New Orleans hopes to see this second weekend of Halloween bring more folks to town for a spooky holiday getaway.
The ongoing events are expected to bring another wave of tourists to the city. Kristian Sonnier, with New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, says hotels were booked solid last weekend and should see more of the same in the next few days.
"We think it's going to be another strong weekend. There's so much going on, of course, with Halloween," says Sonnier. "Halloween's become a really popular holiday for visitors coming to New Orleans."
What the famous 'Cities of the Dead' cemetery tours, haunted house tours, Voodoo shops, Scout Island Scream Park, and The Mortuary, New Orleans has become a favorite spot for folks to spend the whole Halloween week.
"And, we've got the whole Anne Rice vampire culture. Lots of people come to New Orleans for that," Sonnier says. "A lot of folks will be coming into town for the weekend today. And many of them will probably extend their celebration from last weekend and just stay through the week and enjoy Halloween this weekend."
One of the biggest Halloween celebrations occurs every year on Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny. And, of course, there's always a party on Bourbon Street.
"That's a constant. That never changes."
Sonnier says masses of partygoers, locals and tourists alike, will be taking to the streets in elaborate and often outlandish outfits. The French Quarter will likely be filled with vampires, zombies, and ghouls seeking kindred spirits. And, of course, it wouldn't be a weekend in New Orleans without plenty of music.
"Widespread Panic is doing three shows out at UNO Lakefront Arena, so there's a lot of things happening over the weekend that are going to draw people into the city."
Sonnier says "The Most Haunted City in America" is the country's most appropriate place to join the spirit of the holiday. And, no other city in the world does Halloween better than New Orleans.