Whether your pleasure is shopping, dining, or sipping some sweet local brew, New Orleans is brimming with enough culture and art to nourish your days and delight your nights.
Scene by Rhys
Scene By Rhys Fine Art presents the work of Emilie Rhys, a third-generation artist whose unique narrative style belies any clean categorization. The daughter of renowned New Orleans artist Noel Rockmore, Emilie’s work was invigorated upon moving to New Orleans in 2011, kickstarting a whirlwind of work that has dazzled audiences and buyers alike. Her most recent work focuses on Carnival in New Orleans, exploring the subject in vibrant colored pencil drawings.
In 2020, the New Orleans Jazz Museum opened the exhibition “New Orleans Music Observed: The Art of Noel Rockmore and Emilie Rhys,” which examined the lives and work of these two artists and their individual relationships with New Orleans and its musical community. The catalog is available for purchase at local bookstores and at Scene By Rhys. Stop in during “First Fridays on Royal”, when galleries and shops along Royal Street in the French Quarter are open from 5 pm to 8 pm.
Learn more at scenebyrhys.com.
New Orleans Opera
The inaugural New Orleans Opera Festival will run from March 24 – April 1, 2026, honoring the 230th anniversary of Opera in the Crescent City and presenting a dazzling array of global talent and groundbreaking works. Major productions of this year’s festival include a celebration of the centennial of Carlyle Floyd, the King of Southern Opera, with a headline performance of his iconic work “Pilgrimage”. The MJT will host the lush and romantic “Der Rosenkavalier”, directed by Olivier nominee MELLY STILL with AMANDA MAJESKI as The Marschallin. GOLDA SCHULTZ IN RECITAL and a river cruise of “Showboat in Concert” will round out the events, with the main attraction, “Dialogues of the Carmelites”, staged at the historic Old Ursuline Convent in the Vieux Carre. Its intimate audience of just 250 per performance will move with the action of the show, presenting an opera which interacts completely with the building and the grounds, bringing one of the oldest forms of performance directly to audiences in a bold, new way.
Learn more at neworleansoperafestival.org.
New Orleans Ballet
Since 1992, the New Orleans Ballet (NOBA) has not only showcased elite dance companies from around the world at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre but has also annually provided tuition-free education, health/wellness, and arts healing programs that educate, train, and nurture ages 4-80+ at neighborhood sites in three parishes.
The upcoming 2025 – 2026 NOBA season showcases artistic excellence at its highest level. Beginning on October 11, the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem returns with a commanding program bridging classical and contemporary ballet, followed by the soulful and dynamic BODYTRAFFIC on November 15, featuring a rare live collaboration with Preservation Hall Jazz Band in a moving tribute to the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And in 2025, look out for the New Orleans debut of Argentina’s Tango After Dark, the electrifying theatrical tango experience, in January, and with the return of audience favorite Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in March.
For over 30 years, NOBA has fostered a love of dance in New Orleans and cannot wait to share another exciting season with everyone. To learn more, please visit nobadance.com.
NOLA Coffee Fest
Coffee has been integral to our culture and the business of New Orleans since the 1860s, and the NOLA Coffee Festival loves the people who love coffee.
Setting up shop at the Pontchartrain Convention Center on October 3 & 4, this annual event is designed for professionals and consumers alike to learn a little more about green coffee and all types of roasting and brewing methods. Proudly celebrating all things coffee, the festival is part industry trade show and part culinary school for the education of coffee flavor profiles, farming methods, and the worldwide coffee supply chain. Featuring more than 60 hours of professional coffee seminars and learning opportunities, the NOLA Coffee Festival includes more than two dozen regional (Southern) coffee roasters with free samples and more than two dozen national coffee industry suppliers/manufacturers all under one roof.
Foodies will love the festival, showcasing several unique coffee experiences and demonstrations such as coffee cupping, cold brew extraction, home barista equipment playground, green coffee expo, and our “ask a farmer” presentations. Learning something new has never tasted so fresh.
Learn more at nolacoffeefestival.com.
Art & Eyes
Art & Eyes is New Orleans, LA’s premier provider of the biggest selection of custom eyewear and refreshingly different fashion accessories for people who want to wear stylish frames, handmade clothing, sculpted replacement lenses, artful jewelry, masks, and truly unique accessories. Glasses are about more than just correcting your vision—they’re also a fashion statement for your face! The right eyewear in New Orleans, LA can accentuate your features, complement for style, and give you a whole new outlook on your personal appearance.
Check out our AUTUMNAL METAL MELODY OF FRAMES, PIERO MASSARO, some of the most beautiful and inventive eyewear out there, or gear up with DITA, handmade in Japan, our idea of the perfect Saints glasses.
Discover these incredible selections and more at artandeyesneworleansla.com.
Orleans Gallery
Orleans Gallery, a jewel of Julia Street, blends historic
charm with contemporary Southern art. Inside its blue façade, curated works by celebrated and emerging artists shine. First Saturdays feature live music, artist talks, and a welcoming vibe. A must-visit cultural hub where art, community, and Southern stories come vividly alive.
Learn more at louisianaart.com.
New Orleans Opera Festival
The inaugural New Orleans Opera Festival will run from March 24 – April 1, 2026, to celebrate the 230th anniversary of Opera in the Crescent City. It features an intimate performance of “Dialogues of the Carmelites” at the Ursuline Convent, a river cruise “Showboat in Concert”, GOLDA SCHULTZ IN RECITAL, a celebration of Carlyle Floyd with a performance of his iconic work “Pilgrimage”, and the romantic “Der Rosenkavalier”, directed by Olivier nominee MELLY STILL with AMANDA MAJESKI as The Marschallin.
Learn more at neworleansoperafestival.org.•
