French Quarter Special Events

Here you’ll find:

  • On the Horizon - special events in the months ahead

  • Don’t Miss - FQJ’s top special events for the coming week

  • The Long List: Keep scrolling for dozens more special events, curated for our readers

  • For regularly scheduled tours, talks, live music performances & more, see Weekly FQ Happenings ! 

    Photo: Dirty Linen Night 2024 by Ellis Anderson. See event details below! 
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On the Horizon

Save the dates for FQJ’s favorites!

Women dressed in vibrant blue and black costumes with peacock feather accessories participating in a parade or festival, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers and parked cars. 
 photo: Satchmo Summerfest, photo by Melanie Cole for FQJ

Don’t Miss List

Friday, August 7, 5–8pm

Artwalk in the lower blocks of Royal Street

First Friday on Royal

  • Saunter your way down the street for this monthly artwalk in the lower blocks of Royal !

    Participating locations stay open late, offering a special opportunity to meet artists, view and purchase art, and enjoy wine, conversation, and even live music at select venues.

Saturday, August 8, 6–9pm

23rd Annual Dirty Linen Night

200–1100 blocks of Royal Street & select Chartres Street galleries

Image: 2024 Dirty Linen night by Ellis Anderson. See the album!

August 1 – 31

New Orleans Museum Month

At participating museums (11 in the French Quarter)

Image: Ellis Anderson

  • During the month of August, an active annual membership at any participating Museum Month museum gets you and a guest FREE admission to all participating museums!

    Participating museums in the French Quarter include:

    • 1850 House, 532 St. Ann Street

    • The Cabildo, 701 Chartres Street

    • Friends of the Cabildo, 523 St. Ann Street

    • Gallier House, 1132 Royal Street

      • Check out Gallier House After Hours: a very special guided, after-hours tour with time to relax in the courtyard with a complimentary drink on Wednesday, August 19!

    • Hermann-Grima House, 820 St. Louis Street

      • Check out Hermann-Grima After Hours: a very special guided, after-hours tour with time to relax in the courtyard with a complimentary drink on Wednesday, August 26!

    • Historic BK House & Gardens, 1113 Chartres Street

    • Historic New Orleans Collection, 520 Royal Street

    • New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Avenue

    • New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, 514 Chartres Street

    • Old Uruline Convent Museum & St. Mary’s Church, 1112 Chartres Street

    • The Presbytere, 751 Chartres Street

    See the whole list of participating museums and get your annual memberships here!

August 1 – 31

Coolinary New Orleans

At participating restaurants in the French Quarter (34 so far!)

Image: Cindy Brennan at Mr. B's restaurant, participating in Culinary New Orleans, by Ellis Anderson

  • Coolinary New Orleans has existed for the last 20 years to showcase some of New Orleans’ premier restaurants and chefs during the dog days of August. Diners can enjoy special menus and often-very-affordable prix fixe pricing at dozens of restaurants. It’s divine!

    So far 23 French Quarter establishments are signed up to participate, but the number can change leading up to and during the month.

    See all venues and menus and make reservations

Saturday and Sunday, August 1 & 2

Satchmo Summerfest 2026

New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Avenue

Image by Scott Saltzman, 2025 Satchmo Summerfest: See the FQJ album here!

  • Presented by French Quarter Festivals, Inc. and hosted by the New Orleans Jazz Museum, Satchmo Summerfest began on what would have been Louis Armstrong’s 100th birthday in August, 2001.

    To honor this American icon, the FREE festival features a stellar music lineup, culinary offerings from a host of Louisiana restaurants, and a lecture series with experts discussing Armstrong’s history and enduring cultural impact.

    The music happens outdoors on the grounds of the museum, with some programming inside. Access to the museum’s exhibits is FREE during the festival!

    Find the full music lineup, lecture schedule, and food offerings here!

Friday, August 7, 10am – Saturday, August 9, 2pm

2026 New Orleans Antiques Forum: Material Belief

The Historic New Orleans Collection’s Williams Research Center, 537 Conti St.

Image courtesy HNOC

  • Registration opened to the general public on June 10th. This annual event ALWAYS SELLS OUT, so learn more and secure your tickets HERE

    For the 2026 New Orleans Antiques Forum, the Historic New Orleans Collection explores the intersection of spiritual and material worlds, a rich landscape of antiques shaped by belief, devotion, and spiritual practice across cultures.

    Forum sessions will cover a range of sacred items, including Catholic statuary, Judaica, prayer samplers, Afro-Caribbean ritual objects, and more. Attendees will learn how these objects were made, used, and kept—and how they continue to function as powerful material expressions of belief throughout the American Gulf South.

Tuesday, August 11, 6–8pm

BK Bicentennial Birthday Bash Block Party and Cake Picnic

Historic BK House & Gardens, 1113 Chartres Street

Register to bring a cake!

Image: BK House Birthday Committee 2026, photo by Ellis Anderson

  • As the invitation to this free, everyone-welcome celebration says, Historic BK House & Gardens has been “boldly defying demolition since 1826,” and we at FQJ couldn’t be happier about that!

    Join in the fun at this most popular of the Quarter’s historic venues. Dance to music by Crescent City DJ, enjoy a complimentary specialty cocktail, cash bar, and (HELLO!) a BIRTHDAY CAKE BUFFET to which you, yes you, can contribute (and partake the heck out of)!

    French Quarter Journal wishes our esteemed Community Partner – and fellow collaborator in the wildly popular, annual Quarter Kaleidoscope storytelling project – a joyous celebration of 200 years of beauty, preservation, education, music, and countless memorable events. 

    Register your cake!

The Long List

  • Below are 50 upcoming events happening in the FQ and surrounding neighborhoods. Want even more? Click the button at the bottom.  
  • For a complete list of live music happenings in the city, check out WWOZ’s Livewire Music Calendar!
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