WHY IT RATES:June is jam-packed with events and attractions in New Orleans- Eric Bowman, TravelPulse Senior Editor
RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Prospect New Orleans announced its fourth installment and citywide art triennial, Prospect.4, to take place in New Orleans this winter opening November 18, 2017 and set to run through February 25, 2018.
• Prospect.4: The Lotus in Spite of the Swamp, is the fourth iteration of the citywide exhibition that finds inspiration from the lotus plant.
• More than 70 artists from over 25 countries are set to participate in the contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every three years in New Orleans.
• Prospect.3 was held in New Orleans in 2015 and engaged over 100,000 visitors during its thirteen-week run.
UPCOMING EVENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS:
• The 7th-annual New Orleans Pride Festival will return June 9-11 for a weekend-long celebration of the LGBTQ community.
• The weekend is packed full of events and the famous Pride Parade which will proceed throughout the French Quarter on Saturday, June 10.
• The 31st-annual French Market Creole Tomato Festival is set to take over the historic French Market June 10-11.
• The festival will include delicious red creole tomatoes, live music, food, cooking demonstrations, contests and a Bloody Mary market.
• Creole tomatoes are seasonal to South Louisiana and only available during the summer months.
The 7th-annual Festigals, women-centric conference, is set to take place June 22-24. Festigals is the first and only festival that inspires, connects and celebrates women while supporting causes important to their well-being.
• Colorado Rockies and Alvarado Construction owner Linda Alvarado is the featured keynote speaker for the conference.
• Festigals features educational sessions, the Bodacious Bras for a Cause & Bloody Mary Mixer benefiting the Cancer Association of Greater New Orleans and Breastoration - two local agencies that provide support for women during cancer treatment and recovery, as well as the Stiletto Stroll Women's Second-Line Parade among several other events.
• The 11th-annual Louisiana Cajun Zydeco Festival returns to Louis Armstrong Park June 24-25 for the only festival that offers exclusively Cajun and Zydeco music. Admission is free.
• This year's lineup includes some of Louisiana's best Cajun and Zydeco artists including the legendary D.L. Menard with the Jambalaya Cajun Band, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, the Lost Bayou Ramblers and more.
• Zydeco is a folksy, American-roots genre that originated in southwest Louisiana.
The 23rd-annual ESSENCE Festival returns to the Crescent City for a weekend of contemporary African American culture and music, June 29-July 2. The festival is set to bring some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop, R&B and Jazz.
• Headliners of this year's festival include John Legend, Diana Ross, Solange, Mary J Blige, Chance the Rapper and Jill Scott.
San Fermin in Nueva Orleans, will host the 11th-annual New Orleans 'Running of the Bulls' downtown, July 7-9.
• The Big Easy Rollergirls and various other roller derby leagues act as bulls on Saturday's 'bull run,' chasing participants throughout the Central Business District.
For a full list of festivals, click here.
ATTRACTIONS:
The National World War II Museum has announced their new permanent exhibit The Arsenal of Democracy: The Herman and George Brown Salute to the Home Front.
•The new exhibit will open to the public on June 10 and will be located on the second floor of the Museum's original Louisiana Memorial Pavilion.
• The exhibit will tell the story of the road to war and the Home Front through nine immersive galleries.
The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) will showcase renowned art collector and gallery owner Arthur Roger's entire personal art collection.
• The contemporary collection, Pride of Place: The Making of Contemporary Art in New Orleans will be on display June 23-September 3.
• Arthur Roger is a local New Orleanian and owner of the Arthur Roger Gallery. His contemporary art gallery on Julia Street was founded in 1978 and is one of the most exciting contemporary art venues in the city.
The Southern Food and Beverage Museum will be hosting culinary and cocktail demonstrations June 10 and 17. The demonstrations will be offered in the museum's state-of-the-art Rouses Culinary Innovation Center by some of the city's best culinary talent.
• Local talent to be featured include: Tara Rizzi, the wine/beverage director of Trinity Restaurant, Liz Williams, SoFAB's founder and president, Gabriel Charpertier, chef de cuisine at The Grill Room at the Windsor Court Hotel, and Carl Schaubhut, chef and owner of DTB.
HOTELS:
New Orleans' latest luxury hotel will open this summer, the NOPSI Hotel.
• NOPSI, which stands for New Orleans Public Service Inc., is in the former headquarters of the city's power and transportation company.
• The hotel building is a nine-story, distinctive and historic landmark built in 1927 and newly reimagined.
CRUISES:
The American Queen Steamboat Company is set to launch their third vessel, American Duchess, on August 14 from the Port of New Orleans.
• The American Duchess is the third paddle wheeler of the fleet along with American Queen and American Empress.
• The American Duchess is a 166-guest all-suite vessel that will offer overnight stays from New Orleans.
Royal Caribbean International will return to New Orleans after a three-year hiatus with the Vision of the Seas ship sailing 7-night itineraries to destinations across the Bahamas and the Yucatan Peninsula.
• This ship will relocate to the Port of New Orleans for the 2018 winter cruise season beginning Dec. 15,2018.
AWARDS:
A handful of New Orleans talent received awards at the James Beard Awards ceremony in Chicago on May 1:
• Arnaud's French 75 Bar received the prestigious award for "Outstanding Bar Program."
• Shaya's Chef de Cuisine Zachary Engel was named "Rising Star Chef of the Year."
• This marks the third consecutive James Beard award for the restaurant. Last year Chef Alon Shaya's namesake Israeli restaurant was named "Best New Restaurant" by the foundation and Chef Alon Shaya was awarded "Best Chef: South" in 2015.
• Herbsaint's Chef de Cuisine Rebecca Wilcomb was named "Best Chef: South."
AIRPORT:
The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport has announced an expansion to the plans for the new terminal, currently under construction, bringing the total number of gates from 30 to 25. The plans include a 2,190-car parking garage, a central utility plan and a ground transportation area.
• The new terminal is now set to open February 2019.
• The five-gate expansion and new opening date comes as the airport has exceeded all passenger enplanement targets and added new international airlift to Europe and South America.
Condor Airlines began a new seasonal, twice-weekly departure from Frankfurt, Germany direct to New Orleans on May 3 that will continue through Oct. 4, 2017.
• This is New Orleans' second nonstop flight to Europe since the 1980s with the British Airways flight to London launching in March, and will connect passengers from more than 120 other cities in the Eastern hemisphere to New Orleans through Condor's partner airlines.
• Flights depart on Wednesday and Sundays on a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with 259 seats.
• The flight is estimated to bring nearly 10,000 people to New Orleans annually.
British Airways has begun nonstop service from London to New Orleans four days per week, and announced that starting October 20, 2017, the service will increase to five times per week.
• This new, international, nonstop flight will depart from London-Heathrow Airport and fly to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, connecting New Orleans to more than 130 destinations and beyond.
• This is the first time in over 20 years that New Orleans has had a direct flight to Europe.
The airport has also added numerous new flights:
• United Airlines announced a year-round service for flights to New Orleans from San Francisco International Airport, beginning on June 8, 2017.
• Alaska Airlines announced a daily, nonstop flight from San Francisco to New Orleans beginning September 21, 2017.
MEETINGS AND CONVENTIONS:
Meetings (3,000 or more in attendance) include:
Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference & Expo | June 16-19
• The Society for Human Resource Management is the largest Human Resources professional society in the world.
• SHRM17 allows attendees to hear from industry experts, learn new skills and earn credits to maintain their certification.
• Projected attendance: 13,000
Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly | June 20-25
• The General Assembly is the annual meeting of the Unitarian Universalist Association where attendees are invited to come together to worship, witness, learn, connect and make policy for the Association.
• Projected attendance: 4,500
American Immigration Lawyers Association's Annual Conference | June 21-24
• Immigration attorneys from across the country will gather to discuss the new administration and what it means to immigration practices.
• 140 sessions are offered in fundamentals, intermediate, advanced and masters level tracks.
• Projected attendance: 3,000
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