Aside from enjoying 250 hours of FREE and local music and dining on legendary New Orleans’ cuisine, there are a lot of special event that take place during French Quarter Fest.

Friday, April 17, 2009 | Saturday, April 18, 2009 | Sunday, April 19, 2009

SPECIAL EVENTS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2009

• 10am - French Quarter Festival Second-Line Kickoff Parade – 100 block of Bourbon Street to Jackson Square
  
  
• 11am to 3pm (last tours begin at 2pm) - Open Tours of the Hermann-Grima House – 820 St. Louis, and Gallier House – 1132 Royal
  
  
• 2pm to 4pm - Patio Planters Historic Courtyard Self-Guided Tours – Begins ar 1129 Bourbon Street
  
  
• 2pm to 4pm - French Quarter Festival 2009 poster signing, featuring local artist Søren Vandegaard – The Idea Factory, 838 Chartres St
  
  
• 7pm - The Historic New Orleans Collection presents the tenth annual Bill Russel Lecture: “Louis Armstrong’s New Orleans” – by author Dr. Tom Brothers, with Clive Wilson on trumpet and Butch Thompson on piano. Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres St


• 13th Annual New Orleans International Music Colloquium, featuring academic presentations on the history of New Orleans music – Jazz National Park Visitors Center, 916 N. Peters

IMPROVISING:

• 9:30 – Joseph Logsdon Memorial – Coffee & Welcome
  
  
• 10:00 – Improvisation – Dr. Charles Chamberlain presents a selection from his thesis on improvisation in New Orleans Music
  
  
• 11:00 – Davenport, Iowa: A Staging Point for New Orleans Music – Sue Fisher will discuss the early Northern reaches of New Orleans sounds
  
  
• 12:00 – The Steamer President – Captain Doc hawley, Dr. Carolyn Kolb, and Dr. Bruce Raeburn will discuss the context, the history, and the future of the Famous New Orleans floating dancehall
  
  
• 1:00 – Ofter Mistaken for Jazz – Dr. Jack Stewart, with pianist Beth Turner, examines a pre-jazz body of music sometimes called Rag-Blues Barrelhouse or Honky Tonk
  
  
• 2:00 – Bandleader John Ribichaux – Daniel Vernhettes will present information from his biographical work on the legendary musical figure
  
  
• 3:00 – Lemon Nash Sings the Blues – Jon Pult will explore the un-sung career of New Orleans ukulele player, Lemon Nash
  
  
• 4:00 – New Orleans Rhythm and Blues: Why Doesn’t It Get Any Respect? – Rick Coleman asks why Rhythm and Blues, one of the city’s most popular musical forms, does not get any scholarly attention
  
  

***All special events are subject to change