ESSENCE Festival 2023
I think everyone should do this at least once in their life. Next year they’re celebrating 30 years and I am sure it’s going to be insane with the line up. You should book your trip now for next year!
At this point, ESSENCE Festival and I go together real bad.
ESSENCE Festival, as usual was a great time. To sum it up, I got invited to Missy Elliott’s birthday party, attended all 3 nights of the concerts at Mercedes Superdome, reunited with friends and my mom and her bestie came for the first time. I spent the last day with them. I even went to the Black Excellence Brunch where Sheryl Lee Ralph was honored and dropped so many gems on what it’s like being a Black woman in the industry. Shout out to Trell for the invite!
So many trending moments Megan Thee Stallion made a major comeback, Janelle Monae was showing her areola, Lil Wayne surprised us on stage and Jill Scott left no crumbs with the National Anthem.
Here’s a few tips for the festival as well.
Make sure you study the ESSENCE app. It will be your best friend to navigate for the week. The panels discussed a little bit of everything from women’s health, music, voting and so much more. Beauty Con was giving out so much free hair and beauty products. The lines were insane. You should totally get to the Marc Morial Convention Center early if you want free items.
The New Orleans Marriott was the best! It’s located right on Canal Street. I racked up so many points by staying there as a Bonvoy member and it’s in a great location to everything.
I interviewed people like MTV’s TRL host, Ananda Lewis, BIA, Pretty Vee, Muni Long, Terrence J, Remy Ma and so many more.
To end our trip, we went on a steamboat cruise down the Mississippi river and visited a plantation. Check out Creole Queen for more information.
I think everyone should do this at least once in their life. Next year they’re celebrating 30 years and I am sure it’s going to be insane with the line up. You should book your trip now for next year! If you’re new to Nicia Travels, I have a few more posts from my past experiences of attending. Check them out below and my TikTok for this year’s experience.
ESSENCE Festival Eats 2023 - New Orleans
Here are all the places that I ate at during my time there. You can also watch my video at the bottom to see a recap of what I ate!
With the summer coming to a close, I still have so many blogs to push out. Not sure where the time went! Read more below about where I ate at in NOLA for ESSENCE Festival.
ESSENCE Festival 2023 was such a great time, but even better when you can go to your favorite restaurants. I’ve blogged about this festival way too many times and I thought it would be a great idea to switch it up and focus on all the great food I ate when I was in NOLA. Here are all the places that I ate at during my time there. You can also watch my video at the bottom to see a recap of what I ate!
Charbroiled Oysters
Lambchop Wednesday Special
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Pasta
Catfish Mulates
Stanley Special
Beignets
Bananas Foster French Toast
Stuffed Fish
First Saturday's at the Brooklyn Museum
A few people have reached out to me about attending First Saturday’s at the Brooklyn Museum. My experience has always been a great time. It’s giving date night, solo date, or a group outing. If you’re into art and music, then this is the perfect event for you to attend.
First Saturday’s at the Brooklyn Museum has been going on for the last 25 years. They provide monthly evenings of free programming by welcoming visitors from all over at the Brooklyn Museum.
Each month, they usually have a theme, depending on what is going on. For May, it was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage. Next month is Pride and I am sure that will be an amazing experience since NYC has a large LGBTQIA community. Sometimes they have a band or DJ, or both. There are vendors who sell jewelry, clothing and other types of arts and crafts. Honestly, the community shows up in their best outfits. It’s giving fashion, from hair to everything in between. An Instragam moment, I must say.
The Nord Restaurant is located inside of the Brooklyn Museum. Should you eat there? Yes, I have and I thought the food was good. You can also plan to eat before you come as well if you’re not interested in their menu. They do have a food truck in their garden when you enter to the right hand side which is across from The Nord Restaurant. The food truck has different types of tacos and drinks. They have a DJ that plays music in the garden as well. It’s such a vibe when it’s warm out.
You can join them every first Saturday of February–August and October, 5–11 pm. You do need a ticket to get in. They will scan your ticket once you receive an email confirmation. Make sure you apply quick because tickets sell out! I may become a member as well, but not too sure yet. You can find our more information on their website. Click my TikTok below to get the experience!