This year, Family Gras will take place at Mardi Gras Plaza, in the 3300 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard across from Lakeside Shopping Center. The festivities are scheduled for February 21, 22 & 23 with free outdoor concerts. This year’s entertainment lineup includes Gary LeVox, Gabby Barrett, Ambrosia, Justin Moore, Kansas, Marc Martel, Zebra, Rock Show NOLA, Timothy Wayne, Imagination Movers, Amanda Shaw and River Dan.

But Family Gras is more than just great concerts by big-name performers – it’s parades, food, an Art Market, kids’ activities and even a run! The Krewe of Excalibur will roll on Friday, the Magical Krewe of MadHatters on Saturday, and the Krewe of Atlas on Sunday. Come enjoy all your favorite New Orleans dishes at the Flambeau Food Court, shop for local art, photography and hand-crafted jewelry at the Art Market and don’t miss the face painting, hand-wax art and interactive games for kids 12 and under at the Kids’ Court. 

Mardi Gras is not just for grownups. Come join the fun this year!

Photo: VisitJeffersonParish.com

>> See The Complete Mardi Gras Parade Schedule

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Trying to decide which Louisiana plantation to tour with your kids? According to Canadian mom blogger Kathryn Gignac who toured four plantations with her three sons, Destrehan Plantation, located just 25 minutes from the New Orleans French Quarter, is “The Best for Families.”

Gignac wrote, “Destrehan Plantation is a great choice for all ages, and a must-visit for families that want to make sure their children really get the chance to understand just how the plantations operated.”

Here’s are five reasons she recommends Destrehan: 

1. With age-appropriate tours for kids grades K-12, the plantation is known for its “stellar Heritage Education Program.” 
2. Tour guides in period clothing ensure families stay engaged.
3. Kids learn how enslaved peoples were bought and sold, how plantations were constructed, how food was stored in the heat, all about the 1811 Slave Revolt and more.
4. Children are given a scavenger hunt paper and can collect a prize at the end of the tour.
5. On group tours, special activities from the plantation era are often included in the programming.

Gignac wrote, “As we journeyed through the house, we had the chance to see an authentic piece of American history, an original document signed by Thomas Jefferson. The boys also loved learning about how their lives would have been different in the 1800s. Zack, at twelve, was excited to learn that he would already have his own apartment outside the main house!”

If you’re looking for an activity that is both fascinating and educational, this is it! Learn more.

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How’d you like to take your kids to the Mardi Gras Museum at the Presbytere this August for free? Or maybe they’d like to see a trumpet once owned by Louis Armstrong. Or maybe live leeches in a jar at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum.

Every year, local museums of all kinds and sizes open their doors to members of other participating museums for no admission fee. For instance, if you’re a member of the Louisiana Children’s Museum, in August you can get into the National World War II Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art or any one of 24 participating museums at no cost to you. Please note, free admission is limited to 2 people per membership, even if you have a group or family membership. You’ll also have to show proof of a current museum membership. And keep in mind that admission may not include special exhibitions.

Participating museums:

• The 1850 House
• Ashe Cultural Arts Center
• The Cabildo
• Confederate Memorial Hall Museum
• Contemporary Arts Center
• Friends of the Cabildo
• Gallier House
• Hermann-Grima House
• Historic BK House & Gardens
• The Historic New Orleans Collection
• Longue Vue House and Gardens
• Louisiana Children’s Museum
• Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience
• New Orleans African American Museum
• New Orleans Jazz Museum
• New Orleans Museum of Art
• New Orleans Pharmacy Museum
• Ogden Museum of Southern Art
• The Presbytere
• Sazerac House
• Southern Food & Beverage Museum
• Studio BE
• TEP Center
• The National World War II Museum

If you’re not a member of any of these museums, August is the perfect month the join! 

Check Out These Other Free Activities for Families

View Top New Orleans Kid’s Menus

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There are great end-of-summer hotel deals in New Orleans waiting for travelers booking “last minute” getaways. Find out what’s available accommodation-wise at bestneworleanshotels.com. Then get coupons for some of the most popular family attractions at neworleanscoupons.com. You’ll find valuable coupons for the following attractions:

Steamboat Natchez

Cajun Encounter Tours

Cajun Pride Tours

City Sight-Seeing Hop-On Hop-Off

Gray Line Tours

Honey Island Swamp Tours

Jean Lafitte Swamp Tours

Livery Tours

Mardi Gras World

New Orleans Airboat Tours

New Orleans Kayak Swamp Tours

New Orleans School of Cooking

New Orleans Sightseeing Tours

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Grab Summer By the Tail on the Steamboat NATCHEZ

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate summer than on a Daytime Jazz Cruise on the Steamboat NATCHEZ.

Along with a two-hour narrated river cruise, you be entertained by a live jazz band and a great lunch with kid-friendly offerings. In addition, you can visit the steam engine room to learn what makes the NATCHEZ go. (School’s out but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something!) 

Celebrate the beginning of summer with Old Man River. Reservations are required. To learn more, visit www.SteamboatNatchez.com. 

Read: Introduce Your Kids to Tom Sawyer’s and Becky Thatcher’s America

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Elegant though it may be, Houmas House on the Great River Road isn’t just for grown ups. It’s a magical place to take the kids this summer. Along with discovering history with a tour of the majestic mansion, they can have a great time exploring outside.

One of our favorite spots on the grounds is the Secret Garden. Follow the winding, shaded path into a world filled with funny garden gnomes, fascinating sculptures, and all kinds of flowers. You might even spy a lizard or a butterfly!

Speaking of wildlife, Houmas House has more than its fair share. There are peacocks, chickens, swans, ducks, koi ponds…and then of course there’s Princess Maggie the dog to pet. For most kids, Maggie alone is worth the half hour drive from New Orleans.

Houmas House is the perfect place to picnic, too. Whether you pack a lunch or pick one up at their cafe, find a shade tree and make sweet summer memories. 

Photos courtesy of Houmas House

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