Record Crowds Rock French Quarter Fest

As usual, they’ve had entirely too much fun down in the Big Easy last month. The 33rd annual French Quarter Festival drew more than 760,000 attendees to the Vieux Carre April 7 through 10, according to French Quarter Festivals, Inc. The record-breaking numbers mark a significant increase over 2015 when several days of rain reduced attendance to 386,000. “The 2016 French Quarter Festival presented by Chevron was one for the record books,” said Executive Director Marci Schramm. “We had amazing crowds, including so many locals and families; perfect weather; the best music and food in the world – everyone came out and just had a really good time! Our French Quarter neighborhood Festival vendors also reported increases. Rouses had record sales at French Quarter Festival 2016, selling over 50,000 pounds of boiled crawfish._ Beverage sales were also up: Abita served 675 kegs and 1,400 cases of beer, New Orleans Original Daiquiris sold more than 42,000 daiquiris, and 690 gallons of Lynchburg Lemonade and Herradura Margaritas were enjoyed by French Quarter Festival fans. Over 128 tons of ice were used in festival beverages including Pat O’Brien’s, Tropical Isle, Abita, Jack Daniel’s, Plum Street SnoBalls. Haydel’s Bakery used more than 200 pounds of white chocolate in their White Chocolate King Cake Bread Pudding. [caption id="attachment_16003" align="alignleft" widt