New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

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2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Sal Mannino, staff writer

Make plans now to attend the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, April 25-27 and May 1-4. Each year an all star line-up of entertainers highlights the two special weekends at the New Orleans Fairgrounds. Join us for an extra day of music, food and crafts as Jazz Fest returns to Thursday, May 1st this year.

Jazz Fest, like Mardi Gras and the French Quarter, is what makes New Orleans unique and one of the most popular destinations in the world to visit. It connects our community, all ages and races, and showcases our heritage, music and food.

The annual festival is held at the Fair Grounds Race Course from 11 am to 7 pm on each of its seven days with artists appearing on multiple stages at the same time. In addition to a fabulous variety of great music, this event is known for its Food Fair with over 100 food offerings of Louisiana and international foods, as well as a craft fair.

The Jazz Fest featured headliners are generally announced by February or March, however, the complete music lineup always includes great local Jazz bands, Cajun and rhythm and blues bands and the very popular choirs in the Gospel tent.

Anytime is a good time to enjoy New Orleans but Jazz Fest is a great time to experience the special uniqueness in our culture, our food and above all...our music.

See pictures from prior Jazz Fests!

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Jazz Fest Hotels | Jazz Festival Crafts | Jazz Festival Food | Jazz Fest Shuttle

• Jazz Fest Hotels
  Click here to reserve directly with the hotels for your lowest rates!
  
  
• Jazz Fest Crafts!
  In the Louisiana Folklife Village, master artisans create cultural treasures by using techniques passed from generation to generation. Here Mardi Gras Indians sew dazzling beaded costumes and boat builders meticulously transform indigenous cypress into the graceful pirogues and skiffs that ply our waterways. In the adjacent Louisiana Marketplace, the state's finest traditional and contemporary artists display and sell their crafts. Enter Congo Square through its unique gateways and experience music, art and culture from the African Diaspora. The Congo Square stage features performances by African, African-American, African-Caribbean and Latino musicians. Savor unique flavors from Congo food booths and shop at the Congo Square African Marketplace for original artwork, clothing, jewelry, and crafts indigenous to African culture. The Native American Village is an invitation to step into the circle that is a jubilant celebration of the heritage of the oldest indigenous culture. Native American musicians and traditional dance troupes, authentic Native art, demonstrations by Louisiana’s elders, and shaded chickees create a richly evocative experience. Heritage Square, near the Grandstand, is home to tents for gospel, contemporary jazz, and blues, as well as its own food booths. The Contemporary Crafts area, also in the Square, offers alluring hand-woven clothing, handblown glass vases and handcrafted musical instruments, along with a brilliant array of paintings, photographs, sculptures and irresistible jewelry.
  
  
• Jazz Fest Food!
  With 20 shrimp dishes, 27 crawfish selections, over 40 dessert options, along with a collection of gumbos, soups, salads and inventive entrées influenced by local customs and flavors, the legendary Food Fair is where the Jazz Festival becomes a "feast-ival." Choose from a tantalizing tableaux that includes Creole stuffed bread, pecan catfish Meunière, fried eggplant with crawfish sauce, smothered pork chops with greens and cornbread, alligator sauce piquante, shrimp and sausage macque choux, and the unmistakable pheasant, quail and andouille gumbo. Sink your teeth into tempting po-boys and sandwiches, from the renowned fried oyster, fried turkey, BBQ brisket and muffuletta offerings to the more exotic soft-shell crawfish, turkey andouille, cochon de lait and alligator sausage. Sample the international flavors of savory lamb stew with basmati rice, snow crab maki-sushi, jama-jama, nacatamal, falafel, vegetarian spring rolls, and Jamaican jerk chicken. Satisfy your dessert craving with peach cobbler, strawberry shortcake, pecan pie, sweet potato cookies, fresh fruit salad, Louisiana blackberry sorbet, and bread pudding with praline sauce.

• Jazz Fest Shuttle
  Take the Jazz Fest Express -- it offers continous round-trip service to the Fair Grounds Race Course from 10:30 am to 7:30 pm. A special entrance is available to the Jazz Fest Express buses to avoid traffic. Buses depart from many locations.