The New Orleans Jazz Fest is held annually on the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May at the New Orleans Fairgrounds Race Course. Multiple stages are set up in the infield of this horse racing track, which is located approximately three miles from the French Quarter. During the week evening concerts take place at Congo Square across the street from the French Quarter.
A large tourist draw, as well as a proud showcase for locals, Jazz Fest is the second largest annual event held in the city of New Orleans behind Mardi Gras. Food and crafts are also a big part of the festival. The festival planners go to great lengths to celebrate the local history and culture, with only specially selected vendors and artists allowed to have booths to showcase and sell their cuisine and art.
Jazz Fest started in 1970 as a way to celebrate local arts and culture and featured mainly local musicians and artists. Only 350 people attended and the organizers joked that there were more musicians on hand than actual audience members. Within a few years the festival had become so popular that it had to move from its original location at Congo Square to the New Orleans Fairgrounds. In 1976 a second weekend was added. By the twenty-first century Jazz Fest had become a major cultural event recognized worldwide and reaching an attendance of 650,000.
The landfall of hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, devastated the city of New Orleans. During the long rebuilding process the Jazz Fest of 2006 was seen as an opportunity to showcase the rebirth of a city still struggling. The news media descended on the festival to report on the proceedings in a way it never had before. Though the attendance was much smaller than in previous years due to the large number of displaced citizens, spirits and emotions ran high and were broadcast to the world. The 2006 Jazz Fest is widely seen as having served as a symbol for the resiliency of the city and the strength of its culture.
Despite being billed as a jazz festival many different types of music are featured on the numerous stages. Jazz Fest often includes the biggest names in music from many different genres. The FAQ section of the official Jazz Fest website describes the types of music as being "every style associated with the city." For New Orleans, a city older than the Untied States itself, and so rich in musical history beyond just being the "birthplace of jazz," that can include blues, gospel, folk, country, rock, bluegrass, zydeco, Afro-Caribbean and most any other type of hyphenated or hybrid musical genre that can be mentioned.