Spring into Baton Rouge in 2011

Baton Rouge, Louisiana is buzzing with festivals this spring,  pulsating a unique rhythm with its vibrant music scene, exceptional art and tasty cuisine. Discover the capital city’s rich heritage while experiencing its exciting culture.

Enjoy a star-studded concert in Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium at Bayou Country Superfest May 28 and 29. Previous performers include Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Brooks and Dunn, Keith Urban and Jason Aldean. The 2011 lineup will feature Tim McGraw, Sugarland, Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington and the Zac Brown Band.

The capital city will be filled with blues, music blues of course. Head to the Baton Rouge Blues Festival on May 7. This festival boasts headliners such as Delbert McClinton, Jimmie Vaughan, great local entertainment and spicy Louisiana jambalaya.

Art and music lovers will enjoy FestForAll, an entire weekend of art and entertainment downtown. Experience this premier art and music festival on April 30 and May 1. Visitors can shop for local artwork while viewing demonstrations, watching theater performances, listening to live music and tasting a variety of Louisiana’s signature cuisine. FestForAll also features a Children's Village on the lower grounds of Louisiana's Old State Capitol that will feature musicians, puppeteers, storytellers, jugglers, magicians, stilt walkers and hands-on art activities. 

Baton Rouge offers a variety of experiences, from cuisine and entertainment to architecture and history, from nature-based swamp tours to nationally ranked golf courses. Mardi Gras can be a family experience here with parades in New Roads, Port Allen, Spanish Town and Downtown Baton Rouge.

For more information about top events in Louisiana take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Louisiana.

For mote information on events and festivals in Baton Rouge visit www.visitbatonrouge.com

Magical Merriment Trail Spans Six Cities and Two States

Running until New Year’s Day, the Holiday Trail of Lights – the only holiday tour of its kind – spans six cities across two states and provides all kinds of memorable experiences such as ice skating, fireworks, parades, and toy workshops on the way.

For more than two decades Natchitoches, Shreveport-Bossier (Louisiana) and Marshall, Jefferson, and Kilgore (Texas) have been delivering an amazing holiday experience. Dining, shopping, and sight-seeing await visitors in each city that is an easy one-hour drive along Interstates 20 and 49.

Shreveport-Bossier shares the Red River and close proximity in northwest Louisiana. The riverfront offers fun with shopping and programmed activities at the Louisiana Boardwalk. Bigger and better to this year’s event lineup is a laser show at Barnwell Garden and Art Center and toy-making workshops at Sci-port: Louisiana’s Science Center to complement holiday home tours, fireworks festival, and other events.

Head south of the sister cities to Natchitoches.  This city has the oldest festival in Louisiana dating back to 1927 when city employees at the utility department decided to give their customers a Christmas present – an eight-foot star made of white lights and placed downtown for everyone to enjoy. The festival has grown quite a bit since 1927 and now includes shopping, entertainment, carolers, fireworks and snow. Carriage tours will be available in the evening through the National Landmark Historic District.

Cross the Louisiana state line to Texas for exciting holiday displays in Marshall, Jefferson and Kilgore.                                                                                    

For more information about top events in Louisiana take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Louisiana.

For more information on the Holiday Trail of Lights visit www.holidaytrailoflights.com.

84th Annual Christmas Festival in Natchitoches, Louisiana

Christmas is a high traffic season in Natchitoches, Louisiana .... quickly followed in March with Louisiana's favorite holiday, Mardi Gras. The small city of  23,000 officially “turned on the holidays” on November 20 with thousands of Christmas lights illuminating the downtown Historic District.

The lights are on nightly and will remain on until January 6, 2011. If you are looking for kid-friendly fun, Natchitoches has an entire list of free or low-cost events for the entire family. From Christmas galas and art and craft shows to tours of historic homes and reenactments, Natchitoches has something for everyone. Don’t forget that on every Saturday in December there is live entertainment and fireworks on the downtown riverbank.

The main event of the Festival of Lights celebration is the 84th Annual Christmas Festival to take place December 4 on the downtown riverbank in Natchitoches. Festival activities include two parades, live entertainment, food vendors, arts and crafts and fireworks. 

Things tend to slow down in Natchitoches throughout January and pick up again with the celebrating of Mardi Gras in March. Natchitoches wouldn't be a typical Louisiana town if it didn't throw a Mardi Gras Parade. Unlike what you tend to see in some of the bigger cities, Natchitoches hosts a kid-friendly Mardi Gras celebration.  "Throw me something, Mister" will be the yell heard throughout the town as the local Krewe of Dionysus parade rolls through on March 5.

For more information about top events in Louisiana take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Louisiana.


For more festival listings in Natchitoches Parish, please visit online at www.natchitoches.net and check out the online calendar of events.

Ponderosa Stomp Festival Now has Fall Date

There is much to celebrate as the 9th Annual Ponderosa Stomp Festival kicks into action in 2010 with a new fall weekend to present another rocket-fueled cavalcade of American music stars. After eight years of spring events, fans are marking their calendars on the 24th & 25th of September in 2010.

An incredible array of performers represents American music’s expansive range of genres, from twangy guitar genius to bold, sassy R&B, Chicano rock, primal garage, truckin’ anthems, Southern soul, blues, Cajun, swamp pop and rockabilly.

Duane Eddy, SugarPie De Santo, Thee Midniters, Red Simpson, The Trashmen, Honeyboy Edwards, Lazy Lester, LaLa Brooks of the Crystals, Roy Head, Barbara Lynn and Cajun genius D.L. Menard will lead the charge.

The Stomp doesn’t just blow minds in the evenings, au contraire, by day there is the American music history conference, presented in partnership with the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame & Museum and the Louisiana State Museum, at the beautiful Cabildo in Jackson Square, in which the great producers, iconoclastic performers, journalists and notable music figures speak on panels and oral histories.

That isn’t all: the wonderful exhibit, curated by The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation, “The Secret History of Louisiana Rock ‘n’ Roll” is on display at the museum as well. This year’s Clandestine Celluloid two-day film series moves to One Eyed Jacks, a few blocks from the Music History Conference.

The Ponderosa Stomp Foundation is a not-for-profit cultural organization whose mission is celebrating the legacy, revitalizing the careers and preserving the history of American musicians.

For more information about top events in Louisiana take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Louisiana.

For more information on the Ponderosa Stomp visit http://www.ponderosastomp.com/

Sip and savor at three culinary festivals in New Orleans

As New Orleans continues to celebrate its newfound superstar status as Super Bowl Champions there are three more reasons to visit one of Travel + Leisure’s "America's Favorite Cities" this summer.

The 19th annual New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE) kicks off summer with its five-day extravaganza May 25–29, 2010. Long sultry days are welcomed with an abundance of fresh Louisiana seafood at the 3rd annual Louisiana Seafood Festival June 11–13, 2010. And the 8th anniversary event of Tales of the Cocktail is sure to raise the spirits of any summer-loving, food and spirit connoisseur July 21–25, 2010.

The New Orleans Wine & Food Experience is nationally recognized as one of the most prestigious festivals of its kind and features over 175 wineries, 1000 wines, dozens of international wine and food experts, and now continually raises over $125,000 annually for local charities.

The event is packed with extraordinary wine and food seminars, wine dinners at some of the cities most celebrated restaurants, one-of-a-kind wine tasting events, and two Grand Tastings on the floor of the famed Louisiana Superdome. The popularity of NOWFE has grown so much over the past 19 years that many events sell-out.

The events take place right in the heart of the city, where guests can enjoy the wine and food, while partaking in shopping, live entertainment, French Quarter revelry or just one-of-a-kind people-watching.

For more information about top events in Louisiana, take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Louisiana at www.topeventsusa.com/state-events-louisiana.html

For more information on the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience and event tickets visit www.nowfe.com.

CABS, CHARDS, AND CHEFS TO CONGREGATE IN THE CRESCENT CITY

Plans are underway for the 2010 New Orleans Wine & Food Experience (NOWFE), in the city that ranks number one in ten categories in Travel + Leisure’s “America’s Favorite Cities” survey.

NOWFE, which also garners its own high rankings as a “perennial ‘Top Ten' Wine and Food festival,” as noted in Wine Enthusiast, features over 175 wineries and more than 75 celebrated restaurants.

The 5-day event, which has raised nearly $1,000,000 for local charities, will take place May 25–29, 2010 in various locations throughout historic New Orleans.

“No other city can offer the rich history, beautiful landscape and architecture, eclectic art, and diverse music scene – not to mention some of the best cuisine in the country – along side one-thousand different vintages,” says Octavio Mantilla, NOWFE President. “Our events take place right in the heart of the city, where guests can enjoy the wine and food, while partaking in shopping, live entertainment, French Quarter revelry or just one-of-a-kind people-watching.”

Some of New Orleans most famous landmarks will serve as backdrop to the 2010 event. More than 30 of New Orleans most talked about restaurants will host Wine Dinners on Wednesday, May 26; the popular Royal Street Stroll will take place on Thursday, May 27, while the Louisiana Superdome will serve as the home of the Grand Tastings on Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29.

“Each year NOWFE adds new programs, seminars and events to the schedule,” states Joyce Godbold, NOWFE Executive Director. “We try to keep the seminars fresh, relevant and exciting.”

This year’s seminars will include: “The Craft of Curing”, a lesson on the intricacies of curing meats; a look at the bounty of Gulf seafood at “Gone Gulfing”, “Let them Eat Cake” will showcase dessert wines and their accompaniments, “Romancing the Rhone”, will explore Rhone varietals, and a special champagne & sushi seminar.

“New Orleans just gives you a good feeling, and NOWFE really uncorks that sentiment,” adds Mantilla. “We invite everyone to come and be immersed in the feeling that is New Orleans.”

The New Orleans Wine & Food Experience is a non-profit organization. The Board of the New Orleans Wine & Food Experience donates 100% of the events' profit to support their programs and foundations. Proceeds from the 2009 event benefited University of New Orleans School of Hotel, Restaurant & Tourism, the Louisiana Restaurant Association's ProStart Program, The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, Delgado Community College Culinary Arts Program, New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, Girls First, Cancer Crusaders, Animal Rescue of New Orleans, Coach Sean Payton's Play It Forward Foundation and Fore! Kids Foundation.

For more top events in Louisiana take a look at the Top Events USA pages on Louisiana top events and festivals at http://www.topeventsusa.com/state-events-louisiana.html