Voodoo Music + Arts Experience in New Orleans

What are the highlights of the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience?

Though visitors to the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience are coming mainly for the music, they’ll also be immersed into the gorgeous setting of City Park, with its 1,300 acres of mature oak trees, moss canopies and scenic walking trails.

Beyond the festival’s great mix of music, you’ll also be able to explore some interactive art exhibitions, hop on a few carnival rides, browse the art market, and sample some local craft brews in the beer tent.

Food is also a major draw for the Voodoo fest, with everything from local Shrimp Poboy dishes to an international selection of Thai, Mexican, Greek and more on offer from dozens of vendors around the festival grounds. If you’re not quite ready to stop the party when the festival acts are finished for the day, you could head out to watch more shows at venues around downtown like Orpheum Theater and House of Blues.

Spooky encounters at the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience

Halloween is a major theme that runs throughout the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, with exhibits and experiences set up to offer some added spooky thrills to the festival. Past events have featured such installations as Casa Modelo, where you can celebrate the Day of the Dead with free skeletal face painting and trippy blacklight tunnel art.

The Voodoo festival also has a “fright zone” set up by the people who run the popular Mortuary’s Haunted House on Canal Street. Expect to get the heart racing and keep a lookout for zombies as you wander through the zone’s haunted house and interactive graveyard. You’ll also find plenty of ghoulish looks in the crowds, with many festival fans dressed up as ghosts, scary clowns, vampires, and other creepy characters. 

Good to know about the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience

The best way to get to the Voodoo Music + Arts Experience is by public transport since there’s limited parking in and around City Park. You can take one of the city’s famous streetcars to the New Orleans Museum of Art, which is a short walk away from the festival grounds.

Cameras with long lenses are not allowed in the festival, though camera phones can be brought along. You’re also not permitted to bring any of your own food or drinks. Those worried about carrying money can choose to use the Voodoo Cashless system where you can pay using your entry wristband. 

It’s advised to bring wet-weather clothing as the outdoor festival runs rain or shine – in 2019, Guns N’ Roses famously played through 3 solid hours of pouring rain (luckily for them, there’s no "cold November Rain" in semi-tropical New Orleans).