New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival

At the Minnesota State Fair there are a few foods that are fun to eat (the bucket of cookies and the bottomless cup of milk), there are a few foods I prefer not to look too close at, and there are a lot of things that make me cringe (deep fried mac’n’cheese on a stick? Really?). It is as if the important factor is not that food tastes good, rather that it defies gravity. The MN State Fair used to be my pinnacle for fair/festival fare.

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival was like walking into the hot, crowded, overwhelming heaven of fairs and festivals. I am not lying when I say that every single food vendor there made my mouth water; Boiled Crawfish, Crawfish Monica, Catfish Almandine, Crawfish on eggplant, Fried Oysters, Fried Shrimp, Fried Oyster Po-boys, Fried Shrimp Po-boys, Alligator Po-boys, Jamaican Jerk chicken, East-African spicy spinach and chicken skewers with a banana hot sauce that make you sweat profusely instead of just semi-profusely… I can’t even continue, the yearning is so strong I am getting sad.

Then, after stuffing yourself into delirium, you get a daiquiri and turn around to realize that Kermit Ruffins, Percy Sledge, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, and Van Morrison are all playing music, at the same time! As long as you manage not to pass out from food delirium, daiquiri delirium, or music delirium, you are bound to have a great time. It is really like the heaven of fairs/festivals (where you still get sunburned and sleepy by 5pm).

People come to Jazz Fest every year from other cities, until they realize it is just easier to live here and go to Jazz Fest every year from here. Then when they move here, they end up moving closer to the fairgrounds just to be able to walk there (it is only two weekends long! People are crazy to move just for that!) Oh, and Megan and I did move so that we can walk there. Again, first come, first serve on our one available bed. Floor space is available too.

We had a wonderful day at Jazz Fest with Jake (college roomate) and Natalie (college roomate’s gal). They bought me an alligator po-boy that made me want to go gator huntin’ (not really, but if you go, save me some meat). When we were looking for a place to sit to watch Mac Rabinac (aka Dr. John) and Van ‘the Man’ Morrison play the final sets of the day, we became victims of some very hospitable southerners. They forced us to share their blue tarp (many uses for the blue tarp down here), forced us to share their beer, forced Megan to sit in a chair when her neck hurt, one guy even forced us to accept the concert posters he bought for us. Watch out for that southern hospitality, it hits you real quick, and before you know it you might be enjoying yourself in close proximity to total strangers (although they’ll act like your friends).