French Quarter Special Events

Our curated list of upcoming neighborhood happenings is updated each Tuesday, so check back often!

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.

On the Horizon

FQJ’s favorite special events! 

     photo: Satchmo Summerfest, photo by Melanie Cole for FQJ

FQJ’s Don’t Miss List

A young girl with colorful braided hair dancing and smiling at an outdoor event, surrounded by adults and children, with trees and a band playing in the background.

Friday, June 19, 12pm

Armstrong Park / Congo Square

NOLA Juneteenth Fest 

photo: Scott Saltzman for FQJ. See our album of photos from 2024's Juneteenth Fest in Armstrong Park!

  • Over two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, 2000 Federal troops arrived in Galveston, TX and announced that the over 250,000 enslaved people of Texas were free by executive order—General Order No. 3, which officially enforced the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas.

    The date became known as Juneteenth and has been celebrated ever since in the Black community, but only in 2021 was signed into law and became a national holiday.

    This year’s celebration in New Orleans includes not only Friday’s festivities (with vendors, music, food, dancing, a parade and more!), but also the Free’Dem in Abundance Pop Up Dining Experience, Thursday night 6/18 Sneaker Ball, and on Saturday, June 20 there’s the Economic Summit, an all-day farmer’s market in front of the Andrew Cailloux Center, the Bayou Road Block Party, and the Juneteenth Freedom Gala.

Saturday, June 20, 10:30am – 4:30pm

New Orleans Jazz Museum, 400 Esplanade Ave.

Lafcadio Fest 2026 

Read our story about this new festival here!

  • Lafcadio Fest 2026 is a celebration of the life and legacy of New Orleans author Lafcadio Hearn, presented and produced by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Festivities include:

    • 11am: Scholars’ panel offering insights on Lafcadio's writings from New Orleans, the Caribbean, and Japan

    • 1:15pm: Keynote by Hearn biographer Steve Kemme

    • 2:45pm: Community Panel with moderator Doug Tassin of Krew of Japan Podcast and featuring John Kelly, Caroline Thomas, Lauren Bertolino, and Samantha Perez

    • 3:45pm: Virtual visits from Mayor Akihito of Matsue, Japan; Shoko Koizumi, and Lafcadio Hearn’s great grandson Bon Koizumi (director of the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum)

    • 4pm: sake toast for Hearn’s 176’s birthday

    • 4:15pm: Musical performance by Kanako Fuwa Brooks and Detroit Brooks (cash bar available)

    • Food by Greta's Sushi!

    Free admission, open to the all!

    See more info HERE

Friday, June 19, 7 - 9:30pm

822 Chartres Street

Dark Matter Oddities - After Dark!

  • Join us in a rare after-hours celebration on Friday, June 19th, from 7p - 9:30p as we showcase our newest macabre additions. 

     We'll be updating the gallery with many fantastic pieces, which will be available beginning on Wednesday, June 10th. 

    We're pulling out all of the stops! Featured are many items that we've been hoarding -- from wet specimens, Victorian mementos, taxidermy, handmade artwork and much MORE!!

    And, to top it all off, we'll have a Regular Human Bartender slinging beverages. We'll be serving a few delightfully refreshing non-alcoholic spritzers, beer & wine (21+ only, please).

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

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

2026 New Orleans Antiques Forum: Material Belief

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.

  • 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!
Cover of the French Quarter Journal featuring a decorative border and the title in large purple text, with a waterway map of the Mississippi River at the bottom.

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