This 4 mile race has little impact on the traffic, since it uses the HOV lane to cross the river. Keep that in mind there are some street closures around the start and finish lines.

From the website:

The race starts on New Orleans’ “West Bank” and crosses the Mississippi River via the Crescent City Connection Bridge. At its midpoint, participants rise to a height of more than 300 feet over the river, giving participants a breathtaking view of the city’s skyline at sunset. Ending along the river at the Port of New Orleans Administration Building, the “Connection” or “Bridge Run” as locals call it, is a favorite among both serious runners and young professionals. Always followed by a great party and concert, the Connection is always a fun way to close out the summer.

The costumes and revelry associated with Halloween Night make Halloween seem like a second Mardi Gras.

In addition to the Halloween festivities, the Voodoo Music Experience music festival takes over City Park. This three day festival which runs during Halloween weekend is a big draw so plan accordingly if you want to use the park for a wedding or pictures.

You can find more Halloween events posted at nola.com/haunted.

January 6th, the 12th night of Christmas, kicks off the Carnival Season. While you may see little impact in your wedding day, except for some 12th night celebrations, there are a couple of events to notes to point out.

Kings Day is the start of the Carnival season, and traditionally, when King Cakes start popping up around town.

Three parades including the Phunny Phorty Phellows, The Krewe Alla, and Claude which run uptown, in Algiers and Slidell, respectivly.

Fat Monday, the Monday before Mardi Gras has parades rolling in Metairie and uptown including the super-krewe, Orpheus, which was founded by  Harry Connick, Jr. & Sr. and Proteus, the second oldest parade in Carnival History.

On the web:

Nola.com Parade Schedule

• Proteus – Uptown, 5:15 p.m.
• Orpheus – Uptown, 6 p.m.
• Zeus – Metairie, 6:30 p.m.

Fat Tuesday marks the end of Carnival and the city effectivly shuts down for the day. Parades will roll, streets will be blocked to traffic, pedestrians in various levels of intoxication will abound and all will need to be considered and discussed with your vendors as you plan the wedding.

It is also important to remember that Mardi Gras falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, meaning it can occur between February 3rd and March 9th. The folks at MardiGras.org provide a handy calculator for planning ahead.

More information including parade routes can be found at mardigras.com.

Orleans / Jefferson
• Zulu – Uptown, 8 a.m.
• Rex – Uptown, 10 a.m.
• Elks Orleans – after Rex
• Crescent City – after Elks
• Argus – Metairie, 10 a.m.
• Jefferson Trucks – after Argus
• Elks Jefferson – after Jefferson
• Grela – West Bank, 11 a.m.

The Louisiana State Museum’s Old U.S. Mint is the site of a yearly festival dedicated to the New Orleans native Louis Armstrong. Satchmo SummerFest, produced by French Quarter festivals, Inc. will take over parts of the French Quarter featuring not only local musicians, but speakers, and exhibits.

From the press release:

Happy Birthday Satchmo!

Satchmo SummerFest is scheduled annually to coincide with Armstrong’s actual birthday on August 4th. Armstrong often stated in public interviews that he was born on July 4, 1900 (Independence Day in the USA), a date that has been noted in many biographies. Armstrong died in 1971. It wasn’t until the mid-1980s that his true birth date of August 4, 1901 was discovered.