Best things to do in New Orleans this September

September in New Orleans

by Jeffrey Chitek

Summer is over.  You spent the last month squeezing the blood out of it, trying to make your August count.  Falling in love, swimming in the lake, late night stories by the fire swatting mosquitos, walking outside in your underwear to get the mail….the iconic seasonal past-times.  Maybe you went to the state fair, ate corn dogs and funnel cakes and then later spewed your food selection onto strangers heads below while nervously waiting atop the ferris wheel.  Did the ride break?  Is this normal?  Is the ride attendant drinking and drugging?  …probably so.  Anyway, you spent all year trying to accomplish the summer beach bod that never came to be, and even if it did, the urgent, sun-burn fueled appetite for fun and excess has left a trail of crumbs to the mirror front of which you hunch before, reflecting back a gaze of disappointment.  Summer is a beautiful contradiction.  Its what you look forwards and backwards to…always wishing you would have made more of that allotted time under the sun.

But I have great news for you!  There is another season directly following summer!  A superior season, especially down here in the Southern United States, but especially, especially here in New Orleans.  In fact, we do not care for the season of summer whatsoever… It’s hot, its humid, it’s slow, it’s violent… the drinks refuse to stay cold, and the clothes on your back refuse to stay dry.  In contrast, autumn is the beginning of something magical in this city.  “Down here, it’s our time” ..to quote The Goonies.  Resembling the dynamic of the first snow melt of spring after a long northern winter, the people and dogs of New Orleans find their way out of hiding and back to the streets and swamps of their beloved home place.  Around town, things begin to vibrate again..people gather and joy reenters the paint of old buildings.  Below, a list of a few activities I recommend during September.