Events in Slidell 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!
Slidell begins where Lake Pontchartrain ends, where the lake forges triumphantly towards the Gulf of Mexico via a deepwater strait. At the Rigolets pass, you’re as likely to encounter tooling sailboats as toiling shrimpboats. The hinterland is striped with bayous, where canoe travel is more appropriate. If you’re into waterborne recreation—whether fishing, sailing, canoeing or waterskiing—there’s no question you’ll be into Slidell. But this is no remote getaway. Slidell stands just across the water from New Orleans, 20 minutes away. Culturally—and culinarily—there is little distinction between the two. Slidell is proud of its historic Olde Towne, with its excellent restaurants, antique shops and an ambience that recalls simpler times. On the other hand, Slidell also contains a top-notch regional shopping mall, North Shore Square. And Slidell may be one of the easiest places to access in Louisiana, at the junction of interstates 10, 12 and 59.
