Events in Mandeville Louisiana

Looking for top-notch, inexpensive family entertainment, great food, a beautiful outdoor experience and some of the best music in the world? Two words: Louisiana festivals.

More than 400 Louisiana festivals occur each year – which makes it easy to see why Louisiana is often called the Festival Capital of America. We celebrate just about every crop harvested, every indigenous dish, every type of music that's played here – ranging from Cajun and zydeco to Delta blues, New Orleans jazz, Louisiana's own swamp pop, country, salsa and more. Excellent Louisiana food is a given at any festival. And as always, Louisiana festivals offer abundant opportunities for meeting new friends.

Themed festivals range from a Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula and Tomato Festival in Chalmette to the great Festival International in Lafayette; from the big Contraband Days Pirate Festival in Lake Charles to the Holiday Festival of Lights in Natchitoches. From the Red River Revel in Shreveport to the Catfish Festival in Washington. Of course, you'll want to visit the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, or the big family-fun French Quarter Festival.

And for the biggest of them all? That's right, Louisiana is home to Mardi Gras! But that's another story – and a very large one across the state!

Mandeville is where the urban meets the natural. Founded in 1834 by the Marigny de Mandeville family of New Orleans, it developed early on as a lakeside summer resort for wealthy denizens of the Crescent City. This remains in evidence in the older quarters of the city, and in some of its key historic properties that are found on Lakeshore Drive. In the 1950s, Mandeville was connected to the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain via the Causeway, the longest bridge in the world.  To complement its well-established, wooded suburbs, Mandeville offers a full complement of upscale amenities. These include fine dining establishments, shops and day spas – the perfect for unwinding after a visit to New Orleans. At the edge of town, Fontainebleau State Park offers cabins and campsites with plenty of diversion for nature lovers. It also connects to the Tammany Trace, a leafy, 31-mile trail that bicyclers find exhilarating.