Getting to Jazz Fest in New Orleans, Louisiana

It may be all Coachella all the time around here these days, but in the Deep South another annual event is serenading the streets: Part one of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (a.k.a. Jazz Fest) began today and goes through Sunday, April 27, 2008. It picks up again on May 1 and goes through May 4, 2008. Tickets are still available.

If you hit the second weekend, that just about gives you enough time to recover from Coachella, before ingesting world-class jazz, blues, R&B, zydeco and the works in the Big Easy.

If biggie acts such as Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Buffett, the Neville Brothers, the Raconteurs and Santana, as well as an incredible mix of local musicians, isn’t enough to inspire you to go, perhaps you’ll be lured by the food booths – crawfish and po’boys and jambalaya, oh my.

Deals: Unfortunately, flying south at this point for one of New Orleans’ most famous events ain’t gonna come cheap. The least-expensive flight-and-hotel package I found was on Travelocity; for three nights’ stay, the total was $1,306 (including taxes; based on a flight for one person); I got similar results on Orbitz.

Caveat: Of course, if you’re staying at the cheapest hotels offered, generally not central, you’ll need to rent a car, which will add at least $200 (pre-tax) to a package price. The cheapest Travelocity hotels (those below $1,400 for a package) with availability are in the ’burbs or near the airport. There’s not much vacancy left in the more charming French Quarter hotels, but a flight-hotel package there, staying at the Marriott, is $1,999. (NB: Jazz Fest, at the Fair Grounds Race Course, is a 10-minute drive from the French Quarter; Gray Line is offering shuttle transport from various locations.)

Why go?: Music, food, fun, and the thrill of last-minute travel…to the fabulous New Orleans at that.

Why not?: If you’re not a die-hard jazz-head, the cost of such a last-minute trip to such a popular event might just be hard to justify.

When: April 25-27 and May 1-4, 2008

Contact: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Image: NOJazzFest.com]

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 25, 2008 at 4:13 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Festival, New Orleans & Louisiana, Southern States. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.