Friday, April 8. 2011.
Virtually At The French Quarter Festival.
With the exception of a year when we mistakenly booked a cruise on top of it, I have hosted a radio show at the French Quarter Festival for well over a decade. The last few years, it's been more than one show. Although I offered, we had to back down to today's program only. The doctor thought it not a good idea for me to be in the kind of crowd that fills Jackson Square when the festival is on and the weather is good--as it will be for the whole weekend.
We figured out a workaround. Mary Ann went to the festival with Dominic, the radio statio engineer. There, she co-hosted the show, finding and fetching the food vendors to talk with me on the air. I'm sitting in my rabbit warren over here, but this is radio, and it really doesn't make much of a difference.
The first surprising thing I learned came from Deborah Mench, who is on the board of the festival. "It's the third largest-drawing event in New Orleans, after Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl," she said. "Hotels are booked up from Gonzales to the Gulf Coast, and all around the North Shore."
Wait a minute. It's bigger than the Jazz Festival? That's hard to believe. But then, last year the French Quarter Festival attracted over a half-million visitors. And the FQF is free, while the Jazz Festival has become rather expensive. Free is well known for its ability to bring in the numbers. (You pay for the food and drink at both events.)
On the other hand, what's new about a food event in New Orleans attracting crowds? I've insisted for rather a long time that the Jazz Festival is at least as much a food festival, regardless of the high-end entertainment it features. But without the food, UI wonder if half as many people would show up.
The music acts (can they really have eighteen stages? That's what Deborah told me) have a lower profile at the French Quarter Festival. Although Charmaine Neville performed while we were in the air, the biggest name I heard was Pete Fountain. He's featured on the official poster, and he came by to play. I ought to be ashamed of myself. If Pete can show up, why not me?
The Festival began its weekend last night. It was the first Thursday on the schedule since it began in 1984 with just one day. The results were gratifying: Deborah said that attendance beat expectations. All the food vendors seemed pleased, anyway.
Mary Ann, the Queen Of Leftover Hoarders, left the Festival with a large sack (she came prepared) of food samples from the vendors. This means I will have my own little festival for the next several days. The only thing Mary Ann likes more than filling the reefer with leftovers is having someone else to eat them, thereby avoiding the ruination of her weight-loss program.
