Locals’ Lagniappe Day exceeds all expectations. Locals and visitors from around the world enjoyed picture perfect weather, the best of New Orleans music, food, and the historic French Quarter.
2012 French Quarter Festival App received more downloads than any other app developed by Applitite.
April 12-15 marked the 29th anniversary of French Quarter Festival presented by Capital One Bank. This year’s attendance figures indicate that approximately 574,000* festival-goers enjoyed the music, food, special events and of course, the historic French Quarter.
The new opening day of Festival, dubbed ‘Locals’ Lagniappe Day’, on Thursday, April 12th ran for a full day and enjoyed very strong attendance. Even Friday the 13th didn’t deter festival goers as numbers for Friday rivaled past Saturday attendance figures.
The 2012 French Quarter Festival featured iPhone and Android phone apps, which were available free of charge, courtesy of Capital One Bank. The app’s developer, Philip Berman of Applitite, informed festival organizers today that the 2012 app received more downloads than any other festiva app he has developed (clients include the Chicago Blues Festival, Taste of Chicago, Chicago International Film Festival, and New Orleans Voodoo Experience. Over 25,000 apps were downloaded for the 2012 festival and the Android app garnered a 4 ½ star rating and the iPhone a 4- star rating – very high by App industry standards. Applitite LLC was founded in Chicago in January 2009 by Philip Berman. Application clients include retail, manufacturing, healthcare, games, events and the entertainment industry.
The award-winning festival, which began in 1984, has grown to become the largest free music festival in the South. A record 22 music stages throughout the French Quarter presented the best in New Orleans music, representing every genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to R & B and New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, classical, cabaret, opera, Cajun Zydeco, Latin World, International, as well as a musical stage for children. Over 90 food and beverage booths located in Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park and the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint made up the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch,” a signature event featuring authentic local cuisine from renowned area restaurants, many of whom have been with the Festival throughout its entire 29-year history.
FQFI officials worked with Capital One Bank and Hotard to continue free shuttle service to the festival for a third year. Free to ride all weekend, Capital One sponsored the ‘Second Line Shuttle’, which was routed from the Central Business District to Canal Street. To accommodate festival goers both Saturday and Sunday, the New Orleans Police Department closed down most streets of the French Quarter to traffic – ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for locals and visitors alike. Fest goers enjoyed walking in the streets and enjoying the historic neighborhood. Very few events in the City are afforded such a traffic closure. New Orleans Police provided strong support throughout the weekend, alongside the Guardian Angels and Fess Security.
French Quarter Festival relies on strong community support to present the ‘kickoff to festival season in New Orleans’ – with over 2,000 volunteers, over 260 musical acts, numerous generous sponsors – including the New Orleans Musicians Union AFM Local 174-496, corporations from all over the state who sponsor musical acts at festival, New Orleans Police and Fire Departments, EMS, permitting assistance from the City of New Orleans and partnerships with Parks and Parkways, Audubon Institute and the Louisiana State Museum, among others.
Over 700 guests attended the festival’s kickoff party: ‘TGIF’ – Thank Goodness it’s Festival! – at the House of Blues. Festival goers attended a variety of free special events throughout the weekend, including the return of the fireworks (absent since 2005), a new lecture series, ‘Let them Talk: Conversations on Louisiana Music’; free dance lessons at three stages; two children’s areas with music and activities at the Audubon Aquarium riverfront plaza and the courtyard of the Hermann-Grima House Museum; a Pirate’s Alley Juried Art Show; Rouses World Championship Crawfish Eating Contest; Battle of the Bands; and Sunday’s ‘Dancing at Dusk’, which filled the 400 block of Royal Street and beyond with dancers.
Festival Sponsors for the 29th annual French Quarter Festival as of February 9, 2012 include: Capital One Bank (Presenting Sponsor), Abita Brewing Company, Pepsi, WWL-TV, Absolut Vodka, Malibu Rum, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Woodbridge Wines, Tropical Isle, Rouses Market, Harrah’s Foundation, French Market Corporation, Chevron, New TUMS Freshers, Louisiana Office of Tourism, The Greater New Orleans Buick/GMC Dealerships, City of New Orleans, The Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation, Rick’s 315 Bourbon, Musician’s Performance Fund, PJ’s Coffee and Tea of New Orleans, nola.com, Louisiana Lottery, House of Blues, Hotel Monteleone, United Airlines, Pat O’s on the River, Hard Rock Café, Windsor Court Hotel, BMI, Court of Two Sisters, Tulane Medical Center, Tulane Hospital for Children at Tulane Medical Center, Hermann Grima House, Applitite, Musical Legends Park, Red Bull, New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, Rolland Lock and Safe, Pelican Ice, SDT, OffBeat Magazine, Where Y’at Magazine, New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, NOLA Jitterbugs, NOTV, NOLA Baby & Family Magazine, Preservation Hall, The Historic New Orleans Collection, St. Louis Cathedral, Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, I.T.S. Fire Alarm Security, NewOrleans.com, Louisiana Cookin’, TRS, Kids and Family New Orleans, IntheKnowla.com, Where Magazine, Nola Baby and Family, Curve Magazine, Ambush Magazine, The Vinyl District, New Orleans Magazine, Louisiana Life Magazine, Acadian Profile, MyNewOrleans.com, St. Charles Avenue Magazine, New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles, WRNO, WWNO, 96.1 The River, 101.5 WYNK, 102.5 WFMF, 1150AM WJOB, B97, Bayou 95.7, Magic 101.9, KCIL, KXOR, and KJIN.
French Quarter Festivals, Inc. releases the 2012 music lineup for the 29th annual French Quarter Festival – April 12- April 15, 2012 and introduces two new stages to the growing festival – the Rick’s 315 Stage on Bourbon Street (traditional Jazz) and a Cabaret Stage at the Hotel Monteleone’s new Carousel Bar. French Quarter Festival was founded in 1984 as a way to bring locals back to the French Quarter after major street and sidewalk construction before the World’s Fair. What was meant to be a one-time event has grown into a free, four-day festival with over 22 stages of music throughout the French Quarter, over 800 local musicians, over 250 hours of free music, and over 500,000 festival goers.
This year French Quarter Festival introduces many new acts to the lineup including the Royal Southern Brotherhood with Cyril Neville, Don Vappie and the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Deacon John, New Orleans Bingo! Show, George Porter, Jr. and his Runnin’ Pardners, Papa Grows Funk, Gina Brown & Anutha Level, the Iguanas, and Bill Summers & Jazalsa, to name a few. French Quarter Festival will also feature 2012 Grammy winners, Rebirth Brass Brand – along with local favorites like Troy ‘Trombone Shorty’ Andrews and Orleans Avenue; Walter ‘Wolfman’ Washington; Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra; Jeremy Davenport; Soul Rebels; Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys; and Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders.
Musician Sponsorship Program
In 2012 French Quarter Festival, Inc. launched the Musician Sponsorship program which eliminated the musicians’ responsibility of securing a sponsor. The new program has taken the burden off musicians and created hundreds of new partnerships for the festival. In March 2012, the Festival met its goal for musician sponsorships and will use the extra funds raised to cover musician parking at festival this year. One hundred percent of the musician sponsorship income will go towards musician expense at French Quarter Festival. Currently, twenty-one (of the twenty-two) stages at French Quarter Festival feature Louisiana artists exclusively. Over 800 local musicians perform at French Quarter Festival each year.
Visit www.fqfi.org for more information on the music lineup, stages, and musician sponsorship. The free App for iPhone or Android is courtesy of Capital One Bank and Applitite.
In a city known for its delicious and diverse cuisine, even festivals are known for serving world-class food. During the 29th annual French Quarter Festival (Thursday, April 12 – Sunday, April 15, 2012) festival-goers will enjoy signature offerings at the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch.” The 2012 festival welcomes nine new restaurants including Galatoire’s, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, Blue Dot Donuts, Three Muses, Maximo’s Italian Grill, Grand Isle, Deanies, Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant, and PJ’s Coffee and Tea of New Orleans. Food and beverage booths, located in Jackson Square, Woldenberg Riverfront Park and the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint, make up the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch.”
French Quarter Festival annually features authentic local cuisine from the area’s finest restaurants, including festival favorites such as crawfish and goat cheese crepes, cochon de lait po-boys, crawfish bisque, Oysters Bonne Femme, hot boiled crawfish, grilled chicken livers with pepper jelly, sweet potato pie, bourbon bbq shrimp, prime debris po-boys, Abita beer, snoballs, and more. Foodies will also enjoy lamb sliders, Crawfish Diavolo, baked alaska, and boudin balls. In addition to the food offerings, the festival offers an array of refreshing beverages including Abita Beer, Absoult Vodka, Malibu Rum and Jameson cocktails and daiquiris, Pepsi products including Aquafina and Gatorade, Pat O’Brien’s hurricanes, Tropical Isle Hand Grenades (and Skinny Hand Grenades), WWOZ’s Mango Freeze, and Plum Street Sno-Balls – now with an additional fourth location in Jackson Square. Most menu items range in price from $4 – $8 to keep the festival not only fun, but affordable.
In order to maintain the authenticity and quality of the cuisine, the Jazz Brunch Committee follows specific criteria for participating in the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch”. In order to qualify, vendors must be dine-in restaurants and New Orleans restaurants are given first preference. French Quarter Festival features neighborhood favorites – including Antoine’s, Desire Oyster Bar, Galatoire’s, G W Fins, Muriel’s, Court of Two Sisters, The Bombay Club, Bennachin, Praline Connection, and Tujague’s – many of whom participated in the first-ever French Quarter Festival in 1984.
Visit www.fqfi.org to view complete food and beverage menus, or download the free Apps for iPhone and Android – courtesy of Capital One Bank and Applitite. The “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch” is served daily from 11am to 7pm at Jackson Square and Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint and 11am to 9 pm at Woldenberg Riverfront Park, except for Sunday when the entire festival closes at 7pm.
It makes perfect sense that the Big Easy, with its knack for nostalgia as well as its passion for living in the moment and savoring it, would be the home of so many decadent recipes for that most luxurious of meals—brunc —especially for the World’s Largest Jazz Brunch during the annual French Quarter Festival. Pelican Publishing Company has produced a special signed and numbered, limited edition of the new book in Kit Wohl’s Classic New Orleans series to be released on March 15.
In this gorgeously photographed book, Wohl has compiled fifty recipes from the city’s legendary restaurants and chefs, complete with straightforward instructions for attaining easy elegance any time of the day
“We‘re toasting New Orleans greatest entertainers: food, music, and the leisure to enjoy them. Festival executive director Marci Schramm and her colleagues give us that opportunity,” says author Kit Wohl. ”The city’s legendary and quirky restaurants provided both traditional and unconventional recipes for a close-up of our magical customs. The chefs comprise an honor roll of New Orleans’ best. From highfalutin to down home, they create the greatest neighborhood food in America. We know this to be true—that’s a promise.”
The French Quarter Festival serves up the World’s Largest Jazz Brunch, rollicking through historic Jackson Square, Vieux Carré parks, and the riverfront. Each spring is a free showcase of traditional and contemporary jazz, rhythm and blues, New Orleans funk, Zydeco, brass bands, folk, opera, and gospel. —Seasoned with fun in a four-day second line, it’s a fest with a feast celebrated by New Orleans best: great food, music, and dancing in the streets.
Tips, techniques, culinary escapades, and inspirations from these masters accompany the recipes. If you know what it means to miss New Orleans, this cookbook is for you. If you’ve never been here, plan a visit for the French Quarter Festival, and relish a meal you’ve only dreamed about.
Or, remembered.
Kit Wohl is the author of eight books celebrating cuisine and her native New Orleans, is also a photographer, fine artist, and graphic artist.
French Quarter Festivals, Inc. unveils the 29th annual French Quarter Festival Poster by artist Brandon Delles. Each year, the festival’s Merchandise Committee selects a painting that portrays the fun, festive atmosphere of French Quarter Festival and appeals to both locals and tourists. Consideration is given only to local artists. To keep the festival free and open to the public, French Quarter Festival relies heavily on merchandise and poster sales, sponsorships, and beverage sales to generate its operating budget.
For the 2012 poster, well known local artist, Brandon Delles, recreates a lively French Quarter Festival atmosphere with a triptych display of the Woldenberg Riverfront Park, Jackson Square, and the Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint, while playfully bringing to life New Orleans icon and French Quarter Festival regular, blues musician, Coco Robicheaux. Brandon captures New Orleans food, music, and culture by including elements that personify New Orleans and the French Quarter through the use of rich colors, unique character, and whimsical charm.
Brandon Delles
Brandon began his professional career in the arts as a caricaturist at Walt Disney World after his tour with the Marine Corps in 1996. His interest to become an animator for Walt Disney drove him to learn the craft of caricaturizing and eventually shaped his unique and playful style of art.
Brandon attended the University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and later moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. Since his move to New Orleans, Brandon has become an active member of the Arts Council of New Orleans and has created works for Dirty Linen Night 2011, The Three Muses, and the Vieux Carré Art Gallery in Jackson Square. Brandon is often found in Jackson Square painting his unique pieces using quick sketching and self taught painting techniques to capture the essence of the New Orleans diverse scenes.
Coco Robicheaux
Coco Robicheaux (born Curtis John Arceneaux) was born in 1947 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. Coco’s gravelly voice, bluesy Louisiana music, and interest in the spiritual and mystical elements made him a New Orleans and global icon. His name, Coco Robicheaux, came from the Louisiana folk tale of a boy taken by the loup garou – French for werewolf. His family had called him by the name from the time he was a little boy—it was a popular name to use for frightening kids when they were behaving badly.
He released several albums during the many decades of his career including Spiritland, Hoodoo Party, and Revelator. He was often seen in the Frenchmen Street entertainment district, is a well known icon around the globe, and a regular talent at French Quarter Festival. Coco is also famous for his appearance in the HBO series ―Treme‖ where he sacrifices a rooster in the studio of radio station WWOZ. Mr. Robicheaux passed away Friday, November 25, 2011 at the age of 64. He is greatly missed by the community of New Orleans and the world.
Editions:
2750 Artist-signed & numbered prints, $45
250 Artist Proofs & numbered prints, $65
Image Size 120″ x 72″
Poster Size 38” x 17”
French Quarter Festivals, Inc. unveils the 29th annual French Quarter Festival Poster by artist Brandon Delles. Each year, the festival’s Merchandise Committee selects a painting that portrays the fun, festive atmosphere of French Quarter Festival and appeals to both locals and tourists. Consideration is given only to local artists. To keep the festival free and open to the public, French Quarter Festival relies heavily on merchandise and poster sales, sponsorships, and beverage sales to generate its operating budget.
Brandon Delles
