French Quarter Festival in New Orleans runs four days each April with free music on 23 stages across the Quarter, Spanish Plaza and Woldenberg Park, plus a long list of Louisiana food vendors.
Tip: The free festival is the city's largest free music event; food vendors line Royal Street and the levee park.
Address: Jackson Square, 700 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116
New Orleans Wine and Food Experience (NOWFE) is the city's chef-led tasting weekend each June, with grand tastings of 1000 wines from 175 wineries and 75 chefs serving regional cuisine.
Tip: The Vinola event is the highest-tier tasting; seminars are the best-value tickets and the food is the same.
New Orleans Oyster Festival in Woldenberg Park runs each early June with oyster shucking and eating contests (Acme), free music on the riverfront and 10-plus seafood restaurant tents.
Tip: Free festival; the P&J Shucking Contest at noon is the spectacle order. Bring sunscreen, riverfront is unshaded.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans runs from Twelfth Night (January 6) through Fat Tuesday, with king cake on every bakery counter, krewe parades, throws, and a city eating its way through Carnival.
Tip: Get to a parade two hours early on the final weekend; king cake from Dong Phuong is the must-try local order.
Boudin, Bourbon and Beer in New Orleans is the Donald Link Foundation fundraiser each November, with 70-plus chefs in Champions Square plating boudin, Cajun small plates and bourbon flights.
Tip: Single day ticket, around $115 advance, includes all food and bourbon pours; book early, it sells out.
Oak Street Po-Boy Festival in New Orleans is the free Carrollton street festival each November, with 40-plus vendors plating creative po-boys, music stages and family-friendly crowds on Oak.
Tip: Bring cash for vendor lines; weekend afternoon family-friendly, parking around Carrollton Avenue is tight.
Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans runs at the Fair Grounds Race Course over two long weekends, with 70-plus Louisiana food vendors, crawfish bread, mango freezes and music on 12 stages.
Tip: The cochon de lait po-boy at Stage 4 has been the Jazz Fest cult dish since 1996; budget two hours for the queue at peak.
