Ever wish for a dedicated list of happenings just in the French Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods? Curated by local insiders?
Wishes come true. Our event page is updated weekly and makes planning easy for neighborhood residents, locals, and savvy visitors.
Photo: Trixie Minx and friends on Dumaine Street during VOODOOFEST, on Halloween 2024. Find full details on the 2025 event on our curated FQ Events page! 
The French Quarter’s newest museum examines the city’s notorious red-light district through an entrepreneurial eye.
– by Doug Brantley
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Chef Rob Tabone tips his hat to French Quarter history while offering a fresh European-esque menu in a lush Royal Street courtyard.
– by Kim Ranjbar
A new murder mystery set in New Orleans whisks readers back to the tumultuous ‘70s to follow the engaging Wat Thorne, a Tulane grad student - and amateur sleuth.
– by Thomas Uskali
A writer with deep generational ties to the French Quarter flees the neighborhood in Katrina’s aftermath, only to find the storm strengthened his resolve to return - and to stay.
-by James Nolan
For the past decade, this festival at the New Orleans Jazz Museum has offered food, music and educational panels to help educate locals and visitors alike about sustainability and restoration of the Mississippi and our coastal waters.
- photos by Scott Saltzman
A later starting time and cooler temps – at least for New Orleans in August– made this celebration one of the most flamboyant yet!
- photos by Cheryl Gerber
A new book by writer Dalt Wonk and photographer Josephine Sacabo unflinchingly documents a five-decade love affair between the two artists and their abiding passion for New Orleans.
– by Richard Goodman
This new book follows a dynamic young artist into the Roaring ‘20s French Quarter, where its lively Bohemian colony anchors him for the next sixty years.
By Tom Uskali
This annual benefit by the Krewe Du Fool for the Audubon Institute’s Education Department welcomed little minnows, mermaids and mermen and all things oceanic.
- photos by Melanie Cole
Frank Perez's new book on New Orleans LGBT+ history bears witness to the value of local journalism, especially when covering minority communities.
-by Claude Summers
The first club featuring female impersonators opened in New Orleans in 1933 at the edge of the French Quarter. Read on for a peek inside some of the most popular.
-by Frank Perez
The new Mardi Gras line between New Orleans and Mobile was thirty years in the making, so every city on the route celebrated the inaugural run on August 16th - starting in the Crescent City.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
The co-owner of Mona Lisa Restaurant on Royal recounts how he and husband Tom Moore took over the reins of the beloved neighborhood eatery in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
– by Farrow Stephenson
Now 15 years old, this restaurant is creating its own legacy in a building with a storied past - and its own sassy ghost named Rose.
– by Kim Ranjbar
While more than 250,000 people flock to the annual LGBTQ+ French Quarter celebration on Labor Day weekend each year, few are aware of the event’s half-century history and its Sunday parading tradition.
- by Frank Perez
When the “Little Red Schoolhouse” closed two years ago, the neighborhood feared the historic building would be commercially developed. But this week, officers from the 8th District and “Patch,” their mini-horse mascot, welcomed Lyceé Francais students back to the neighborhood.
- photos by Shawn Fink
Mona Lisa’s on Royal was told earlier in August they’d have to move because of a new landlord. The community rallied, but happily, the protest became a celebration after the eatery learned it was staying put.
- photos by Shawn Fink
Oh là là! Scott Tilton and Rudy Bazenet’s chic boutique museum is “bringing French back to the French Quarter.”
– by Doug Brantley
A rare plein air watercolorist finds endless subject matter by exploring shadows in the city of his ancestors.
– by Caroline Rowe
The annual festival celebrating Louis Armstrong’s birthday celebrated its own 25th anniversary this year – in a wonderful world kind of way.
- photos by Scott Saltzman and Odette Harmsen
In the 1950s, two talented young brothers rocket from a Bourbon Street bar to Carnegie Hall, eventually recording with one of their childhood heroes - despite the South’s repressive Jim Crow laws.
- by Bethany Ewald Bultman
Two new mirroring exhibits reflect the city’s communal makeup through a decade of oral histories.
-by Doug Brantley
Decades may pass, but if you grew up in the French Quarter, it will always lead you home.
~ by Batou Chandler
A writer with deep generational ties to the French Quarter takes readers back in time – and then guides them through a century of change.
– by James Nolan
A second-generation Jackson Square artist, Elaine Cummins got her first license to hang “on the fence” when she was only 16. More than forty years later, she’s still happily there.
-by J. Michael Warner
The search to uncover more about this historic French Quarter home’s past gets down to earth with Dr. Ryan Gray and his team.
-by Jane Lowrance-Neal
On July 1, Amtrak announced the start date of its long-awaited Mardi Gras train service between Mobile and New Orleans. Tickets for the first day sold out by late afternoon.
- photos by Scott Saltzman, Gregg Martel, Dena Temple, and Ellis Anderson
A plaque dedication and second line commemorate the victims of the 1973 UpStairs Lounge fire in New Orleans, which killed 32 people in one of the deadliest attacks on the LGBTQ+ community in U.S. history.
- photos by Cheryl Gerber
Color me impressed: this new volume from Preservation Resource Center celebrates the many hues of the Crescent City’s architecture.
– by John S. Sledge
From its recently revamped Performance Center to its musician-promoting record label, everything is up-tempo on Esplanade Avenue.
– by Doug Brantley
This new boutique hotel is as colorful and memorable – and unexpected – as a painting by its artist owner, James Michalopoulos.
~ by Kim Ranjbar
A thunderstorm caused the delay of the Pride Parade, but it rolled on through the rain-cooled streets of the Quarter to the delight of cheering throngs.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
A native New Orleanian, CJ Blanda has called the French Quarter home for more than seventy years, saying the neighborhood is “the heart of my life.”
– by CJ Blanda
Editor’s note: CJ passed away on July 3, 2025, at the age of 95, just two weeks after this account was published. He is greatly missed by the community he held so dear. 
New Orleans poet Skye Jackson gives candid insights about her life, her writing process and her powerhouse debut book of poetry, “Libre.”
– Ellis Anderson with Skye Jackson
Concerned about his Porshe’s paint job and stray bubbles in his cocktails, a new resident on the block tries to shut down a French Quarter bar’s bubble machine. On Sunday afternoon, the community rallied in a show of support – for the bar, of course.
For the 26th year, a neighborhood advocacy group, VCPORA, hosted a Mother’s Day concert in the park - featuring the amazing New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra.
In its second year, this free one-day festival at the New Orleans Jazz Museum features Gallatin Alley Records artists to the delight of music lovers from around the world.
The long-gone street vendors of the Creole delicacy “calas” were mostly women. But the last one was a man named Richard Gabriel.
- by Laura Guccione
If it takes a village to raise a child, it might as well be one of the most interesting ones in the country.
~ by Caroline Rowe
For over four decades, the pushcart peddler has been doing her annual spring thing – spreading love, peace, and happiness on Jackson Square.
~ by Doug Brantley
In a historic Tremé community hub, Fatma Aydin continues the hospitable tradition, offering a tempting menu, a comfortable vibe – and hugs.
– by Kim Ranjbar
The arts of costuming and millinery happily meet up on Easter Day in the French Quarter with three parades of opportunity for krewe members - and parade-goers - to showcase their creative finery!
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Four days, four photographers and 12 dozen amazing photographs! Yep, we’ve published more than 150 images in this epic album.
- photos by Scott Saltzman, Shawn Fink, Melanie Cole and Ellis Anderson
Above: Big Freedia at French Quarter Fest 2025, photo by Scott Saltzman
In the early 1900s, a young New Orleans boxing prodigy blasts his way to a world championship and international fame, helping topple discrimination against Sicilian Americans.
- by Bethany Ewald Bultman
This new book by Howard Philips Smith takes a deep dive into the mythos – and the contemporary influences – of the iconic French Quarter artist, the late George Dureau.
- by Thomas Uskali
A New Orleans writer follows the trail of the city’s Arberesh community to two ancient Sicilian villages, where he finds the cultural ties still strong – despite time and distance.
– by Mark Orfila
Part of our new Quarter Kaleidoscope project:A Mardi Gras disaster forced a radical change of plans, creating a legendary annual neighborhood street party in honor of St. Joseph’s Day.
~ by Antonio Marino
Read the winning pieces by writers Katie Henken Robinson, Kate Tooley and Monic Ductan.
Every March 19th, the neighborhood once called “Little Palermo” celebrates the saint – that legend says ended a terrible famine – by creating elaborate altars, then sharing food, blessings and goodwill.
photos by Ellis Anderson
For more than three decades, this unique writers’ workshop has been offering camaraderie, inspiration and fascinating French Quarter locations.
– by Christopher Louis Romaguera
To the delight of the neighborhood, a French immersion elementary school will move into the vacant “Little Red Schoolhouse” this fall.
- by Jane Lowrance-Neal
Postponed by a storm, the legendary canine parade Barkus rolled the Sunday after Mardi Gras this year, giving Carnival a merry March reprise. The 2025 theme: “Vanity Fur: Barkus Rules the Runway!”
- photos by Andrew Simoneaux
Was the predicted morning storm kept at bay until evening by great music, goodwill and exuberant spirits?
– photos by Shawn Fink, Scott Saltzman, and Ellis Anderson
This year on Mardi Gras Day, the legendary Society of Saint Anne celebrated the artist and costume designer who helped conjure the colorful magic.
– by Nan Parati
A Lundi Gras favorite that began in 2008, the Krewe of Red Beans delights crowds with costumes featuring beans – and puns.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
For close to 50 years, the popular photographer has been capturing – and been captivated by – the city’s creatives and their costumery.
– by Doug Brantley
With the double entendre theme of “Krewe du Vieux is Revolting,” the 2025 parade floats included jabs at the oligarchy and tributes to Scrim, the famous runaway terrier.
- photos by Shawn Fink
A tour through one of the city's most revered landmarks and their krewe-designated dining rooms stirs a sense of wonder for the spectacle of Carnival.
-by Kim Ranjbar
A relative newcomer to the walking parade scene, since 2018 Krewe Boheme and its “absinthe-minded green fairy” have been intoxicating crowds.
- photos by Melanie Cole
A visionary young doctor purchases a derelict historic building in 1996 and spends the next decade transforming it into one of the most stately homes in the French Quarter.
– by Karen Hinton
The French Quarter erupted with spontaneous joy – and of course, music – as a record-breaking ten inches of powdery snow fell on New Orleans on January 21st.
- album by Shawn Fink + more
The epic Mardi Gras Day costuming contest got its start as a promotion to drum up business for a Bourbon Street diner.
– by Frank Perez
More than 3,000 people marched in this popular sci-fi-themed parade on February first, with hundreds of children participating this year, making for a fun-filled family-friendly extravaganza.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
The spontaneous memorial that sprang up after the tragedy continues to remember those lost, long after the first flowers have faded.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
A Day at the Jazz Museum: Baby Doll Blessing of the Streets and New Orleans Cigar Box Festival
To the delight of many Jazz Museum visitors, the annual Baby Doll blessing of the streets took place on the last day of the New Orleans Cigar Box Guitar Festival.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Seeking a relationship with her estranged father, noted New Orleans painter Noel Rockmore, a young woman travels to the Quarter in 1977 for a year of discovery.
– by Michael Warner
In a St. Louis Cathedral service, President Joseph R. Biden drew from personal experience to comfort families of those lost in the Bourbon Street New Year’s Eve attack.
- photos by Ellis Anderson
Over the past 30 years, this casual neighborhood fixture has quietly become a French Quarter classic by offering a distinctive Creole/Italian menu, farm to table ingredients, a great wine list – and an unbeatable ambiance.
Preserving the Narrative at The Celestine
A classic French Quarter building with a storied past has been recreated into an alluring boutique hotel – named after one of its historic owners, Celestine Peychaud.
– by Kim Ranjbar
From Albania to Sicily to New Orleans: across two continents, three countries, and five centuries, some members of the city’s Arberesh community still honors their roots, while others are just discovering them.
– by Mark Orfila
A year-long family sabbatical in New Orleans inspired a tasty enterprise that’s expanding across the Gulf Coast, with its newest location in one of the French Quarter’s most storied buildings.
– by Kim Ranjbar
Artist Jim Blanchard spills the tea about his technique, his attachment to New Orleans, and his passion for Louisiana’s architectural treasures.
– by Bethany E. Bultman
Frenchmen Street bakery owners Kelly Jacques and Samantha Weiss have created an in-house incubator, educating and encouraging employees taking first steps toward entrepreneurship.
– by Kim Ranjbar
In this sleek new cookbook, Chef Eric Cook skillfully elevates family recipes to meet New Orleans’ stratospherically high fine dining standards. Bonus in this review: Baked Flounder with Shrimp and Mirliton Dressing recipe from the book.
– by Thomas Uskali
Unrelenting advocacy over two abandoned wharf sites scores what appears to be a win for New Orleans residents while helping protect two of the most fragile neighborhoods in the country: the French Quarter and Faubourg Marigny.
– by Frank Perez
A journalist turned buggy driver reflects on the people who live in his unusual workplace - a combination historic museum, adult amusement park, and a residential neighborhood.
– by Mark Orfila
A music-loving French Quarter newcomer becomes the ultimate good neighbor when he sponsors a new concert series for the house museum next door.
– by Ellis Anderson
Occasional Wife founder Kay Morrison and two of her veteran organizers share favorite pointers for simplifying life in historic homes.
– by Bethany Ewald Bultman
Marie Laveau’s tomb was one of the first to be restored in a unique initiative that cares for New Orleans’ fabled Cities of the Dead.
– by Reda Wigle
Brought up with the traditions of his musical family, drummer Glen Finister Andrews is equally at home playing in the French Quarter streets and iconic venues like Preservation Hall.
– by Karen Lozinski
In the ‘70s, a young journalist writing for a small New Orleans newspaper in the French Quarter broke some of the city’s most important stories.
– by Frank Perez
In the ‘70s, a young journalist writing for a small French Quarter newspaper broke one of the city’s most startling stories and helped organize one of the first gay protests in the South.
– by Frank Perez
This story includes a series of never-before-published images of the 1977 rally by Owen Murphy.
A move to establish a French Quarter Bohemian colony in 1920 eventually led to the Jackson Square fence becoming one of the world’s most beloved art galleries.
– by Michael Warner
After 25 years on the street that is its namesake, a classic French Quarter bookstore moves into a spacious corner location, steps from Jackson Square.
– by Christopher Louis Romaguera
The Occasional Wife’s estate sales are legendary! We set up and sell the contents of your home, offering complete clean-out after a sale. Unsold items or ones you like but no longer need can be placed on consignment in our stores:
· French Quarter (624 Dumaine Street)
· Uptown (2850 Magazine Street)
· Elmwood (5727 Jefferson Highway)
· Mandeville (1675 US Highway 190, Ste. 1675)
· Pensacola (13440 Perdido Key Drive).
Feeling overwhelmed? We also offer services to simplify your life! Our staff can declutter and organize your home or office, prepare your home for market, help you pack, move and unpack in your new home! We also offer holiday decorating, downsizing, running errands, planning and much, much more!
Reader Favorites
from our archives
Fire is the mortal enemy of the city's oldest neighborhood, but in the case of the 1988 Cabildo inferno, dedicated preservationists prevailed in the end.
- by Michael Warner
In 1980 and again in 1983, a Mobile, Ala. writer named Frank Daugherty interviewed Thelma Ducoing Toole, mother of the late John Kennedy Toole, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Confederacy of Dunces. The lions’ share of the material and Frank’s photos have never before been published.
- interview and photographs by Frank Daugherty
Meet a few of the far-sighted men who blocked the wrecking ball's path through the Quarter in the early 1900s.
- by Frank Perez
Step into the “organized chaos” of Arcadian Books & Prints, where the love of the written word and two languages has reigned for 40 years.
– by Matt A. Sheen
Follow Alessandrini's significant public works along the river and through the Quarter, then visit with the artist in his Howard Avenue studio.
- by Saskia Ozols
A look at the famous playwright's complex and lifelong relationship with the neighborhood where he brought "A Streetcar Named Desire" into being.
- by Richard Goodman
Was the matronly New Orleans stenographer who founded a French Quarter temple the guru everyone in the 1960s was seeking? At least one follower still believes.
- by Michael Warner
Ride along with this award-winning writer to learn a few of the everyday challenges - and unexpected rewards - of making a living as a French Quarter pedicabber.
- by Andrew Cominelli
In the Roaring ‘20s, feisty Uptown socialite Martha Westfeldt opens a French Quarter bookstore that becomes Bohemia Central.
- by Michael Warner
The rise of homelessness during the pandemic reminds a French Quarter writer of a luckless time in her youth, when a spontaneous act of generosity turned the tide.
– by Ellis Anderson
In 1981, a young woman moves to the French Quarter and lucks into a job at the Toulouse Theatre, home of the hit show One Mo' Time.
- by Nan Parati
After working 60 years at the French Quarter's famed Hotel Monteleone, Al Barras has become an institution - and the subject of an award-winning documentary.
- by Kirsten Reneau
A fascinating new book by long-time resident Macon Fry explores life along the last batture community in New Orleans.
- by John Sledge
Few get to meet the woman who plays the most unusual - and loudest - instrument in New Orleans. French Quarter Journal goes behind the scenes and up top of the Natchez to watch Debbie Fagnano in action.
- by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
As she's closing her gallery and packing to move, Harriette Prevatte reflects on four decades spent as a working artist in the French Quarter.
- by Ellis Anderson
In the 1900s, LGBT+ people from around the country were drawn to the French Quarter's shifting centers of queer gravity, which offered both a spicy nightlife scene and an evolving culture.
- by Frank Perez
Longtime Quarter/Marigny resident and noted Tennessee Williams scholar Kenneth Holditch passed away December 7, 2022. FQJ published one of his last essays, “Of Two Mississippi Writers,” which you'll find below, along with a 2019 profile of the scholar by Rheta Grimsley Johnson. 
Despite the state's legacy of repression, some of the country's best writers are Mississippi natives. It's the birthplace of contemporary luminaries like Kiese Laymon and Jesmyn Ward. Tennessee Williams scholar Kenneth Holditch looks back at two 20th-century literary lions who wrote about that “postage stamp of native soil.”
- by Kenneth Holditch
The man who made the Quarter's literary legacy come alive with his walking tours and Tennessee Williams lore: a visit with Kenneth Holditch.
– by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
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