Exclusive: Bayou Boogaloo to scale back and relocate
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Bayou Boogaloo is known for its water festing component on Bayou St. John in Mid-City. Photo: Courtesy of Bayou Boogaloo
Bayou Boogaloo is ditching its signature floating free-for-all this year, with organizers telling Axios exclusively that they are moving the festival to new venues and overhauling the format.
Why it matters: The 20th edition of the New Orleans festival will look nothing like the "beautiful, chaotic scene" that turned Bayou St. John into a floating party each May.
The big picture: The festival is pivoting to a spring music series at Pitot House, says Jared Zeller, the interim executive director of the Friends of Bayou St. John, the nonprofit that puts on the fest.
- On the festival's traditional dates — the third weekend in May — there will be ticketed events at the Pitot House and at the Broadside.
- It will be condensed with fewer musicians and vendors, he said. Floaties will be allowed outside Pitot House, which is on the bayou, but it will be a far cry from the previous flotilla.
- "I think people are going to really miss it on the bayou, but we can't continue to be in the red," Zeller says.
Zoom in: Zeller has been with the festival since the start, when it was created after Hurricane Katrina to bring awareness to the waterway and serve as a fundraiser for the bayou and the neighborhood around it.
- That mission got increasingly harder over the years, he said, as costs skyrocketed.
- Neighbors also complained, leading then-Councilmember Joe Giarrusso to threaten to pull the festival's permit unless organizers could figure out a plan.
- The fest shrunk its footprint and charged admission.
Yes, but: It wasn't enough, Zeller says. "The full-scale festival is just super risky at this time."
- Insurance costs climbed, and attendance has decreased over the years, he says.
- The younger attendees aren't drinking as much alcohol, further cutting into profits.
- And sponsors have been harder to find. The fest used to have an "angel" funder, but they dropped out during COVID.
What he's saying: "We have too many festivals," Zeller says. "We don't have enough Fortune 500 companies. ... There's only so much philanthropic money in the city to go around."
- Zeller says he's burned out after two decades. The festival and the waterway need city, state and federal money, he said, comparing it to the efforts on the Lafitte Greenway.
- "I think it's a year of just taking a creative pause ... and [seeing] what the future looks like in New Orleans," Zeller says. "Instead of killing the event, we have to rethink it."
What we're watching: It's unclear what the festival format will be next year. Zeller says the Friends of Bayou St. John will return its attention to the waterway.
- It has a vision plan already and several cleanups scheduled.
What's next: The first event at Pitot House is later this month.