NEW ORLEANS — With the threat of severe weather, the French Quarter Fest is not taking any chances of losing booths, and stages in the potential high winds.
So, all day today they made sure they are not only ready for the storm, but will also be ready once the storm is over.
This year the French Quarter Fest is expanding to a third site.
So, there is a lot of work to do for 22 stages, and losing one day during that two-week setup has organizers, well doing some reorganizing.
It may be the quiet before the storm, but on the riverfront, Spanish Plaza and Jackson Square, it is anything but quiet.
The hustle and bustle is because company is coming. Nearly 900,000 people are expected to visit the four-day French Quarter Fest, and vendors and organizers are losing a day of setup due to Mother Nature.
“We're getting it out here a day earlier from the usual set up which is just tomorrow, obviously because of the weather tomorrow,” said William Wall of the Abita Brewing Company, which is a sponsor of the festival.
Stage side scrims and signage are staying down, stage equipment is staying covered, big booth tops are tethered to huge water barrels, chairs are staying folded, daiquiri machines are tarped, and even garbage, and recycle bins are tapped closed. Electrical people are on hand for safety, and you should have no worries about dancing in mud, or needing hay to lay down. The grounds in all three places are either high with good drainage or paved.
And this year there's an all-time record for the number of food vendors, 69 to be exact, with 15 making their fest debut appearances.
“We've got a culinary stage coming on line for the first time at the festival. I can't believe it took us 41 years. We know that the culinary talent here is as much a part of the festival as the musical talent,” said Emily Madero, President and CEO of French Quarter Festivals, Inc.
“So, what we did was we moved up the vendor timeline. Normally most vendors load in on Wednesday. So we're allowing folks to come in today, Tuesday, and we doing as much to accommodate them,” said Kenneth Spears, Director of Food, Beverage and Hospitality for the French Quarter Fest.
Along with the earlier load-in, the production schedule is shifted, and the site build will be Wednesday evening after the storm, or early Thursday before the 10 a.m. kickoff, and parade on Bourbon Street.
“We're going to pay our dues on Wednesday, and then we're going to have beautiful sunshine for four days,” said Madero.
In Hawai'i the saying for that is, “No rain, no rainbows.”
The stages open at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
And this year you can watch parts of the fest, and interviews with the musicians live on WWL+.
Go to wwltv.com and click on live streaming.