not meant to compete with the Warehouse District event but was conceived to promote the many galleries and shops of Royal Street. It is similar in format, though looser in structure and spanning more territory.

The multi-block party takes over the 300-1100 blocks of Royal Street and some cross streets and adjoining areas in the French Quarter, including Jackson Square and Dutch Alley. Dozens of galleries participate each year, plus a number of shops and restaurants. The food and drinks served, like dirty rice and dirty martinis, cheekily run with the theme. This outdoor event is free.

Southern Decadence

Thursday, August 29 – Monday, September 2, 2024

This massive Labor Day extravaganza started in the 1970s and is now considered one of the biggest draws to the city after Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, ESSENCE Festival, and the French Quarter Festival. The popular festival celebrates the LGBTQI+ culture and attracts participants from all over the world.

Southern Decadence usually kicks off (and closes) with a midnight dance party at its 24/7 hub, Bourbon Pub/Parade. A free show/block party on Saturday is held at the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann Streets.

The annual Southern Decadence Grand Marshal Parade on Sunday also ends there. The theme is different every year. You can buy passes, including VIP, online to access the events that charge an entrance fee and may sell out.

Are you visiting New Orleans this summer?

Take advantage of Alder Hotel’s specials, group rates, and best-rate guarantee for greater savings to spend on New Orleans famous cuisine and enjoy everything this magnificent city has to offer. Reserve your room today!

Also, consider booking a guided tour of the famous St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 to experience the hauntingly beautiful past of New Orleans. And, for easy, informative sightseeing, we recommend the City Sightseeing New Orleans city tour on the open-top, double-decker bus. It runs every 30 minutes through the Garden District, French Quarter, and CBD. You can hop on and off anytime!

Happy summer!

The holiday season in New Orleans is a magical time to visit. The weather has cooled off, but not to the point where you wouldn’t want to be outside. The city is bedecked with lights and dazzling decorations, and the streetcars are adorned with wreaths.

The festivities go into overdrive in December and January, so there’s much to choose from for both adults and kids alike. From the traditional Reveillon dinners to the winter-themed festivals and bonfires, you’re in for a spectacle and an unforgettable, unique experience.

Here are our picks on what to see, eat and do if you’re visiting during the months of December and January.

Parades

The Krewe of Krampus parade is dedicated to the mythological creature from the Central European forests, rolling through the Bywater, typically on a Saturday in early December (December 3 in 2022), starting at 7 p.m. Krampus and his army of mischief hand out lumps of coal and take great joy in behaving badly.

Three parades kick off the Carnival season on January 6, which is the Twelfth Night and falls on a Friday in January 2023. As usual, Phunny Phorty Phellows ride the streetcar from Uptown to Canal Street and back starting at 7 p.m. The walking Krewe of Joan of Arc parade rolls in at 7 p.m. from Jax Brewery in the French Quarter, and the Société Des Champs Elysée parade takes place starting at 7:30 p.m. on N. Rampart Street and Esplanade, going to the CBD, and following the N. Rampart/St. Claude streetcar route.

Festivals

Every December (December 15-18 in 2022), the LUNA Fête light show illuminates the Convention Center. The annual large-scale light and sound installations are breathtaking, and the fest is free and family-friendly.

One of those unique opportunities to immerse yourself in wintery activities is the popular and family-friendly festival that celebrates all things Christmas. The annual NOLA ChristmasFest is the only indoor Christmas festival in the area. It also takes place at the Convention Center, kicking off on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, and wrapping on Saturday, December 31, 2022.

Expect giant ice slides, a walk-through maze, and the gingerbread house display among many other attractions and rides. You can also take pictures with Santa, enjoy a 52×140-foot ice-skating rink, and have a snowball fight. Parents can take respite in the “adult lounge” (must be 21 or over to enter) overlooking the ice rink, and some friendly elves will be on hand to help wrangle the kids.

Concerts and Shows

St. Louis Cathedral Concerts is an excellent (and free) annual program that features some of the city’s greatest musicians, representing genres as varied as jazz, indie folk, zydeco, and gospel. The concerts last for about an hour and are held inside the cathedral throughout the month of December. Similarly, the historic St. Augustine church in Tremé also offers a few holiday concerts throughout the month of December.

Also, this time of year Tipitina’s has a stellar lineup of excellent shows on offer. This year, the December highlights include Anders Osborne’s Holiday Spectacular on Friday-Saturday, December 16-17, 2022, and Galactic on New Year’s Eve.

Holiday Displays

The Fulton Street pedestrian corridor is transformed into a winter wonderland of the Miracle on Fulton Street through the month of December. The free spectacle features light shows, enormous gingerbread displays, festive drinks, and spectacular holiday illumination galore.

Celebration in the Oaks, a beloved New Orleans tradition since the late 80s, had been selling out for years. It is a dazzling holiday lights festival scattered throughout the 25 acres of the City Park, including the Botanical Garden, Storyland, and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park. Stroll through the magical grounds swathed in hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, take a train ride or a holiday picture by the iconic Mr. Bingle, listen to the caroling, do some holiday shopping, or ride the historic carousel. The event runs starting on Thanksgiving Day through January 1, 2023.

Reveillon

Derived from the French word for “awakening,” Reveillon originally was a meal served after midnight mass on Christmas Eve in Creole households. Today, the tradition has been refashioned into elaborate set-course meals served at some of the city’s finest eating establishments. For a few years now the increasing number of restaurants is participating in bringing special, prix fixe Reveillon menus to the table. The list of participating restaurants includes an amazing roster of the grand dames of Creole elegance like Antoine’s and Arnaud’s, and many of the city’s iconic establishments (Commander’s Palace, Galatoire’s, Tujague’s, and many more).

Some of the best restaurants in the city are also serving up tasty cocktails for Reveillon on the Rocks. Each year local bartenders create both classic and original cocktails to celebrate the Reveillon with holiday-themed sippers. Some of those are offered as lagniappe on the Reveillon menus, others can be enjoyed as a standalone.

Other Holiday Fun

The annual Running of the Santas event brings a pack of costumed revelers to the Warehouse District on Saturday, December 10, 2022. The party starts at 2 p.m. at the “South Pole” at Manning’s, followed by the boozy run at 6 p.m. that ends a few blocks away at Generations Hall (the “North Pole”) with more partying and a costume contest.

On Christmas Eve, bonfires will illuminate the levees on the opposite side of the Mississippi River, a spectacular tradition that dates back centuries. Check local newspapers for more information on where to find the bonfires, or ask your hotel concierge.

New Year’s Eve

Not surprisingly, New Orleans goes all out on New Year’s Eve with fireworks and public revelry. One of the main holiday events is the Allstate Sugar Bowl Parade, which is part of the Sugar Bowl festivities. It kicks off at Elysian Fields Avenue and Decatur Street at 2:30 p.m. on December 30, 2022, and rolls through the French Quarter, stopping by for a quick show by Jax Brewery. Expect big floats, marching bands, plenty of throws, and a general overload of glitz and pageantry.

Watch the fleur-de-lis drop at midnight at the historic Jax Brewery during the annual Dick Clark Rockin’ New Year’s Eve, which is coordinated with the same parties in New York and Los Angeles. As usual, it will be live-cast, featuring host Ryan Seacrest. Actor Billy Porter will co-host this year. Jackson Square will also host a free party and countdown with live music and general milling about, culminating with the fireworks over the Mississippi River at midnight. The fireworks can be seen from the East and West Banks of the Mississippi River from the Outlet Collection at Riverwalk to Crescent Park at the French Market.

For some French Quarter-style partying that involves much bead tossing, see if you can score an invite to any of the private balcony bashes, or pay a cover to access one of the balconies at the bars located all up and down Bourbon Street.

For the kids, the annual New Year’s Eve Kids’ Countdown to Noon at the Louisiana Children’s Museum is typically held from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

While some other parts of the city may be more known for their late-night entertainment options, Uptown, with its child-friendly food scene, ease of navigation via streetcar, and vibrant, walkable commercial corridors like Magazine and Freret streets, offers a wide variety of things to do with kids. There are great bookstores, parks and playgrounds, tours, cafes, restaurants, museums, and shops that are perfectly suitable for the under-18 crowd.

Attractions

St. Charles Avenue, Magazine, and Freret streets are packed with shopping destinations, art galleries, and restaurants (many of which have spacious outdoor or balcony seating). Freret Street is also home to a market, held on the first Saturday of every month except June-August, and a festival, held in the spring. Both events feature live music and plenty of food vendors. Magazine and Freret Streets are easy to walk, and you can take a streetcar along St. Charles Avenue for a mere $1.25.

The majestic, oak tree-lined St. Charles Avenue is one of the most beautiful streets in the country, if not the world, with blocks upon blocks of spectacular mansions and landscaped gardens. The ride on the historic St. Charles Avenue line streetcar is high on top of many visitors’ bucket lists because it’s the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world (since 1835), and because it affords a very easy and pleasant way to see the Garden District and Uptown areas.

To take in all the beauty of the Italianate, Victorian, and Greek Revival architecture of Uptown, you can just walk around. Many of the original mid-19th-century mansions have been immaculately preserved and are surrounded by impressive gardens. Both self-guided and guided tours are available daily in the Garden District and Uptown — on foot or by bus or car (free for kids under 6). Kids and adults alike might also like visiting Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, one of the oldest cemeteries in the city, located in the heart of the Garden District, between Washington, Sixth, Prytania, and Coliseum streets (Please note that as of winter 2022 the cemetery is closed for repairs).

Another must-stop, especially if you have kids in tow, is the magnificent Audubon Park. Located in the historic district of Uptown near the picturesque campuses of Tulane and Loyola universities, Audubon Park is perfect for a stroll or a picnic (bring some bread to feed the ducks). Lined with hundreds of ancient live oaks, it features a 1.8-mile jogging path, playgrounds, picnic shelters, a lagoon, recreation areas, and a zoo.

The Audubon Zoo is one of the top zoos in the country, full of lush vegetation and exotic-animal exhibits. The younger kids may like riding the zoo’s Swamp train, and older kids can try the Safari Simulator ride. The Zoo features rare white alligators, a komodo dragon, sea lion shows, a carousel, and the award-winning Louisiana Swamp and Jaguar Jungle natural habitat areas. During the warmer months, you may want to bring your bathing suits and splash in the Zoo’s mini water park, the Cool Zoo.

Few things are more family-friendly than catching a movie, and the classic Prytania Theatre is a century-old movie theater, and the only single-screen one left in Louisiana. Inside, you’ll find plush red seats and a tiny coffee stand with excellent gelato and espresso for the adults plus kid-friendly snacks.

Eating and Drinking

Uptown is packed with restaurants that feature kid-friendly menus and/or menus catering to children specifically. These are but a few highlights, starting with St. James Cheese Company, home of the $5 Mini Moo sandwich. Targeting the “smaller cheese lovers,” it’s made with Hook’s white Cheddar cheese grilled on wheat bread and comes with chips and fruit. The kids will probably also love the shop’s cheese and charcuterie boards, which change daily and come with bread and an assortment of condiments.

We also recommend The Company Burger on Freret and Cadiz streets for its solid menu of delicious burgers, fries, and milkshakes; and the famous Camellia Grill diner with an extensive breakfast menu. The affordable Dat Dog at its Freret and Magazine locations dishes out a wide variety of meat, fish, vegan and veggie hot dogs, sausages, and other kid-friendly comfort food like burgers and chicken. Your kids will be happy to know that the dogs and the sausages come with a choice of more than 30 toppings.

For local comfort food with homestyle Creole and Cajun fare like po-boys and jambalaya, try Joey K’s on Magazine Street. The menu is very kid-friendly, with chicken tenders, grilled cheese, and fried seafood. The seafood-focused Superior Seafood & Oyster Bar has great views of St. Charles Avenue, an oyster bar, and a kids’ menu that goes beyond chicken tenders, with items like grilled shrimp and grilled chicken pasta alfredo.

Do your kids like ramen? A post-pandemic newcomer Nomiya is a traditional ramen joint that serves a simple, delicious menu. Just pick your broth and the toppings, and maybe supplement with edamame and pork buns. There’s also mochi ice cream with rotating flavors.

For more New Orleans staples your kids might like, head to the beloved local lunch staple, Guy’s Po-Boys, or Picnic Provisions & Whiskey, a family- and dog-friendly casual comfort food spot that has outdoor seating.

You have many choices when it comes to trying food from all over the world, both the spots old and new. For a classic, well-done Mexican cuisine head to Taqueria Corona. The whole family can share generous portions of tacos, burritos, and other staples.

Tito’s Ceviche & Pisco is another solid option for a family dinner, with a menu laden with traditional Peruvian dishes. Dinners at the Senegalese Dakar NOLA feature multiple courses, some served family style in homage to west African dining traditions. All three of these restaurants on Magazine Street serve excellent Mediterranean food, from the quick-service, on-the-to Tal’s Hummus to Misa with a lovely patio for outdoor dining to the award-winning chef Alon Shaya’s Saba, with very sharable Israeli culinary classics.

For a sweet treat, check out Piccola Gelateria. In addition to small-batch, house-made gelato and sorbetto in over a dozen flavors, this classic Italian-style gelato shop offers crepes (savory with meat, sweet with Nutella, and vegetarian). The whole family will also love the award-winning Gracious Bakery + Cafe (with two Uptown locations). All desserts and baked goods are top-notch, and there are house-cured salmon bagels and breakfast sandwiches. 

DISTRICT. Donuts. Sliders. Brew. on Magazine and Jackson streets also has a sophisticated coffee menu plus donuts and sliders. The tiny District Donut & Coffee Bar located on the corner of Arabella and Magazine streets offers a smaller menu, though still packed with coffee and espresso options, plus kolaches, biscuits, donuts, and sandwiches.

We hope you enjoy some family time exploring all that the area around the Alder Hotel has to offer!

Stay in touch and save on rates and more at the Alder Hotel by signing up for our email list at https://alderhotel.com/email-offers/. If you find a lower rate on your Alder Hotel room at the time of booking, call 1.888.626.5861, and we will match that rate, too.