About Us
French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI) is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the Vieux Carré and the City of New Orleans through high quality special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of this unique city, contribute to the economic well-being of the community, and instill increased pride in the people of New Orleans. The purpose FQFI's festivals and events is to uplift and sustain our cultural economy - and, most importantly, the people who create it!
French Quarter Festival was first produced in 1984 as a way to bring residents back to the Quarter following the World’s Fair and extensive sidewalk repairs in the French Quarter.
40 years later, French Quarter Festival is now the largest free music festival in the South, featuring a 100% local lineup of Louisiana performers in every genre on 20+ stages throughout the historic French Quarter. FQF takes place annually over 4 days in April.
- The festival pays performance fees to 1,200+ individual musicians each year.
- More than 1,000 community volunteers help make the festival a success!
- Known as “The World’s Largest Jazz Brunch," the FQF culinary and beverage lineup features legendary New Orleans institutions alongside up-and-coming new entrants for over 60 food and beverage vendors each year.
- French Quarter Festival has been consistently voted “favorite festival”, “favorite food festival”, and “favorite event open to the public” by locals.
This two-day celebration is one of the only festivals in the world dedicated to honoring New Orleans' native son Louis Armstrong. It features two stages of music, a delicious culinary lineup of Louisiana restaurants, and an incredible indoor lecture series to educate guests on Armstrong’s history and enduring impact.
Satchmo SummerFest is scheduled annually to coincide with Louis Armstrong’s birthday on August 4th; the first festival took place on what would have been his 100th birthday, the same year the New Orleans airport was renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport. The man known around the world as “Satchmo,” short for Satchelmouth, was widely recognized as a founding father of jazz – a unique American art form. His influence as an artist and cultural icon is universal, unmatched, and very much alive today.