What to Bring to the New Orleans Jazz Fest: A Survival Guide

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that celebrates Louisiana's music, arts, culture and heritage. As excited as everyone is to return to the fairgrounds, it's a good idea to prepare ahead of time for things like trips, big crowds, and what you should bring. Folding chairs, blankets, and tarpaulins are allowed, and are a great way to enjoy music (in designated chair areas, of course). Outside food and drinks are prohibited on the premises, except in factory-sealed water bottles.

When it comes to what to wear for the New Orleans Jazzy Festival, I recommend that you keep it simple, but bring provisions and look at the forecast before you leave home. There are so many unique crafts from artisans who set up stands at the JazzFest. Here is a list of what you CANNOT bring to the festival site. While there will be ATMs throughout the festival venue, remember to bring your own money to avoid ATM and vendor fees for card transactions.

New Orleans is a well-established party city, and with it comes the temptation to overdo it, especially for out-of-town guests. If you're going to drink alcohol, make sure you chase it with some water. Water is your friend at the festival. Not drinking alcohol is also a smart decision, and there are plenty of delicious non-alcoholic options at JazzFest.

If you haven't tried rosemary iced tea, you're missing out. Two years have passed since the last JazzFest, and although Covid-19 cases are rising again in Louisiana, there will be no mandate for vaccination, testing or wearing masks to attend the festival. The mission of the New Orleans Jazz& Heritage Festival is to promote, preserve, perpetuate and promote Louisiana's music, arts, culture and heritage. Now that you know a little bit more about what JazzFest is, a brief history and the incredible impact it has on the city, I'm sure you're wondering how to book and navigate a once-in-a-lifetime experience at JazzFest.

Tickets for the JazzFest are available for purchase on the JazzFest site a few months before the event, or at the gates of any day of the festival. Obviously, it's okay to have your ticket bought and ready, especially if you're coming from overseas, but this wouldn't be the best survival guide to the New Orleans Jazzy Festival if I didn't mention a little trick that I would have liked to have thought of. Folding chairs, blankets and floor tarpaulins are ideal for sitting and enjoying concerts throughout the fairgrounds. Only Jazz-Fest Express vehicles will use a special ticket to avoid traffic and bring Festival attendees to the Festival's gates. Jazz-Fest Express tickets and tickets are available for sale on Festival days from these locations or in advance. Be sure to take a look and don't just focus on the main stage of the New Orleans Jazzy Festival.

However, JazzFest definitely offers a great outdoor music festival without spending large sums on pop acts. The New Orleans JAZZ Festival takes place at the Fair Grounds Racecourse, a horse racing track in downtown New Orleans. Now that you know what you can bring into the New Orleans Jazz Fest and how to navigate your way around it, all that's left is for you to enjoy yourself! Be sure to keep in mind the heat, which can be intense, especially if you party all day. So grab your folding chairs or blankets and tarpaulins and get ready for an unforgettable experience!.