It’s time to start planning a visit to New Orleans. The Thanksgiving and Christmas madness of late November and December will soon be upon us, with all of the gifts, heavy food (and aggravating family members) – and don’t you want to just have a little fun before then? Well, have we got a trip for you! Stay at 1896 O’Malley House to enjoy a wonderful relaxing night of sleep, followed by a delicious homemade breakfast, then head out to a festival for some pre-holiday revelry, unencumbered by anything but your sense of adventure!

First, we sally forth to Algiers, a neighborhood that is just a little different from the rest. It’s separated from greater NOLA by the Mississippi – you have to take a ferry ride to get there – but this will be well worth it! The opens in a new window Algiers Folk Art Festival is held on November 3rd, from 11am to 7pm at the Algiers Folk Art Zone & Blues Museum. Artists and creators will be there selling their work, along with live music acts and Jamaican-Creole fusion cuisine and beverage vendors. Entry is free. 

Next, a few weekends later, is the famous opens in a new windowTremé Creole Gumbo Festival, held November 17th-18th from 11am-7:30pm at Armstrong Park. Faubourg Tremé was made famous by an HBO series, but was well-known long before that! It’s America’s oldest Black neighborhood. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, free persons of color and later, African slaves who had obtained their freedom acquired, purchased, and owned real property in Tremé – an amazing occurence in a country that was still under slavery. The Gumbo Festival is New Orleans’ premier brass band showcase, with the added plus of amazing Gumbo! There will even be a gumbo cook-off, and several cooking demonstrations by local chefs, as well as an Arts Market and kids’ activities.

So make your plans and book your room for a fun weekend away in the amazing city of New Orleans!