The festival is here! The festival is here! 
My absolutely must attend West Bank festival is taking place this weekend in the City of Gretna and I can't wait to get out there and hear some great music, eat some fantastic food and try to keep at least a little cash in my pocket while drooling over the beautiful arts, crafts and jewelry that fill the booths.
Starting at 4 pm on Friday, the 2008 Gretna Heritage Festival kicks off with my favorite local band Chicken on the Bone rocking the market stage. Disclosure: I'm just a little biased since my hubby is in this band! The music continues all weekend with performances by Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, KC and the Sunshine Band and Montgomery Gentry. Loads of local musicians will be on tap as well: Allen Toussaint, Galactic, Amanda Shaw, Bucktown Allstars, Chee Weez, Dash Rip Rock (wait...I'm having a flashback) and more.
And don't forget about all of the delicious food...I'll be hanging out working in the Krewe of Choctaw booth, serving fried shrimp po-boys, fried catfish po-boys and crawfish pies. Non-profit organizations run all of the food booths, so stop in and see me and help support your local folks.
Where else are you going to get all of this for the low admission price of $10 per day or $25 for a weekend pass? For a music schedule and parking information visit www.gretnafest.com. If you don't want the hassle of parking, the Canal Street ferry has free pedestrian rides to the Gretna ferry landing every hour and free shuttle buses are available at Oakwood Shopping Center and Westside Shopping Center. Of course, if you live on the West Bank in Gretna, you may be close enough to just walk on over.
I'll be taking pictures all weekend, so watch for them to be posted here. Hopefully, I get to see more than just shrimp!

I love these festivals! We have an annual one in Kissimmee Florida near Disney. The music is awesome and the food is to die for.