FQFI 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

In March of 2020, one month before the 37th annual French Quarter Festival, the City of New Orleans issued a Stay-At-Home Order due to the rapid spread of the Coronavirus. While our FQFI team worked diligently to produce a delayed Festival in October, the effects of COVID-19 would force two more cancellations and shutter the event until 2022. In spite of unprecedented challenges, we stayed true to our purpose and values throughout the pandemic and were able to continue to deliver on our mission. During that time we stayed focused and committed to bringing back live events as soon as permitted. We partnered with our presenting sponsor, Chevron, to provide financial support to French Quarter Festival musicians in spite of the event cancelation in 2021; we organized fundraisers to support artists and gig workers; and we pivoted to produce virtual Satchmo SummerFest and Holiday New Orleans Style concerts.

This year we are proud to celebrate the return of all three of our annual live events. Although the years that preceded were life altering, we fought to ensure that our 2022 festival season would not only be successful for New Orleans, but also unforgettable and joyous for our community. In 2022 we safely welcomed more than 832,500 fans back to the French Quarter and generated an economic impact of over $250M. The return of our full scale festival season heralded the recovery of our organization, New Orleans creative economy, and our collective psyche as we welcomed the return of celebrated traditions.

It takes a village to raise a festival and I am grateful to work alongside a passionate and professional team and a dedicated board of directors who steered us through the past two years. But we cannot make our festival magic without our broader festival community. Thank you to our sponsors and partners who stuck by us and ensured we had the means to move forward. Thank you to our musicians, chefs and restaurants who inspire us and keep the heartbeat of our great City pumping with your talent. Thank you to our vendors, crew, and volunteers who are a critical extension of our team. And finally, to the fans who show their support year round through social media posts and likes, monthly donations and one-time gifts, thank you.

I look forward to celebrating our 40th festival season with you in 2023!

Sincereley,

A BRIEF HISTORY

French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI), a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization hosts three events annually, French Quarter Festival in April, Satchmo SummerFest in August and Holidays New Orleans Style in December. FQFI promotes the Vieux Carré and the City of New Orleans through high quality special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of this unique city, contribute to the economic well-being of the community, and instill increased pride in the people of New Orleans.

1983

Following massive street and sidewalk construction in preparation for the World’s Fair, Mayor Dutch Morial announces plans for the first French Quarter Festival to encourage people to return to the French Quarter to support local businesses

1985

1984 ( APRIL 6-7, & 14)

The first French Quarter Festival featured impromptu Jazz performances on Bourbon St. and Classical Music performances on Royal St. The first Sunday, April 7, was rained out and re-scheduled for April 14, 1984.

The first “A Creole Christmas”(now Holidays New Orleans Style) was a decorated tree at the police station and the Mardi Gras chorus singing on the steps of the wildlife & fisheries building.

1989 1986

FQFI revitalizes a Creole dining tradition and brings Réveillon menus to New Orleans restaurants

2013

Satchmo Summerfest

French Quarter Festivals, Inc. is established.

2001

The first Satchmo SummerFest was held in honor of Louis Armstrong’s 100th birthday and the renaming of MSY, now Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

features Allen Toussaint whose performance had fans overflowing into Barracks St.

Ed McMahon judges Breakdance and Flashdance contest

1984

TANK AND THE BANGAS, FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL 2022

PURPOSE STATEMENT

To uplift and sustain our local cultural economy and those who create it.

MISSION STATEMENT

To promote the Vieux Carre and the city of New Orleans through French Quarter Festival and other high quality special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of this unique city, contribute to the economic well-being of the community, and instill increased pride in the people of New Orleans.

VALUES

Cultural Integrity: We value the unique and creative traditions of our community and strive to celebrate a collection of musical, culinary, and artistic talent that both honors the rich cultural history of our region and welcomes ongoing innovation.

Authenticity: We hold steadfast in our position as an independent, home-grown organization in order to make mission-driven decisions.

Stewardship: We work to serve as good stewards of New Orleans’s musical, culinary, and artistic traditions, as well as of our resources and our environment.

Diversity: We recognize and respect the rich diversity of our people, our history, our cultural traditions, and our lived experiences, which together make us stronger.

Inclusivity: We ensure that our events and programming are accessible to everyone because arts and culture bring us together and are paramount to our quality of life and cultural identity.

Community: We create high quality programming that belongs to the local community we serve.

OUR PURPOSE. OUR MISSION. OUR VALUES.

THE

Geauxing Green

In 2021 French Quarter Festivals, Inc. launched the Geauxing Green Program, an allencompassing sustainability initiative that impacts nearly every aspect of annual festival operations.

Developed from the understanding that much of the waste generated from live events could be better diverted into organic or recyclable waste streams, Geauxing Green works to lessen the impact of waste on Louisiana’s environment and waterways.

Public education/messaging, additional sanitation requirements, and participation from food vendors and the public makes this growing program a first of its kind in the state. In partnership with Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTENP), Geauxing Green is poised to change the standard for sustainability at festivals and events statewide.

Data provided by FQFI and the 2022 French Quarter Festival Visitors Survey conducted by The University of New Orleans (UNO) Hospitality Research Center

HOLIDAYS NEW ORLEANS STYLE

HOLIDAYS

S TYLE NEW ORLEANS

Holidays New Orleans Style is a curation of the city’s most celebrated traditions dating back to 1985 with the original, A Creole Christmas. A Creole Christmas, which began as one single concert in Jackson Square at the St. Louis Cathedral, has turned into a 6-week campaign that invites locals and visitors to revel in all the beauty and excitement that the City of New Orleans offers during the holiday season. This year, in collaboration with New Orleans & Company the cities official tourism organization, the campaign highlights the following:

Concerts produced that are free and open to the public showcasing local musicians

FQFI, in partnership with New Orleans & Company promotes the City of New Orleans through a holiday guide and marketing campaign that features all of the uniquely New Orleans experiences throughout the holidays including Special Events, Réveillon, Réveillon on the Rocks, Shopping and Papa Noël hotel deals

Thanks to French Market Corporations support FQFI dresses up Jackson Square to kickoff the holiday season each year!

Réveillon dinner menus curated by FQFI

• Abita Brewing Company

• Acadian Ambulance Service, Inc.

• Aetna Better Health of Louisiana

• Antoine’s

• AOS Interior Environments

• Badine Land Limited / Park First

• Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program

• Bayou Rum

• Blue Bikes

• Bond Moroch

• Broussard’s Restaurant & Courtyard

• Brown-Forman

• Cafe Beignet

• Clarion Herald

• Crawford Conservation

• Crescent Crown Distributing

• Crush

• Cumulus New Orleans

• Dorignac’s Food Center

• Double Dealer

• DownBeat Magazine

• Erin Rose Bar

• Fidelity Bank

• Finance Authority of New Orleans

• French Market Corporation

• Friend of Fest

• Gray Line Tours

• Greater New Orleans, Inc.

• GE

• Harrah’s New Orleans

• Hancock Whitney

• Hoffman Media

• Hotel Provincial

• Hotel Saint Vincent

• House of Blues

• I.T.S. Fire Alarm Security

• iHeart Radio

• JAMNOLA

• JAX Brewery Parking Lots & The Berger Company

• JenCare Senior Medical Center

• Jones Walker

• Joseph K. & Inez Eichenbaum Foundation

• Keesler Federal Credit Union

• Landry’s Seafood House

• LeafFilter

• Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser and the Louisiana Office of Tourism

• Louisiana Fish Fry

• Louisiana Lottery Corporation

• McLoughlin Family Foundation

• Metropolitan Human Services District

• Meyer The Hatter

• Midnight Revival at the Frenchman Hotel

• Mignon Faget

• Morris Bart, LLC

• Music Performance Trust Fund

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• Pepsi

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• Marguerite Adams

• Terese Aiello

• Tracey Baker

• Stuart Barash

• Errin Bellan

• Sal Borelli

• Rick Caballero

• Linda & Mark Caplan

• Ray & Tobi Carter

• Shane Christensen

• Joe Clement

• Geoff Coats

• Barrett Cooper

• Sandra Dartus

• Lynn Davis

• Norma Davis

• Charles Douglas

• Steven Dunn

• Andrea Duplessis

• Joan-Marie Dyer

• Russell Foster

• Janice Foulks

• Deborah Frederickson

• Jonathan McElhannon

• Adonia McFarland

INDIVIDUAL DONORS

• Don Gallo

• Lara Gartner

• Andrew Gerfin

• Dan Giblin

• Rose Halloran

• Shelley Hardison

• Andrew & Rebecca Kelly

• Neal Kirby

• Andy and Andrea Kopplin and Neighbours

• Barbara Lawrence

• Catherine Leidemer

• Sandra Lloyd

• Samuel Loudenslager

• Tim Lyons

• Laurent Lutz

• Joy Mary Manthey

• Patrick Martin

• Gail Mautner

• Ron & Trisha McAlear

• Adonia McFarland

• Niall & Judith McLoughlin

• Kathleen Melita

• Deborah Moench

• Lindsey Barber-Montalvo

• Kenneth Morgan Jr.

YOUR

MATTERS

• Richie and Vicki Noorigian

• Ronald Okamoto

• Patricia Pamulo

• Susanne Paradis

• Eric Paul

• Ellen Peer

• William Pendergast

• Julie Pfeffer

• Estelle Rainsford

• Marvin Rau

• Janine Riley

• Kathleen & Edmund Schrenk

• Bob & Norma Simms

• Michael Smith

• Joseph Soblosky

• Kristian Sonnier

• Amy Jo Steinberg

• Coleen Stowell

• William Thompson

• Paul Waidhas

• Melissa Weber

• Daniel Willeman

• Flora Williams

• Ann Wills

• Danny & Alana Wolfe