Best Bets for Halloween Weekend in New Orleans

Earlier this week, Tom McNally wrote in his Happy Hour blog for MyNewOrleans.com about how different Halloween in New Orleans is than in other places. He asks (with good sense):

Do you mean that the rest of America does not put the same energy or creativity into this time of year that we do in New Orleans? Do you mean that everyone is not going to celebrate from Friday lunch through Monday night? Will there not be parties and gatherings - mostly for adults - for four days?

And the answer to all of those questions is, simply, yeah, we're different here. Even if other cities do Halloween in one way or another, New Orleans?with our legacy of spooks, ghosts and voodoo, plus our penchant for costumes and general revelry and craziness?does it unlike anywhere else.

Remember how last year we set the world record for the largest Halloween costume party ever? That probably won't happen again this year. But there's still a ton of good stuff going on. Here's what to look forward to this weekend:

1. Frenchmen Street.

As anyone who lives here knows, Frenchmen Street is home to the locals' Halloween, located as it is just downriver of the Quarter in the Faubourg Marigny. The party here has grown even more popular over the last few years and is now fully established as the place to go in your wildest costume. (Last year, for example, the number of basically-completely-naked Adams and Eves were impossible to count.) It's one hell of a party, but be prepared for massive crowds. Go Saturday night when the party is in full force.

2. Voodoo Music Experience.

With a slight hiccup in 2005, Voodoo has been held in City Park every year since 1999, growing into one of the premier music fests in town. It started this morning, but you can still get tickets at the official site. This year features Soundgarden, Blink-182, Fatboy Slim, and Snoop Dogg, making us wonder if it's actually still 1999. There are also some noteworthy local acts playing, too. For fun, here's the Times-Pic's picks for the fess.

3. Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Prytania Theatre.

The Prytania is the only single-screen movie theater around, and is a fine place to catch a movie. Imagine watching Rocky Horror there, in New Orleans, on Halloween weekend. It's a costume-filled treat. It's playing at midnight tonight, Saturday and Monday.

4. Haunted History Tours in the French Quarter.

These are hokey for 51 weeks of the year, but they're kind of fun Halloween weekend. If you can get past the creepy tour guide whose job seems to be to make you feel uncomfortable, these tours can be a great opportunity to better understand where our legendary haunted-ness comes from. Plus: the LaLaurie Mansion.

5. Halloween 28.

This is the annual weekend-long Halloween party to benefit Project Lazarus, a local home for men and women with AIDS. It kicked off last night but continues through the weekend. Events include a club-ish thing tonight at the House of Blues, a costume party tomorrow at the Convention Center, and a Halloween brunch on the Steamboat Natchez Sunday. Tickets available at the door. Here's the official site.

6. Molly's at the Market Halloween Parade.

The annual Halloween parade rolls Monday at 6:30, starting at Molly's at the Market and rolling through the Quarter. It's smaller than your average Mardi Gras parade (obviously, since those don't fit in the Quarter), mostly a walking parade with some small floats and tons of costumes. Check Molly's website for the route.

· Keeping Your Spirits Up [Happy Hour]
· 6 Best Bets at Voodoo Fest 2011 [TP]
· All Fess Time Coverage on Eater NOLA [-ENOLA-]