Guides · New Orleans
New Orleans in October: Weather, Festivals and Food
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New Orleans in October is when the city moves back outdoors. The heaviest summer humidity breaks, festival stages go up in parks and on the riverfront almost every weekend, and the first cool evenings bring gumbo back onto every menu. This guide picks 5 things to do in New Orleans in October that the city's Halloween and year-round guides do not cover: the free Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, NOLA Funk Fest on the Mississippi, Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus, Tremé Fall Fest and a bowl of gumbo at Dooky Chase's Restaurant. Every entry includes the exact address, the nearest streetcar stop and a Pro Tip.
On New Orleans weather in October: daytime highs average about 27°C (80°F) early in the month and ease towards 24°C (75°F) by Halloween, with lows near 16°C (61°F). October is one of the drier months of the year at roughly 90 mm of rain, although the Atlantic hurricane season technically runs until 30 November, so a passing storm can occasionally push an outdoor event back by a week. Pack a light layer for evenings by the river.
The New Orleans festivals in October are spread across the month rather than packed into one weekend. Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus runs over several October weekends, while Blues & BBQ, NOLA Funk Fest and Tremé Fall Fest each take a single weekend. Exact dates shift from year to year, so check each festival's official site before booking and build your trip around the one you most want to see. The gumbo entry works on any lunchtime of the month.
1Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival - Free Music in Lafayette Square
The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is one of the best free events in New Orleans in October, filling Lafayette Square for three days with no admission fee. It is organised by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, the non-profit behind Jazz Fest, and focuses on blues from south Louisiana and Mississippi, with line-ups that mix veteran blues players, local soul singers and touring guitar names.
Barbecue is the other half of the festival. Local pitmasters serve brisket, ribs and pulled pork from stalls around the square, with meat-free options for vegetarians, and an art market sells prints, jewellery and crafts. Lafayette Square was laid out in 1788 and faces the white-columned Gallier Hall, so the stages sit under mature oaks, which helps on a warm afternoon.
Pro Tip: Friday afternoon is the quietest session. Bring a folding chair or blanket, as seating near the main stage disappears by mid-afternoon on Saturday.
2NOLA Funk Fest - Funk on the Mississippi Riverfront
NOLA Funk Fest brings one of the liveliest weekends of New Orleans in October to Woldenberg Park on the banks of the Mississippi. The festival celebrates the funk sound that grew out of the New Orleans R&B scene in the 1960s, and its line-ups lean on local funk and brass bands alongside a few genre-crossing collaborations.
Unlike the Blues & BBQ Fest, this is a ticketed event, with prices varying by day and pass type. Woldenberg Park is a long riverside lawn between the Audubon Aquarium and the French Quarter, so cargo ships and paddle steamers slide past behind the stages. It sits a short walk from Jackson Square and Canal Street, which makes it easy to combine with dinner in the French Quarter.
Pro Tip: Aim for the late-afternoon sets on Saturday, when the sun drops over the river. Before the gates open, ride the Algiers Ferry from the foot of Canal Street for a couple of dollars each way for a skyline view from the water.
3Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus - Three Weekends on Bayou St. John
Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus runs over several weekends every October. Deutsches Haus is the German-American cultural club of New Orleans, founded in 1928, and its clubhouse on Bayou St. John turns into a beer hall for the festival, with more than 20 German beers plus schnapps.
The food is traditional: bratwurst, sauerkraut, schnitzel, pork loin, cheese plates and Bavarian pretzels the size of a dinner plate. Oompah music, dancing, a German costume contest and a small historical exhibit on Oktoberfest fill out the programme. Entry is a small daily fee paid in cash at the gate, and young children usually get in free, which makes it one of the better-value things to do in New Orleans in October for families.
Pro Tip: Bring small bills for the cash-only gate. Afterwards, walk north along the grassy banks of Bayou St. John, where locals picnic and paddleboard on weekend afternoons.
4Tremé Fall Fest - Music and Food in America's Oldest Black Neighbourhood
Tremé Fall Fest is a one-day highlight of New Orleans in October, held on a Saturday around St. Augustine Catholic Church in Tremé, widely regarded as the oldest African American neighbourhood in the United States. St. Augustine was founded in 1841 and is one of the oldest Black Catholic parishes in the country, and the free festival raises money for the church and local community non-profits.
Expect brass bands and local musicians, food stalls serving red beans, fried fish and Creole plates, art vendors and children's activities. On the church grounds, the Tomb of the Unknown Slave, a large cross made of chains, honours enslaved people buried in unmarked graves in the area. The festival finishes in the afternoon, leaving time to head back towards the French Quarter for the evening.
Pro Tip: Arrive around midday and eat at the festival, then walk five minutes to Congo Square in Louis Armstrong Park, where enslaved and free people of colour gathered on Sundays to drum and dance in the 18th and 19th centuries.
5Gumbo Season at Dooky Chase's Restaurant - Creole Food for Cooler Days
New Orleans in October means gumbo season, when the first cool evenings make a steaming bowl feel right again, and 12 October is National Gumbo Day. The city has two main styles: Creole gumbo, often made with tomatoes, shrimp and crab, and Cajun gumbo built on a darker roux with chicken and andouille sausage.
Dooky Chase's Restaurant in Tremé is one of the most famous places to eat it. Opened in 1941, it was run for decades by chef Leah Chase, known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, and served as a meeting place for civil rights organisers in the 1960s. Her family continues the menu of Creole gumbo, fried chicken and red beans, and the dining room walls display a large collection of African American art. If you prefer a festival, the National Fried Chicken Festival returns to the Lakefront each October.
Pro Tip: Dooky Chase's focuses on lunch service, so check current opening days before you go and arrive close to opening to avoid a wait. Order the gumbo alongside the fried chicken.
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New Orleans in October: Weather, Festivals and Food - FAQ
New Orleans in October is one of the most comfortable times of year. Daytime highs average around 27°C (80°F) and nights drop to about 16°C (61°F), with noticeably lower humidity than in summer. Rainfall averages roughly 90 mm across the month, usually as short showers rather than all-day rain, so outdoor festivals rarely lose a full day.
Usually not in a single weekend, because the festivals fall on different October weekends. Blues & BBQ, NOLA Funk Fest and Tremé Fall Fest each take one weekend, while Oktoberfest at Deutsches Haus spans several. Check each festival's dates for the year you travel, and a week-long stay can often cover three or four of them, with Dooky Chase's fitting into any lunchtime.
Plan by weekend. Pair whichever festival weekend you choose with a Friday or Saturday evening at Deutsches Haus Oktoberfest, which runs across several weekends of the month. Tremé Fall Fest and Dooky Chase's Restaurant sit in the same neighbourhood just north of the French Quarter, so if your dates line up, spend the Saturday at the festival and book a weekday lunch at Dooky Chase's.
Only NOLA Funk Fest needs a ticket bought in advance, with prices varying by day. Crescent City Blues & BBQ Fest and Tremé Fall Fest are free, Deutsches Haus Oktoberfest charges a small cash entry fee at the gate, and Dooky Chase's Restaurant takes walk-ins at lunch, though arriving close to opening avoids a wait.
Very little beyond food and drink. Two of the five entries are free, Oktoberfest charges a small daily entry fee with free entry for young children, and a gumbo lunch at Dooky Chase's costs about the same as any sit-down meal in the city. NOLA Funk Fest is the only significant ticket, and streetcar rides are cheap.
New Orleans in October has more to offer than this guide covers, including Krewe of BOO! and other Halloween events, plus classic sights like the French Quarter and City Park, which are covered in our other New Orleans guides. Other highlights of New Orleans in October include the New Orleans Film Festival, free Crescent City Chamber Music Festival concerts, Praise Fest on Bayou St. John and Saints home games.
