It's spring, the most glorious time of the year in New Orleans. Crawfish are boiling, it doesn't feel like a furnace outside yet and everything is blooming.

Why it matters: This is one of the busiest social periods of the year, with festivals almost every weekend.

The big picture: Here are some of the big festivals and events for the next few weeks.

March

New Orleans Entrepreneur Week: Features 100-plus sessions across the city. Free.

New Orleans Book Fest: Lectures, readings and dozens of sessions with local and national authors at Tulane University. Free.

NOLA Holi Festival: Rooted in Hindu mythology, the fest celebrates colors, love and new beginnings.

Super Sunday: Mardi Gras Indians have celebrations uptown, downtown and on the West Bank. The one at A.L. Davis Park on March 15 is free and open to the public.

St. Patrick's Day festivities: Check out parades and block parties downtown, in the Irish Channel and in Old Metairie.

St. Joseph's Day festivities: Altars and parades in New Orleans and Metairie honoring Italian heritage.

• The 54th annual pasta party is March 27.

New Orleans Opera Festival: This new festival celebrates the city as the birthplace of American opera.

New Orleans French Film Festival: One of the longest-running international language festivals in the U.S.

Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival: Stellaaaaaa!!! Don't miss the calling competition.

Congo Square Rhythms Festival: A free celebration showcasing the music, food and dance that made this city famous.

Big Bass Fishing Rodeo: Held at City Park, it's the oldest freshwater rodeo in the country.

April

Hogs for the Cause: One of the country’s largest and most popular barbecue and music festivals.

• We judged their barbecue competition last year. Go deeper.

French Quarter Fest: Free music on 20+ stages, plus dozens of food vendors.

Jazz & Heritage Fest: Headliners include the Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart and more.

The bottom line: Pace yourself. Festival season is just getting started.

More fests

From Monster Jam to weiner dog races, you've got options.

• Here are a few of our suggestions.

🍣 Nola Nite Market celebrates the Lunar New Year at Westwego Farmers & Fisheries Market on tonight and tomorrow.

🥪 Phil Rosenthal, the creator of "Somebody Feed Phil," is at The Orpheum tonight.

🛻 Monster Jam is at the Caesars Superdome tomorrow.

🦞 Crawfish: Turkey and the Wolf is boiling tomorrow at The Batture. Port Orleans and Miel also have boils.

✊🏾 Mark the end of Black History Month tomorrow with an ancestral blessing ceremony at Whitney Plantation.

🎉 The Algiers Mardi Gras Festival is tomorrow. It was rescheduled due to bad weather. The parade rolls at 9am.

🕵️ The Genealogy Expo is tomorrow at the East Bank Regional Library. It will focus on the lineage of Pope Leo XIV, who has New Orleans roots.

🐾 The Fair Grounds has weiner dog races tomorrow.

🎤 Trap Karaoke is at The Fillmore tomorrow.

💗 Algiers celebrates Friendship Day on Sunday.

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🏛️ Shia LaBeouf is heading to rehab after his Mardi Gras Day arrest. He appeared before a New Orleans judge yesterday, where he was released after posting a $100,000 bond. (People)

• The judge denied his request to travel outside New Orleans. (WDSU)
• See the video of him arriving at court.

🚧 Bayou Phoenix holds a community meeting next week to give an update about its redevelopment of the former Six Flags location. (Press release)

🛍️ Nordstrom Rack opens in Elmwood this spring. (Facebook)

👀 From Baton Rouge:

• Gov. Jeff Landry requested the U.S. Department of Education to broaden its investigation into DEI policies across all Louisiana public colleges. (Shreveport Times)
• Landry, who is also the U.S. envoy to Greenland, reportedly encouraged President Trump to send a hospital ship there. Greenland rejected the offer. (The Independent)
• Louisiana settled three lawsuits with CVS for $45 million. (Louisiana Illuminator)

Average babysitting rates rose nearly 5% last year, hitting $26.24 per hour for one child, according to new UrbanSitter data.

• Parents are paying nearly $30/hour on average for two kids, the sitter-finding platform says.

Rates tend to be higher in places with steeper costs of living.

• San Francisco ($29.63/hour for 1 kid) and Seattle ($27.70/hr) have some of the highest rates in UrbanSitter's report.

See the report.