> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Gentilly Fest Returns to Pontchartrain Park for Its 19th Year - URL: https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/gentilly-fest-returns-to-pontchartrain-park-for-its-19th-year/ - Published: 2026-10-09T00:24:29.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-09T00:24:29.000Z - Description: Gentilly Fest returns to Pontchartrain Park Oct. 9 to 11 for its 19th year. At a Thursday preview, organizers and District D Councilmember Eugene J. Green Jr. described a free festival born after Katrina to support first responders, now a homecoming with music, vendors and a youth market. - Author: Kim M. Braud - Tags: News, All Stories, Gentilly Fest, Eugene Green NEWS *The free, volunteer-run festival opens Friday. Organizers say it began after Katrina as a fundraiser for neighborhood first responders and now doubles as a homecoming.* By Kim M. Braud | October 8, 2026 --- NEW ORLEANS - Gentilly Fest returns to Pontchartrain Park this weekend for its 19th year, a free three-day festival that organizers say started after Hurricane Katrina to raise money for the police and fire units serving the neighborhood. Festival organizers and District D Councilmember Eugene J. Green Jr. previewed the event Thursday afternoon at McBurnett Knox Playground, 5701 Press Drive, on the grounds where stages and vendor tents go up for Friday's opening. Green's office announced the preview in a press advisory issued Wednesday. The festival runs Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 11\. Admission is free. ## A festival built on recovery Green opened his remarks by pointing to the ground underfoot. > *"Twenty-one years ago, the area we were standing on was covered with water because of Hurricane Katrina. But some people said we're going to rebuild this community, this important Pontchartrain Park community."* \- Councilmember Eugene J. Green Jr. Green said the festival was meant to tell residents that the neighborhood would keep moving forward, and he thanked organizers on behalf of the City Council and the mayor. Gretchen Bradford, of the Gentilly Festival, said the first festival was held in 2008 to raise funds for first responders: the New Orleans Police Department's Third and Fifth districts and local firehouses. This year's donation went to the Third District, she said. The giving has widened since then. Bradford said the festival has donated to Pontchartrain Park athletics and Milne, and is working this year with The Roots of Music, the youth music education program. > **For 19 years, we've been giving our time freely to this community, because we're vested in the community.** The board and committee members who stood behind Bradford at Thursday's preview are volunteers, she said, and most grew up in and still live in the surrounding neighborhoods. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b4/25/b42508fb-84b7-46ae-a8e1-00f0faf703ca/content/images/2026/10/IMG_1889.jpg) ## What is on the schedule Friday is the kickoff, Jazz Under the Stars, with main stage music beginning at 5:30 p.m., according to the festival's [published schedule](https://www.gentillyfestival.com/entertainment?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Bradford invited residents to come out for dinner and cocktails from local vendors, available for purchase. Saturday is the longest day, with the main stage running from noon. New Orleans singer Dawn Richard closes the night, scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Bradford said Richard has a new album out. Sunday's main stage lineup includes Flagboy Giz, Blair Dottin-Haley, and T-Ray the Violinist, and closes with Captain Charles & Friends at 7:45 p.m. A gospel tent runs Saturday and Sunday. The Kids Village has its own stage. Bradford said more than 62 arts and crafts vendors and more than 24 food vendors will be on site. VIP tickets are sold separately through [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gentilly-fest-vip-tent-experience-2026-tickets-2000306238807?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). Parking will be available, she said. ## Young entrepreneurs Bradford pointed to a program started last year that she said is growing this year: young entrepreneurs who make their own products, such as candles and beaded goods, and sell them in the youth area. > *"Gentilly Fest's goal is to help motivate them to be business owners when they grow up. So it's just a seed that we're planting in them."* \- Gretchen Bradford ## Who pays for a free festival Bradford said putting on a free festival depends on sponsors. She named the presenting sponsor as NOTCF, the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund. She said the City Council supports the festival through Caesars and Cox grants. Other sponsors she named include Entergy, Delta Utilities, Folgers Coffee, Mike's Hardware, and Dillard University. The full list is posted on the [festival's website](https://www.gentillyfestival.com/sponsors?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com). The festival describes itself on its site as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. In a statement included in Wednesday's advisory, Green said the festival has had "a tremendous impact" on the city through its support of local businesses, artists, community organizations, and public safety agencies. ## Approaching year 20 Asked how it felt to be one year from the festival's 20th, Bradford said the milestone arrived faster than the organizers expected. She said the festival has become a reunion for families who left after Katrina for Houston, Atlanta, and elsewhere and return each year for the weekend. > *"So y'all better stick with us, because it's gonna be over the top next year."* \- Gretchen Bradford ## If you go - **Dates:** Friday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 11 - **Location:** McBurnett Knox Playground, 5701 Press Drive, Pontchartrain Park - **Admission:** Free - **Schedule:** [Main stage lineup](https://www.gentillyfestival.com/entertainment?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) · [Gospel tent](https://www.gentillyfestival.com/new-page?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) · [Kids Village](https://www.gentillyfestival.com/kids-village?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) - **VIP:** [Eventbrite](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gentilly-fest-vip-tent-experience-2026-tickets-2000306238807?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com) --- *Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities.* *© 2026 Evans Cutchmore Press. All rights reserved.* --- [SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSROOM](https://www.evanscutchmorepress.com/subscribe/) [VIEW OUR PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY](https://evanscutchmorepress.pixieset.com/?ref=evanscutchmorepress.com)