Down at the Jazz Fest in New Orleans!

The Pfister Sisters (Holley Bendtsen, Karen Stoehr & Yvette Voelker) had it right with their hit song about the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival! Being “down at the jazz fest” is a like-no-other experience and although many international performers have headlined the fest in more recent years, the local scene is unique and distinctive. Besides the seven days of Fest (three days the first weekend and four days the second weekend) held at the Fair Grounds Race Course from 11 am to 7 pm, there are hundreds of other performances at various locations around town including larger venues i.e. the Saenger Theatre, The Fillmore, The House of Blues, The Orpheum Theater and The Joy Theater. The Jazz Museum and Louisiana Music Factory feature dozens of musicians contributing during the off days between the two Fest weekends. Getting there is not a problem with many city/shuttle busses, vans, cabs, bicycles and pedestrian modes. With two general admission entrances and one entrance for musicians and vendors, the lines provide a chance to meet up with old friends and make new ones with topics of discussion being “where are you from?” and “who are you going to see?” being the ice-breakers. Rains are common and most of them occurred during the middle of the day so it was easy to plan your activities. The last Saturday had a 90 minute rain delay but that was minor in comparis