About This Festival
From the Organizer
Every year on the third weekend of May, MotherShip Foundation celebrates Louisiana’s music, art, food, and culture through the Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo Festival, which takes place along the historic and beautiful urban waterway of Bayou St. John. The Bayou Boogaloo was started in 2006 as a way to reinvigorate the people of post-Katrina New Orleans and to provide inspiration for rebuilding. MotherShip established the festival with a mission to restore the social fabric of the Mid-City and Faubourg St. John neighborhoods; to connect neighbors, neighborhoods, and businesses; and to provide hope for the future by creating an opportunity for all residents to celebrate the heritage, culture, and diversity of New Orleans. It was a one-day, one-stage event that attracted nearly 5,000 people. But thanks to the festival’s mission and diverse community-based approach, this flagship program has been able to experience tremendous growth over the last twelve years and has become the backbone for MotherShip to expand its programming. The Boogaloo is now a three-stage, three-day festival that attracts roughly 35,000 people annually. And Mid-City is now one of the most thriving neighborhoods in town! The festival explores New Orleans’s musical roots in blues, jazz, zydeco, Cajun, funk, hip hop, and rock. Families are made welcome with a kids’ stage for children’s entertainment and activities for all ages. The Boogaloo Art Market offers original works of art in a variety of genres from 70 of Louisiana’s most celebrated artisans. The festival also boasts 30 Louisiana food vendors, serving a plethora of original recipes and traditional New Orleans cuisine.
