‘Tis the Season: Festival Season in Louisiana Has Arrived

In Louisiana, festival season is one of the most anticipated times of the year. Each year, the state holds about 400 different festivals.
Some of the biggest and most sought after festivals for Louisiana natives are the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, the LA French Quarter Festival, the Jazz Festival and the Essence Festival.
The 47th Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, held in Memorial Park in Ponchatoula, LA, will be April 13th through 15th this year. Entrance is free and it is full of games, rides and strawberry flavored drinks and desserts. There will be plenty of fresh strawberries for sale as well.
The Strawberry Festival King, Strawberry Festival Queen, and Strawberry Festival Grand Marshall will also make an appearance.
The French Quarter Festival is one of the biggest festivals in the state. Entry is free and there will be over 20 stages all around the New Orleans French Quarter to showcase local music. It will be held April 12th through 15th.
The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will be held April 27th through May 6th in the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, LA. This is one of the most popular music festivals in the state. Artists like Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie, Anita Baker, Big Freedia and Khalid will be taking the stage this year. One day tickets are available for $65 before April 26th.
The Essence Festival is another huge music festival for Louisiana. It is in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans every year. This year’s artists include Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Janet Jackson, H.E.R., Erykah Badu, and Xscape. Tickets are starting at $186 for all three days. It will be held July 6th to July 8th.
While many anticipate these bigger and more well-known festivals, some Louisiana natives look forward to the smaller festivals.
Courtney Johnson, a junior Nursing major from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, enjoys the Earth Day Festival. “I guess I can say the Earth Day Festival is pretty cool, seeing everyone come out and look at the venues. And there’s so much positivity too, it’s overall a great time and experience,” says Johnson.
The Earth Day Festival is held in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana every year on Earth Day. It is a free event and is from noon to 5. There are food vendors and vendors that inform people of all ages how to preserve and protect the environment.
Others are looking forward to festivals revolving around food. Paris Green, a 22-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, says his favorite festival is the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. “I mean I love to eat and I love crawfish so it’s kind of the perfect festival for me. That’s the only one I’m waiting for to be completely honest,” says Green.
The Crawfish Festival is in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, held from May 4th-May 6th. Tickets for the whole weekend are only $15. The events include; music, zydeco dance contests, crawfish races, a crawfish etouffée cook-off and even a crawfish eating contest.
Spring and summer in Louisiana are the most wonderful times of the year. There is a festival for almost everything.