Jazzfest New Orleans!!

My recent road trip from Orlando to Tacoma, and visit with family in Birm-ingham, gave Sarah and I the opportunity to visit New Orleans, together, for the first time. We were also extremely lucky to visit during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. If you are like myself about 2 months ago, and have never heard of the Jazzfest, then this might not seam like a big deal. If, however, you are like two of my neighbors who have been to Jazzfest, they would consider it an absolute sin to be in New Orleans during Jazzfest and NOT attend. Having now been inducted into the Jazzfest alumni association, I can say with certainty - to describe Jazzfest is like trying to describe how big the ocean is, or how breathtaking the Grand Canyon is, or how earthshaking a live space shuttle launch is, or how beautiful a sunset is. Jazzfest just IS.

Ever since my first visit to New Orleans, I have held the belief that NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) is once of the best cities in the US to eat some of the most amazing food and listen to some of the most amazing music on the cheap. Jazzfest does not embody this concept, it transcends it. For a $45 admission, our senses were bombarded for 8 hours by 10 stages and the smells of over 50 food vendors. As you walk the grounds of the horse track, where the event is held, you are almost overwhelmed as both the sound of music and smells of competing food stands mingle in the air.

When I say food stands, I don't mean hotdogs and hamburgers. In fact, hotdogs and hamburgers are not available at Jazzfest. Only local delicacies grace the counters of each food dispensary. Local cuisine includes: po-boy sandwiches (with any meat you desire - catfish, crawfish, pork, shrimp, crab ect), Crawfish Monica, crawfish strudel, crawfish cheese bread, jambalaya, creole style food of every sort, alligator pie, beignets, boudin, muffuletta, and the list goes on! Sarah and I stuffed ourselves with delicious dishes all day long, not repeating any dish between ourselves or throughout the day, and I want to go back for 3 more days just to try all the food I didn't get to eat. The amount and variety of music is just as astounding. Between the gospel tent, blues tent, jazz tent, Congo Square, and the 6 other stages on location, there is no place on the grounds where you cannot hear music all the time. Sarah had never experienced Zydaco music so I was excited to expose her to the high tempo, accordian filled, local style - and just our luck, Buckwheat Zydaco himself was playing on the day we attended. An extremely enthusiastic performer and exceptional musician who really knows how to get the crowd jumpin'.

The festivities do not stop at the gates of the fairgrounds. On the way into and out of the festival, the streets are lined with all manner of other groups, choirs, and bands playing to their hearts content. Why do they play? I can only imagine it is in the hopes they they one day too will be invited inside the grounds to perform, and, of course, for the love of music.

There are only a few things in this world that I recommend everyone try to see sometime in their life - and Jazzfest is one of those things. Check their web page for info and future dates simply by googling Jazzfest.

Check out all the photos from our spring vacation, including photos of New Orleans and Jazzfest at: http://picasaweb.google.com/scott.templin/SpringVacation2010#