As anyone from Louisiana can tell you, the state’s oysters are the best. On March 26, the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana not only celebrates the bivalve, the group serves it up at its Shell-A-Bration.
The benefit, held at the Audubon Zoo’s Louisiana Swamp Exhibit (6500 Magazine St.), offers oysters in a variety of ways, via the state’s oyster farmers and local shuckers and NOLA Oyster Queen. Dickie Brennan & Co. will round out the menu with additional seafood dishes, while live music from T Marie and the Bayou Juju sets the mood. A silent auction gives partygoers a chance to raise even more funds for CRCL while learning about the organization’s oyster recycling and coastal conservation efforts — work that plays a vital role in strengthening Louisiana’s fragile ecosystems. The event is 7:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m, VIP starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets start at $85. crcl.org; @crcl1988
Art on Film
“George Dureau: New Orleans Artist” brings a cinematic look at the life and work of the groundbreaking artist, who was also a major influence on photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. A native of New Orleans and a habitué of the French Quarter, Dureau’s works ran the gamut of photography to paintings.
A screening of the movie, part of the Friends of the Cabildo Film Series, is March 25 at 6 p.m. at the New Orleans Jazz Museum (400 Esplanade Ave.) Complimentary wine provided by Moises Wine/Bizou Wines. FOC members tickets are $10, general admission, $20. friendsofthecabildo.org, @friendsofthecabildo
Booked & Busy
March is when New Orleans shakes off Mardi Gras and cold weather, welcoming the verdant panoply of spring. Not only are flowers blooming, but so are literary festivals.
The NOLA Book Festival at Tulane University, March 12-15, is when the reading and revelry kicks-off. A free event at the university’s Uptown campus, the festival always has a stellar line-up, featuring this year Ken Burns, Susan Orlean, Richard Campanella, Kara Swisher, Ken Auletta, Wally Lamb, Nicole Richie, Charles Blow, Mitch Landrieu, among others, in a variety of panels, discussions and more, with Sunday now officially Family Day. bookfest.tulane.edu; @nolabookfest
Outdoors Overtures
Young Leadership Council (YLC) Wednesday at the Square presented by Abita has been bringing free concerts to Lafayette Square in the Central Business District for more than 25 years. The 2026 edition launches on March 11 featuring Big Sam’s Funky Nation, with opener Zahria Sims Collective, continuing March 18 with Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, with Electric Ramble as opener and March 25 with Bonerama, with Bon Bon Vivant as opener. The series continues through April, and the last show is May 6. Concerts are 5 p.m.-8 p.m. and feature food, drink, art and crafts for sale. ylcwats.com, @ylcwats
Garden Party
Ellen Biddle Shipman was a trailblazing landscape architect, not only as a woman in a male-dominated field, but for her designs, including the gardens at Longue Vue (7 Bamboo Rd.).
Her legacy will be celebrated at “Shipmania: In the Spirit of Pioneering Women,” March 25-28 at the historic home and of course, its gardens. The four-day Design Symposium will feature discussions with Galerie Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Terrebonne, landscape architect Kate Orff, artist-in-residence Renee Royale, interior designer Barrie Benson, a performance by Giovanna Joseph with Opera Creole and a reception honoring Shipman’s biographer, Judith Tankard. Tickets start at $250 and registration required.
Community Design Day on March 28 is free and offers activities geared around the symposium theme. Registration not required.
The funds raised at the Design Symposium are dedicated for historic preservation at Longue Vue, focusing on the house’s wall coverings. longuevue.com; @longuevuehg
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival
Marking 40 years, the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival is set in the French Quarter that the event’s namesake so loved. The Stella and Stanley Shouting contest at the New Orleans Jazz Museum (400 Esplanade), 2 p.m.-5 p.m., starts things off early on March 21, followed the festival appearances March 25-29 that include Robert Olen Butler, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, Addie Citchens and Skye Jackson. Complementing the festival is the Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Literary Festival, March 27-29.
Tickets vary per event, passes available starting at $40 a day. tenneseewilliams.net; @twfestnola
