New Orleans City Park’s fall Twilight concert series has six performances scheduled at the Pavilion of the Two Sisters in the New Orleans Botanical Garden. The concerts are set for Tuesdays from Sept. 22 through Oct. 27, with performances from 6 to 8 p.m. City Park lists admission at $15 per person per concert, while New Orleans CityBusiness reported that doors open at 5 p.m.; the event information is provided by New Orleans City Park and New Orleans CityBusiness.
Schedule and performers
The lineup is The Wiseguys on Sept. 22, The Rocketmen on Sept. 29, Chucky C & Friends on Oct. 6, The Fleurtations on Oct. 13, The New Orleans Mystics on Oct. 20 and The Boogie Men on Oct. 27, according to City Park’s event listing.
Venue information
The concerts will be held indoors at the Pavilion. Cocktails, wine, beer, soft drinks and water will be available for purchase, along with a rotating food menu that may include jambalaya, Creole pasta and red beans. Outside food and beverages, as well as pets, are not permitted. City Park facilities are cashless, so purchases require credit, debit or digital payment, according to City Park.
Where the money goes
Ticket sales support City Park’s maintenance and operations, according to Biz New Orleans. About 15% of the park’s operating budget comes from public government funding, while the remainder comes from user fees, attraction tickets, venue rentals and donations.
The series also receives a Community Partnership Grant from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation. City Park Conservancy operates under a long-term Cooperative Endeavor Agreement with the state-created City Park Improvement Association, which retains governance and oversight, according to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.
The garden and the funding picture
The concert venue is part of a site with a horticultural purpose. According to the University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collection at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, the New Orleans Botanical Garden was established in City Park to develop a living collection of native and exotic woody plants. Financial filings provide additional measures of the park’s event activity. City Park Conservancy’s 2022 Form 990 reports $2,340,041 in expenses and $3,806,037 in revenue for its use-of-facilities program, which includes special events and other occasions. An audited report hosted by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor lists $3,686,799 in special-event revenue and $2,378,372 in net special-event revenue after direct donor-benefit costs for the year ended June 30, 2023. These figures offer snapshots of event-related finances, but they are not a like-for-like series establishing how the park’s overall funding mix has changed over time.
