Neighborhood & Cultural Tours
Back of Town Tour
Monday, January 20th | 10am
Departure: Pythian Market (234 Loyola Avenue
Black Pearl – New Tour
Fridays | January 24 & January 31st | 10am
Departure: 7447 Dominican St.
2025 Member Rex Den Showing
Jan. 18 | Sat, 1-2:30p | Tickets: $30 FOC / $40 Guests | 2531 S Claiborne Ave.
The historic Rex Organization—whose namesake monarch reigns over the entire New Orleans Carnival celebration—opens its doors for a special viewing of its float den for Friends of the Cabildo Members and their guests. See the 2025 Rex floats up close and enjoy the enjoy ever expanding Rex Museum, a venue not open to the general public.
2025 Hidden Treasures of the Louisiana State Museum: Carnival Edition
One night only, for all you hardcore Carnival fanatics, join the Friends of the Cabildo and the Louisiana State Museum as they open the impressive Carnival Collection for an exclusive behind-the-scenes viewing of historic costumes and other rarely seen artifacts. Wayne Phillips, Curator of Costumes and Textiles for the Louisiana State Museum, will guide you through an in-depth first-hand look at Carnivals of years past and what’s new in the collection!
Two in-person tours will be offered on Thursday, January 30th, at 5:30pm & 7:15p.m. at the Louisiana State Museum Collections Facility (1000 Chartres Street). Tickets are limited to 20 total spots/tour and cost $30 FOC Members and $40 G.A.
Previous History Classes Available To Purchase
Previously Recorded Classes that can be purchased for 6-month use (Educational Only)
- Researching Your New Orleans Property Seminar and History of New Orleans Architecture Lecture (3 Hour Class) ($25 Member – $35 GA)
- Founding of New Orleans Class (4 Classes, 8 Hours) ($30 Member – $40 GA)
- History of Carnival Class (4 Classes, 8 Hours): ($30 Member – $40 GA)
- History of Louisiana and New Orleans Music (3 Classes, 6 Hours): ($25 Member – $35 GA)
- History of Rum (3 Classes, 6 Hours): ($25 Member – $35 GA)
We also have recorded all of our symposiums and over 75 lectures on Louisiana History and Culture!
Missed Any of our Classes, Lectures & Symposiums? We Record Them All
Purchase a ticket by emailing jason@friendsofthecabildo.org and we can get you copies you can watch for up to 6 months.
2025 5-Part Neighborhoods of New Orleans Class
Dr. Karen Leathem, Joyce Miller and Dr. Charles Chamberlain
Zoom | Tickets: $40 | Members $30
- Founding Neighborhoods- Downtown Faubourgs
- Downtown Faubourgs- Treme, Marigny, Bywater, 7th Ward
- Uptown Neighborhoods- Garden District, Uptown and Carrollton
- Expansion of the City – Broadmoor, Mid City, Lakefront
- Suburbs of the Metro Region – Jefferson Parish, St. Bernard and the Northshore
2025 History of Carnival Class
Recording Tickets: Members $30, $40 GA
Lectures: Origins of New Orleans Carnival, Satire in Carniva, Cajun Mardi Gras, Black Carnival History and Tradition, To Be A Star: The Carnival Costume Design of San Nichols and Mardi Gras Beads
FOC Concert Series 2024 – 2025
All Concerts at 7pm at the NO Jazz Museum 3rd Floor | 100 tickets/Show
Individual Concert Ticket – $30 GA / $25 Members
$175 GA Season Front Row Guaranteed Seat / $150 Member Season
$125 GA Season Second Row Guaranteed Seat / $100 Member Season
$100 GA Season / $80 Season Member (Non-Front Two Rows)
The FOC Concert Series is supported by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation through the Community Sponsorship Grant Program. 100% of Grants Proceeds go to the musicians.
November 22nd | 60th Anniversary City Park Beatles Show with The Walrus (Sold Out)
December 20th – 106th | Professor Longhair Birthday Show with River Eckert (Sold Out)
January 24th | Marcia Ball (Sold Out)
March 14th| Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots
April 4th | The Iguanas
April 17th (Thursday) | Sonny Landreth
New Date, All Previous Tickets Transferred
Spring Member Lecture Series
Free for Members w/Signup | GA $10/lecture or $25 for all Spring Lectures
Lectures at 6pm on Tuesdays
All March Lectures Conducted by Greg Beaman of the Smithsonian
March 11 – Slavery in the Suburbs: Salary and Real Estate in the Faubourgs of New Orleans
March 18 _ Rival Soundscapes of Civil War New Orleans
March 25 – Rival Soundscapes of Claiborne Avenue: Music & Movements of the 1960
April 1 – Frenchie: The Story of the French-Speaking Cajuns of World War II – Dr. Jason Theriot
April 8 – Settling St. Malo: A History of Filipino Louisiana – Dr. Randy Gonzalez
April 15 – George Valentine Dureau: Life & Art in New Orleans : Howard Phillips Smith
June 17 – An History of New Orleans Creole Culture – Dionne Butler
June 24 – TBA: Creole History Lecture – Harold Marchand
Fall Member Lecture Series
Free for Members w/Signup | GA $10/lecture or $25 for all Fall Lectures
Lectures at 6pm on Tuesdays
August 5 – The Native Acolapissa Indians of Mandeville of St. Tammany Parish – Jackson Cantrell
Spring 2025 Tertulia Gatherings
Come learn about Spanish Connections around a theme and hear local speakers and join the discussions as we host three (3) Tertulia this spring. Includes wine and stars at 2pm each Tertulias. Tickets are $20 for FOC/LMF Members and $30 GA. Guest speakers will come from local consulates, local universities and historians. Come join the fun and be part of the Tertulia
What is a Tertulia? A Tertulia is a social gathering with an artistic or literary focus, particularly in Spanish America or Iberia. It can also refer to an informal meeting where people discuss current events or the arts.
January 26 – Theme: Jose Marti (Cabildo) (SOLD OUT)
February 16 – Theme: Carnival in Panama and the Dominican Republic (Presbytere)
March 16 – Theme: Benito Juarez Birthday Tertulia (Cabildo)
Yoga at the Cabildo
Yoga at the Cabildo will begin classes again starting Saturday, June 17th at 8:30 a.m. at the Cabildo (701 Chartres Street) on beautiful Jackson Square.
Layla Ross will be giving classes every Saturday morning for Friends of the Cabildo Members, locals and tourists.
Member cost for the class is $10 and non-members its $20. If you have a mat please bring one if not we have some available for free.
Second Thursday Lecture Series
Thursday, Feb. 13, 6pm | Sponsored by Friends of the Cabildo
Join us for a virtual evening with Katy Morlas Shannon as she discusses her new book Invisible Blackness: A Louisiana Family in the Age of Racial Passing (LSU Press, March 2025). This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Cabildo as part of the Second Thursday Lecture Series. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required. The program will take place on Zoom. Please register here and a link will be emailed to you on the day of the lecture.