Jeudi

As the annual Bayou Boogaloo gets set to step off in Mid-City, Director Jared Zeller talks about what the festival is doing behind the scenes to keep things green.

New Orleanians love a music festival, but they tend not to love the prices as much. We’ve all heard the complaints about Jazz Fest costing an arm and a leg, people’s neighborhoods being inundated by outsiders, and how hard it is to find parking in the city. But this year’s Bayou Boogaloo Festival will be a pleasant break for those who may usually avoid festival crowds. Festival Director and President of the Mothership Foundation Jared Zeller is ready for the eco friendly fest’s 7th year.

In response to whether or not they’re expecting a big turnout, Zeller told us, “We do. We feel like we get better every year. Word of mouth on this festival is pretty good.”

Zeller is excited to be near the bayou and believes that the location is a big part of what makes the festival so unique.

“Not many festivals that claim that they’re on the banks of the bayou in an urban environment," he said. "It’s a homegrown festival with a fantastic location in the center of New Orleans.”

Zeller also hopes that fest goers who usually drive and park will be cognizant of the fact that the residents of Bayou St. John just recovered from the big Fest at the Fair Grounds. The location is ideal for bikers to take advantage of Jeff Davis Parkway’s bike line, since Jeff Davis is one of the city’s only major bike-friendly thoroughfare. Zeller also noted that people biking from Lakeview can use the newly implanted bike lane on Wisner.

“We’re going to have four times as many bike racks as we have in years past," he said. "We’re giving people more opportunities and more locations to lock them up.”

The festival is known for being eco friendly, and that doesn’t just mean they ask you to leave the car keys at home. They try to be as close to a “no waste” festival as humanly possible.

“We try to get our food vendors to participate in a composting program. We impress upon them to follow our waste guidelines and we’re getting better at recycling,” he said.

Zeller also encourages fest goers to do their part, even if they’ve had a few drinks and might not have recycling on the brain.

The environmental considerations are only a small part of what makes the festival such a huge attraction year after year.

“We have 70 visual artists, 26 food vendors, we have a kids’ area this year, we have full programming on Saturday and Sunday geared towards kids and families,” said Zeller.  

There’s also a bicycle pub crawl on Saturday, a rubber duck derby on Sunday as well as a bicycle second line. Yes, a rubber duck derby with 15,000 inanimate contestants.

The proceeds of the Rubber Duck Derby benefit Second Harvest food bank, and the owner of the winning duck wins receives a car. The ducks will be dropped at 4:30 in the afternoon following the day’s 10am second-line that will be hosted by bikeasy.org.

The festival is free, but Zeller also asks that people use the money that they save on admission to support local artists and vendors.

“We encourage people to leave their coolers at home," he said.

There will be nearly 30 bands in three days on three stages, so it’s worth buying a couple of beers from the vendors. Pets are also welcome on leashes. You can visit http://thebayouboogaloo.com/ to get the full line up for the day.