New Orleans, deep in its football traditions, has officially become a basketball town!  The New Orleans Hornets, lead by 2008 NBA Coach of the Year, Byron Scott and NBA 2008 VIP contender Chris Paul, put the sting to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of this year’s playoffs. 

The Bee’s now face the San Antonio Spurs in the second round of the Western Division Championship.  If they can swarm around the Spurs, they will then face the winner of the LA Lakers vs Utah Jazz for the Western Division Championship and the chance to go to the National Championship.

While much of the media once predicted that New Orleans could not support two ”PRO” sports teams…and our beloved New Orleans Saints are part of our daily life, the basketball fans have proven that they love their Hornets selling out the New Orleans Arena for the last 10 games! 

Now would be a great time to come to New Orleans and “bee” a part of all this exciting BUZZ!

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, one of the premier New Orleans events each year, begins this weekend, April 25-27, and continues May 1-4. Each year an all star line-up of entertainers highlights the two special weekends at the New Orleans Fairgrounds.

Jazz Fest, like Mardi Gras and the French Quarter, is what makes New Orleans unique and one of the most popular destinations in the world to visit. It connects our community, all ages and races, and showcases our heritage, music and food.

The annual festival is held at the Fair Grounds Race Course from 11 am to 7 pm on each of its seven days with artists appearing on multiple stages at the same time. In addition to a fabulous variety of great music, this event is known for its Food Fair with over 100 food offerings of Louisiana and international foods, as well as a craft fair.

The Jazz Fest music lineup always includes great local Jazz bands, Cajun and rhythm and blues bands and the very popular choirs in the Gospel tent.

Anytime is a good time to enjoy New Orleans but Jazz Fest is a great time to experience the special uniqueness in our culture, our food and above all…our music.

Great news for those with internet access on cell phones or other mobile devices!  You can access the entire entertainment and events schedule for this weekend’s French Quarter Festival by logging on to www.fqfi.org.

A complete listing of “who is performing when and where” is broken down by day and stage location.

And if that’s not enough to get you extra excited about this weekend…you can also find “who is serving what food and where”.  Through your own phone you will find your favorite foods via the listing of food vendors and what goodies they are serving!

Simply go to www.fqfi.org from your mobile device and have a great French Quarter Festival weekend!

French Quarter Festival…celebrating 25th Anniversary this weekend, April 11-13!

 

On April 11-13, 2008, the City of New Orleans will celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of our beloved French Quarter Festival. Enjoy 250 hours of free entertainment featuring more than 150 musical performances on fiftheen stages throughout the French Quarter over this three day weekend.

This popular annual event, which began as a celebration of street and sidewalk repairs in the French Quarter in the early 80’s, has become the favorite festival for locals and visitors alike.

For entertainment and special event details, visit their site at www.fqfi.org.

If you like round-ball excitement, you want to be in New Orleans February 15-17 for the NBA All-Star Game and festivities. The 2008 event marks the first time that the NBA All- Star Game will be held in New Orleans.

The National Basketball Association’s 57th annual All-Star Game in New Orleans on Sunday, February 17 will showcase the top NBA players including Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Yao Ming and Carmelo Anthony versus LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd. The big game will be played in the New Orleans Arena with tip-off time at 7 p.m.

Players in the All-Star Game are selected by both the fans and team coaches. Doc Rivers of the Celtics will be the coach for the East and New Orleans Hornets Coach Byron Scott will coach the West.

There are several events planned during the week of the game:

Friday, February 15 - T-Mobile Rookie Challenge.

Saturday, February 16 - NBA All-Star Saturday Night, including Shooting Stars, Skills Challenge, Three-Point Shootout, and Slam Dunk Contest.

15th NBA All-Star Jam Session, the interactive basketball theme park, will be held at The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center.

More information on the NBA All-Star Game at the New Orleans Arena, including ticket availability and pricing, can be found at www.nba.com.