We love seafood! How about you? If you’re like us, The Louisiana Seafood Festival is perfect for you. Free admission and tons of seafood vendors. You pay for what you eat so you control how much you spend.
Mr. B’s served bacon-wrapped shrimp and grits at the 2013 Louisiana Seafood Festival. So good. (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells, New in NOLA)
#NewinNOLA tip: It’s cash only so bring your money.
Planning to run with the (roller) bulls in New Orleans? Prepare yourself for a wildly fun morning. This year’s event is Saturday, July 12, 2014, at 8 a.m. sharp. Seriously, don’t be late or you are going to miss the event. This NOLA event actually starts on time.
Event summary for San Fermin in Nueva Orleans:
Hundreds of roller derby women (bulls) chase thousands of runners through a short course in the CBD and Warehouse District. The bulls have wiffle bats and spank runners during the race. The event raises money for the Animal Rescue New Orleans and the Louisiana Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
We ran with the bulls last year and had a blast. We’ll be there again Saturday with our Meetup friends. We’d love for you to join us.
Advice if you are a first-time runner this year:
We filled our belly June 1 at the New Orleans Oyster Fest (first-timer tips). The food-centric fest was held in downtown New Orleans at Woldenberg Park. Fav part – free admission.
The day started with an oyster-eating contest in the rain was rounded out with sunshine and food.
Check out our Storify post for food pix from the fest.
In a Half Shelf blog also has a spectacular photos and tips. Check them out.
The 2014 New Orleans Oyster Festival is this weekend (May 31 and June 1). The food is the same both days, but the music is different.
Want to see the oyster shucking contest? That’s Saturday at noon. Interested in the oyster eating contest? That’s Sunday at 11:45 a.m.
We’re tagging along with a Meetup group going Sunday at 11 a.m. Join us 🙂
The Oyster Fest serves up all sorts of bivalve goodness. Here are some of eats in 2013. (photos by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA)
The fest is at Woldenberg Park, which is next to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas (map). We like this festival because it is free admission and there’s parking around the French Quarter. When we take a car, we usually park in the garage above Saks Fifth Avenue. Tip – if you get in before 9 a.m. at most garages, parking is $10 for the entire day.
You can also take a bus or streetcar and not fool with parking at all. It takes a little longer than driving, but it’s cheaper than parking and you don’t have to worry about a designated driver.
We went to the fest last year and had a really good time. See our pix.
Tips we learned about the New Orleans Oyster Festival:
We’re eating & drinking our way through New Orleans with the #NewinNOLA crew. For the week of Oct. 7 to Oct. 14, we filled up our bellies at:
crawfish bread at the Louisiana Seafood Festival (photo by Carlie Kollath Wells/New in NOLA)
We’re doing an informal food outing tomorrow (Sunday, Oct. 13) at the Louisiana Seafood Fest and would love to see you. The fest is free and has free cooking demonstrations and music. 
We each pay for the food we eat. Cash only. Food samples are good for sharing (I’ll bring extra forks). Food vendors and their dishes:
The New Orleans Daiquiri Festival has been postponed until next Saturday (Aug. 24).
The event was supposed to be held today from noon to 9 p.m. but the organizers posted on their Facebook page that a permitting snafu delayed the event.
Via Facebook:
Celebrate your new New Orleans home with a frozen daiquiri tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 17) in the Marigny.
The 3rd Annual New Orleans Daiquiri Festival is from noon to 9 p.m. at the Michalopoulos Studio, 527 Elysian Fields Avenue at Chartres (map).
The event focuses on frozen daiquiris and will have at least six different varieties for sale. Plus, the fest has music and food.
Tickets are $5 in advance and $8 at the door.
SCHEDULE
We had our first experience Saturday running with the bulls in New Orleans. It was early (we arrived at 7 a.m.), but it definitely was worth it. Thanks to Cate Root for encouraging us to go.
What we wish we knew before we ran AKA advice for next year:
– The event is free, but $10 gets you a running number and access to the inside venue (AC, chairs, bathrooms, music, pay-as-you-eat food). You are supposed to preregister for a number, but we were able to do it the day of the race. However, you can skip the number, dress up and run for free.
Our awesome souvenir number:
The New Orleans Oyster Festival served up mouth-watering food June 1 and 2 on the riverfront in downtown New Orleans. We ate our little hearts out, along with the rest of NOLA.
We also got to cross this event off our bucket list.
We pulled together the fest’s most mouth-watering photos shared on Twitter and Instagram. And here they are via Storify:
New in NOLA 