Networking Opportunities
Please keep in mind while deciding on a tour that all of them require a fair amount of walking! Streets are old and in some cases, cobblestones, so be gentle to your feet and wear comfortable shoes!
Transportation is not included.
IECA Ghost & Vampire Tour
Sunday, April 16
8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Activity Fee: $30 (includes "Hurricane" cocktail)
Event Cap: 50
Disease, disaster, sinister spirits, and murder most foul: French Quarter Phantoms’ New Orleans Ghost tour and Vampire Tour combo is spooky fun! This tour is full of historically accurate tales of local hauntings and vampire lore. Hear the real story of Madame LaLaurie and the LaLaurie Mansion. Ghost and Vampire walking tours are guided by Master Storytellers who are fully licensed by the City of New Orleans. It’s the French Quarter you want to know, as only we can show it to you!
French Quarter Phantoms Ghost and Vampire combo tour are about one hour and forty-five minutes in length with a walking distance of just under one mile.
Second Line Parade
Monday, April 17
6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
This will be a sponsored event.
Concert at 8:45 pm will be an optional charge to attendees. Preservation Hall Tickets go on sale March 15th. The theater seats approximately 50 and does sell out quickly.
Visitors experience a city’s culture on the walls of museums and galleries, on the stages of theaters and music halls, and even on the plates of local restaurants. But in New Orleans, culture also comes bubbling up from the streets and one of the most unique local expressions of this sort of culture is the second line parade.
Join the parade and mosey on down with The Jaywalkers New Orleans Second Line Band and end at 7:45pm at Preservation Hall for a reception and optional (fee) concert.
Additional details to follow.
Mardi Gras World Tour
Tuesday, April 18
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Cost: $30
Since 1947, our artists and skilled crafters have designed and built the oldest and biggest parade floats and attractions for each Mardi Gras season, with over 500 floats built and decorated each year. When you begin your Mardi Gras World tour, you’ll get an overview of the history of Mardi Gras in New Orleans before continuing through our float den, where our artists work year-round to build spectacular floats and props.
THE CREATION OF MARDI GRAS WORLD
After many requests for private tours of Kern Studios from people wanting a sneak-peak of Mardi Gras, the Kerns decided to open up the working studio to the public. In 1984, Mardi Gras World was created as a tourist attraction to provide visitors a behind-the-scenes look of our work. Widely successful, the attraction draws hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year.
More information coming soon!
The National World War II Museum
Tuesday, April 18
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Activity Fee: $60.00/person (includes lunch)
Event Cap: 10
Cut-off date: Thursday, April 13
The National WWII Museum tells the story of the American experience in the war that changed the world—why it was fought, how it was won, and what it means today—so that all generations will understand the price of freedom and be inspired by what they learn.
More information coming soon.
Wellness Activity: Evening Yoga
JW Marriott
Tuesday, April 18
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Activity Fee: Free!
Event Cap: 40
End your day of networking with a relaxing yoga session! Yoga offers physical and mental health benefits for people of all ages: it emphasizes in physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation. Yoga improves strength, balance, and flexibility. Yoga relaxes you, to help you sleep better and helps to manage stress.
This event is open to all conference attendees staying at the conference hotel.
Watch this space for an exact location.
Meet & Greet Experience: Fulton Alley
Tuesday, April 18
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Activity Fee: $55.00/person (includes light food and bar)
Event Cap: 40
Join your fellow attendees for a networking opportunity with light food and drinks! Bowling is optional, but fun and networking is mandatory! Within walking distance from the hotel, this event is a great way to exercise your ability to eat, drink and be merry!