The Latest Cancellation: French Quarter Fest

We are completely heartbroken about the path that our fall activities in Louisiana are heading. With vaccines for COVID-19 being readily available, we were expecting somewhat of a return to "normal". But with the delta variant running rampant across the state, it's clear that is not going to happen. We are seeing cancellations and shutdowns once again, and it's very disheartening to be moving backward.

The latest festival to be canceled in Louisiana is French Quarter Fest in New Orleans. They bill themselves as "the largest showcase of Louisana music in the world", and it has always been a popular alternative to Jazz Fest in the Crescent City. The festival traditionally is held in spring, but had, like a lot of things, been moved to September 30-October 2 in 2021 after being completely canceled last year. Sadly, it is now another casualty of the surge in COVID cases in Louisiana.

Festival organizers issued a press release, via WDSU that said "As the state of Louisiana and our nation see a precipitous rise in COVID cases, we must put the health, safety and wellbeing of our entire family first-- our fans, musicians, staff, volunteers, sponsors, and partners, as well as the residents and businesses in the French Quarter." The newly rescheduled dates are April 21-24, 2022.

French Quarter Festivals, Inc. also stated to WDSU that "they will be providing critical relief payments for roughly 1,500 musicians and gig workers who lost work due to the festival cancellation."  The cancellation of the festival is just another huge blow to the economic recovery for Louisianians who have been suffering from massive cancellations and shutdowns due to the pandemic. We are ready for this to be over.