Parking
Parking for the Fest is around $20 per day, and lots of folks near the fairgrounds (the fairgrounds are just west of Gentilly--see map below) set up parking in their yards.

Shuttle
New Orleans Tours operates the Jazz Fest Express which offers continuous round-trip service from the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel (500 Canal St.), Marconi Meadows in City Park and other locations to the Fair Grounds Race Course from 10:45 am to 8:00 pm. A special entrance is available only to New Orleans Tours Jazz Fest Express buses to avoid traffic. Tickets cost $10 for round-trip transportation. To purchase your Jazz Fest Express ticket, call 1-888-670-4638 or look for the New Orleans Tours desk in major downtown hotels. http://www.bigeasy.com

More fun things for your guests to Do
1) Ride the St. Charles Ave. street car out to Commander's Palace (exit at the Washington Ave. trolley stop--then head south 2-3 blocks) for lunch (weekdays only, reservations required, book early).  Fantastic food at 1/3 the cost of a dinnertime meal.  And they serve 25 cent martinis at lunch with the top shelf booze.  Combine it with a quick walking tour of the Garden District if you have the time.
2) Preservation Hall if you love jazz.
3) Bourbon Street.  Required visit.  Lots of great shops.  There are people partying on Bourbon Street 24-hours a day. The liquor laws in New Orleans are very liberal and you can get a *to go* cup when you're ready to go to another bar/club.
4) Cafe Beignet. Head east on Decatur (towards the French Market restaurant!) to Cafe Beignet.   Find a New Orleans Map (rental car places usually have them--ask for a few of them to get extra coupons) and look for Cafe Beignet's free coffee coupon.  (Or if you really need Starbucks go to the Sheraton on Canal or the Canal St. Mall.)5) Great restaurants referred to Wed Nights by regulars:
(Tip: When planning a Jazz Fest event, make dinner reservations early to ensure availability)

• French Market restaurant on Decatur at the southeast corner of the French Quarter.  Best crab cakes ever!  Great charbroiled oysters.  Great service and a great balcony that overlooks Decatur.  A live jazz band is always playing across the street.
• Gamay Bistro (get the fried chicken--sounds simple, but it's amazing) - French Quarter
• Gabrielle's on Esplanade towards City Park
• Gumbo Shop - French Quarter
• Dickie Brennen's Bourbon House Seafood (Oysters anyway you can get them - Dickie's is also known as the best Breakfast place in town, plan for 2 hours though - they also invented Banana's Foster)
• Desire Oyster Bar, at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon
• Cafe Sbisa across from Cafe Du Monde. (Awesome 2nd floor view from which to have lunch or dinner with Jazz nightly)
• Bayona's French Quarter, 525-4455
• Brigtsen's 861-7610 (Five Star, but you can do the early bird) Food Network Link
• Lulu's, 586-9956 Garden District, 525-2600 French Quarter
• Central Grocery Company, 923 Decatur Street (between Dumaine and St. Philip's St)  Tel: (504) 523-1620 for fantastic Muffeletta's
• Cafe du Monde is the late-night place for beignets... it's right along the Mississippi River on Decatur Street. 
• Mother's is the classic brunch/lunch place with all the Cajun standards, with long lines out both doors, one on on each side. Mother's is on Poydras Street and Tchopatulis, up from the French Quarter.
• The best oyster houses are Felix's, Acme and the Aft Bar (in the Monteleone Hotel) -- all in the French Quarter. • I'm a big fan of the Red Fish Grille, just inside the French Quarter, on Bourbon. Good food, great atmosphere.

6) If you have lots of time, drive out to Slidell for Dr. Wagner's Honey Island swamp tour.
7) Walking cemetery and voodoo tour.
8) For Gambling:  Harrah's is at the end of Canal Street at the SW corner of the French Quarter.  However, to much of our dismay, all of New Orleans will now be turned into a gambling Mecca due to Hurricane Katrina.
9) Lafette's Blacksmith has been voted the *Best Dive Bar* because it doesn't have electric lighting - only candle light to see your date by.
10) Safety Notice:  The areas Northwest of Bourbon and northeast of Ursulines (note the diagonal orientation of the map for the French Quarter area) start getting pretty dangerous after sundown in the French Quarter.  Ditto for Louis Armstrong Park.  A no-no after sundown.  That part of Conti is part of the red light district, and Conti just north of Basin Street is one of the main cemeteries (St. Louis #1--home to the tomb of voodoo legend, Marie Leveau).  The cemeteries are another night-time no-no.  Even the parts of the Quarter right around Jackson Square get pretty dark and potentially dangerous after sundown.  OK.  The whole darn city can be dangerous, especially after sundown.  Move in packs.  Stay with the group.
11) Food at the Fest and in New Orleans
Great food related events going on in the Grandstand at Jazz Fest.  It's been said that the food sold in the booths at this fest tops any other fair or festival in the US.  Competition is fierce to get representation for a food booth at Jazz Fest, so you are getting the best food from the best.
12) Bubba Gump Shrimp Run 10K through the French Quarter.  Early 8:30am Sunday.  Go to: http://www.runnotc.org/
13) For Good Music: Some of the better music venues we've been to include Muddy Waters, The Maple Leaf, Howlin' Wolf, Mid City Lanes (Rock and Bowl, the House of Blues (in the Quarter) and Tipitina's. There's also a Tip's In the Quarter (a Tipitina's offshoot).  We're all about seeing Marcia Ball, wherever she's playing... and Cowboy Mouth is a guaranteed good time. The Radiators are Dead-ish and will play for hours and hours.

What to Wear
Festive Attire Encouraged - Whatever you feel comfortable wearing while on Bourbon Street.  We suggest hats, costume, plumes, bustier's, sparkles, boa's, bed-pan guitars and fake jewels galore.

What to Bring To the Wedding:
Instruments/ Noise Makers
If you have an instrument that you play that you want to bring for the talent performances at the reception or the parade or parties throughout the weekend (Noise ordinances are halted in the French Qtr at Jazz fest!!!) do so.  Drums, washboards, whatever the airlines will allow.  We'll have additional noise makers and drums around as well.