New Orleans is known for its vivacious style, sass, jazz and pizazz. This passionate and soulful southern city is a survivor, making its comeback after a natural disaster in the best way possible – a series of vibrant festivals dedicated to the arts and renewal. Tip: To get the best deals, book cheap flights to New Orleans as early as possible.
The Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival happens late March each year. Anybody who knows the origin of the shouted refrain ‘Stelllaaaaaaaa’ will appreciate this festival. It is dedicated to all things Tennessee Williams, who resided in the city during the most creative period of his life. It also celebrates famous American playwrights and writers throughout history with a calendar of interesting established and new writers reading from their new releases.
As it is New Orleans, night time tomfoolery will come visiting and there are often free evening concerts to enjoy in spring, generous portions of southern food in street stalls and exciting food events. Watch out for unplanned and free outdoor performances of plays such as A Street Car Named Desire in the French Quarter.
If getting down is on the agenda, then head to the funkiest and finest Jazz Fest of them all, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 27th to 29th and May 3rd to 6th, 2012. This is pretty much the business, a veritable who’s who of rock n’ roll: Eddie Vedder, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers, The Beach Boys and The Eagles. And topping this off there are a selection of great modern artists on the bill: Feist, Florence and The Machine, Bon Iver and Ne-Yo. Get out to New Orleans and support the rebirth of this amazing and vibrant American city.
Guest Post By Rakhi Sharma
Jessica Festa is the editor of the travel sites Jessie on a Journey (http://jessieonajourney.com) and Epicure & Culture (http://epicureandculture.com). Along with blogging at We Blog The World, her byline has appeared in publications like Huffington Post, Gadling, Fodor’s, Travel + Escape, Matador, Viator, The Culture-Ist and many others. After getting her BA/MA in Communication from the State University of New York at Albany, she realized she wasn’t really to stop backpacking and made travel her full time job. Some of her most memorable experiences include studying abroad in Sydney, teaching English in Thailand, doing orphanage work in Ghana, hiking her way through South America and traveling solo through Europe. She has a passion for backpacking, adventure, hiking, wine and getting off the beaten path.
