The spring semester is filled with excitement: Mardi Gras, Spring Break, and Jazz Fest are all just a few weeks apart! When the sun starts shining, everyone comes out of the library to enjoy the beautiful weather. The Peace Quad fills with people lying in the grass reading, playing hacky sack, or relaxing with friends. So many reasons why I love springtime in New Orleans…
With midterms now over, and Audubon Park right across the street from the university, it’s the best time for outdoor events. For the next couple of weekends, different organizations on campus will utilize the park as a venue for volleyball tournaments, races, and BBQs. Another reason to love spring in New Orleans: crawfish season and strawberry season are both at their prime! Take a walk through Audubon Park to the “fly” and you’ll find tons of students enjoying these local delicacies on most afternoons and weekends. The fly is a part of the park that sits right on the Mississippi River. It’s one of my favorite places in the city.
As the weather reaches perfection, we get a week off for Spring Break! Being so near the Gulf of Mexico, beautiful beaches are just a few hours away—a road trip is a must!! Last year my sorority sisters and I spent the week at a condo in Gulf Shores. Gulf Shores is full of fun things to do; watch the sun rise and set from the same spot: CHECK, shop at the Tanger Outlet: CHECK, listen to live music at Lulu’s (owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister): CHECK, and use three bottles of sunscreen and come home without a sunburn: CHECK!
A few weeks after spring break, it’s time to head to Jazz Fest! The festival is my favorite New Orleans tradition and it takes place the last weekend of April and first weekend of May. There you will be surrounded by several stages, which exhibit headliners—this year Simon and Garfunkel!—and other stages which show off our best local musicians. At the festival, you will find the most famous Cajun foods the city offers, all in one spot! I love the food at Jazz Fest, and can’t leave the festival without getting Crawfish Beignets, an Oyster Po-Boy, and Crawfish Monica. The food is so good in fact, you might crave it for an entire year… I certainly do!
