Posts Tagged ‘festival’

The Ya-Ka-Mein lady of New Orleans

// March 21st, 2012 // 4 Comments » // Food, People, Places Miss Linda

Everyone in New Orleans knows Miss Linda. If you’ve ever been to a festival, a parade, or a concert in the city – and if you haven’t, you need to get out more, with all due respect – you’ve undoubtedly seen her, selling Ya-Ka-Mein and other delicious recipes from a tent, a table, or from …read more…

Super Sunday for Mardi Gras Indians

// March 19th, 2012 // 2 Comments » // Events, Places Super Sunday

[New Orleans, LA] – ”Super Sunday” in New Orleans refers not to a well-known football game or a political primary, but instead to a tradition of elaborate spectacle and ritual for the Mardi Gras Indians. Every year on the third Sunday of March, groups of elaborately-costumed tribe members gather at a park in Mid-City, then march through …read more…

Great Day for a Po-Boy — Oak Street Po-Boy Festival, New Orleans

// November 20th, 2011 // 11 Comments » // Events, Food, Places Fried Lobster Po-boy from GW Fins

[New Orleans, LA] — To my way of thinking, there’s never a bad time for a Po-boy. The iconic New Orleans overstuffed sandwich originated in the 1920s during a strike of unionized streetcar conductors. A local restaurant — in support of the workers — provided free sandwiches to the strikers, who they called “poor boys.” …read more…

Saturday, in the Park — Arts Market of New Orleans

// October 29th, 2011 // 11 Comments » // Events, Places Arts Market NOLA

[New Orleans, LA] — It’s not the Fourth of July, and I didn’t see a man selling ice cream, but I’m pretty sure there were people dancing and people laughing (OK, go ahead and sing the Chicago song to yourself now; I know you want to). On a perfect fall day in Louisiana, I saddled …read more…

Oktoberfest — New Orleans Style

// October 23rd, 2011 // 9 Comments » // Events, Food, Places Oktoberfest

[Kenner, LA] — Oktoberfest may not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of Louisiana. But this is New Orleans, so any excuse for a party is a good one, right? “Everybody knows New Orleans for its French and Spanish influences. The Germans have kind of been forgotten,” Keith Oldendorf, president …read more…

A Bowl of Gumbo a Day — Bridge City, LA, Gumbo Festival

// October 16th, 2011 // 6 Comments » // Events, Food, Places Gumbo

[Bridge City, LA] — Over the river and through the woods, to the Bridge City Gumbo Festival we go. Technically it’s not really through the woods; along the levee would be a tad more accurate. But it is over the river. Just across the Mississippi from New Orleans over the Huey P. Long Bridge, the …read more…

Voice of the Wetlands: Festival with a Purpose

// October 9th, 2011 // 10 Comments » // Events, Places VOW

[Houma, LA] — Louisiana’s wetlands are one of the state’s most precious natural resources. In addition to providing protection from storm surges during hurricanes, wetlands replenish aquifers and nurture a variety of wildlife. But the actions of man are slowly — perhaps not so slowly — destroying this giver of life. “We’re losing an acre …read more…

Oyster Orgy at New Orleans Seafood Festival

// September 11th, 2011 // 23 Comments » // Events, Food, Places Oysters on the grill

[New Orleans, LA] — In my newly-adopted hometown of New Orleans, it seems you can attend a different festival every weekend.  From Jazz to Jambalaya; you name it, most likely there’s a festival dedicated to it. So naturally, I’d be remiss in my duties as the Travelin’ Gringo if I didn’t attend the New Orleans …read more…

Pietopia: The Great American Pie Festival — Celebration, FL

// April 10th, 2011 // 20 Comments » // Events, Food Pie Festival

Celebration, FL — Just a guess, but I’d have to say bikers consume their fair share of pie. I’m not basing this on any observations of the size of bikers’ bellies — I just believe coffee and pie are an important cultural ritual frequently celebrated as part of many a weekend morning motorcycle ride. That …read more…