It's a big festival weekend for both New Orleans and Ponchatoula. French Quarter Fest, and the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival continue today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday).
The French Quarter Festival adds five more music stages around the Quarter today.
Music at the FQF this weekend features the likes of Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience, Amis Du Teche and many more...
The strawberry eating contests are today and tomorrow on the North Stage in Ponchatoula.
"You don’t want to miss our Strawberry Eating Contests... come hungry!" the Strawberry Fest site says.
SATURDAY, 4/13: 1:45 p.m.
SUNDAY, 4/14: 12:45 p.m.
Music in Ponchatoula this weekend features two stages with headliners including Thomas Cain and The Phunky Monkeys.
Click here for the full music lineup...
Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser says both festivals mean big business for the region and for the state.
"Two huge festivals that go head to head, but both have an incredible impact on the economy," Nungesser said. "So many different kinds of our food, our music with so many stages, they find something they really love, and that keeps them coming back for more."
If the economic impact figures Nungesser quoted are correct, then tourists truly do come back for more of French Quarter Fest and the Strawberry Festival each year.
"I believe last year the French Quarter Fest was a little over $300 million of economic impact," Nungesser said, noting that both festivals have returned to their pre-pandemic attendance and revenue levels. "The Strawberry Festival varies, but I think it's between $300 and $400 million."
While French Quarter Fest will attract people who want to take in New Orleans's music, food, and culture, Nungesser says the Strawberry Festival gives people a chance to explore another side of the state.
"It also highlights the value of the strawberry crop and those farmers that make their living," Nungesser said. "Now that we're also working with the ag commissioner on ag tourism, people want to get off the beaten path. So when they visit the Strawberry Fest and they eat those beautiful strawberries, they want to venture out and see where they pick them (and) all of the people involved. So it's a big circle that helps the whole economy of that parish."
French Quarter Fest kicks off with a parade through the French Quarter at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. That parade will start at the corner of Bienville and Bourbon and end in Jackson Square.
The Strawberry Festival opens Friday at noon at Ponchatoula Memorial Park.
Also this weekend, the Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival.
It starts at 5:00pm Friday and runs Saturday and Sunday with seafood, live music, swamp tours, kayak rentals, carnival rides, and an art walk.
