The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival celebrated its 50th this year with eight full days of performances. The official date of the first Fest was 1970 although a smaller gathering occurred in 1969, so this year’s event was considered the 50th year of celebrating the music and culture of New Orleans and southern Louisiana. With 12 stages, the Festival offers many genres of music. The Economy Hall Tent provided traditional jazz in six sets from 11:15 am to 6:45 pm. Most stages will have 5-7 sets each day, adding up to lots of talented musicians all in one location for eight days.
The Jazz Museum held a special presentation on April 24th to view seven remastered videotapes showing the original Fest held at the Municipal Auditorium in Beauregard Square (now Armstrong Park) and there was a special evening on the Steamer President cruising the Mississippi. A Saturday parade up and down Canal Street engaged Fest participants and 20 food booths offered regional treats including po’boys, gumbo, grillades, grits, etouffee, crabs, crawfish, oysters, and shrimp.
The first Fest in 1970 took place with as many guests as there were performers. The four day celebration had some evening venues and highlighted not only the local bands (Pete Fountain, Al Hirt, Preservation Hall, The Dukes of Dixieland, the Zion Harmonizers, Olympia Brass Band, The New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Onward B
