Bayou Bacchanal Caribbean Festival

Bayou Bacchanal is New Orleans' celebration of Caribbean culture, held each first Saturday of November at Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park. The festival features soca, reggae, calypso and steel-pan music, a colorful masquerade parade, authentic Caribbean cuisine, craft vendors and cultural showcases representing nations across the Caribbean. The festival village and stage programming are free and open to the public, making it an accessible, vibrant community celebration of the Caribbean diaspora's deep ties to New Orleans. Come for the food and music, stay for the parade of costumed masqueraders. Registration is only needed if you want to play mas in the parade band.