Enjoying October in New Orleans

Even without the brilliant splendor of fall’s turning leaves, October in New Orleans is special. If you’ve lived through a June-September stretch in this city, particularly one as hot as the 2019 scorcher we’ve just endured, I think you’ll agree that our weather makes the month of October a standout.

A stroll through the sculpture garden in City Park, a tour through a historic cemetery, and a walk along Saint Charles Avenue to view a skeleton-decorated mansion are just a few ways to enjoy the New Orleans’ outdoors in October. I provide more details, below, for these ideas, with plenty of photos.

In a city where moods are as infectious as the humidity is high, it’s great to be out and about in New Orleans in October, when everyone’s temperament is buoyed by the promise of cooler temperatures.

Also, no matter where you are, you can experience a small piece of the city’s legendary party atmosphere at Halloween by reading my latest novel, Imagine, A Black Raven Novel, which begins on Halloween night in New Orleans. Lastly, I’m providing a taste from the Octobers of my youth by sharing my grandmother’s recipe for caramel popcorn, which she made every Halloween.

1. Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

We recently took a Sunday morning stroll through the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Museum of Art. The garden sits adjacent to the museum and has more than 90 sculptures, set among pines, magnolias, and live oaks.  The sculptures are fantastic; the bridges over the lagoons are beautiful. As our average daily temperatures drops, and the air becomes drier, this place gets better and better. The Sculpture Garden, which is free and open to the public, is open seven days a week.

2. Cemetery tour with “Save Our Cemeteries”

If you’re looking for an outdoor activity that combines Halloween spookiness and an authentic dose of the city’s rich history, try an evening cemetery tour with “Save Our Cemeteries.”  While plenty of companies provide tours of our unique cemeteries, the Save Our Cemeteries organization is exceptional. The nonprofit group is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and protection of our historic cemeteries. Tours provided by the group are hosted by friendly, well-informed guides. Due to the organization’s affiliation with the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the group can offer evening tours when the cemeteries, which are typically crowded with visitors and tourists, are closed to other tour outfits.

On Saturday evenings in October, Save Our Cemeteries partners with the Herman-Grima House to offer a “Twilight Tour: Mourning in New Orleans.” When I learned of the tour, I immediately signed up — it sounded like exactly the sort of thing that fuels my creativity. If you’ve read Deceived, A Black Raven Novel, and some of my other articles, you know that I have a passion for both research and history. I’m happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the Twilight Tour and will highly recommend it to tourists and locals alike. If you’re reading this in a month other than October, the Save Our Cemeteries site provides details of many different tours that are scheduled throughout the year.

The October Twilight Tour begins at the Herman-Grima house, where there is a historically accurate reenactment of a visitation for the mistress of the home, Mrs. Grima, who has recently died. The guide provides insight into the burial traditions of the era, while a black wreath hangs from the front door, house lights are dim, a coffin sits in the front parlor, mirrors are covered, and the table is set as it would have been while the family mourned her passing. If you take the tour, let me know if you get goosebumps when you first walk in the parlor. It felt so real, I almost didn’t take photos (above), out of respect for the family.

As the group stepped out of the house, we met Jeanne Wilson, our guide from the Save Our Cemeteries organization. We then walked down Saint Louis Street to the historic “St. Louis No. 1 Cemetery,” which sits outside of the French Quarter.

The cemetery segment of the tour took place after hours. We were the only group in the cemetery. A guard unlocked a heavy wrought-iron gate, and our private tour began while the setting sun provided a visual feast over the hauntingly beautiful cemetery. From the tomb of the Voudou Priestess Marie Laveau to the future tomb of actor Nicholas Cage, Wilson provided a fascinating insight into the multi-cultural history that made St. Louis No. 1 what it is today. The tour ends at the real-life tomb of Mrs. Grima, whose visitation is reenacted at the Herman-Grima House. The Save Our Cemeteries site provides more details about St. Louis No. 1 and other famous cemeteries in New Orleans.

Cemetery Tour Photo Gallery

Sadly, as I was looking through my photographs, I realized that I managed to capture the city skyline just a few days before the catastrophic collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel construction site. The construction cranes and the hotel’s partially constructed upper floors are visible to the right of these two images. My prayers go out to all those affected by the disaster.

3. New Orleans Skeleton House

For the lighter side of Halloween, take a stroll down the Avenue and check out the skeleton mansion at Saint Charles Avenue and State Street. The decorations were up early this year; I took these photos during the first weekend in October.

4. “Imagine” New Orleans

Are you ready to imagine New Orleans in October? If you’ve read my novels, you know that I write a romantic thriller series involving twists and turns in high-risk jobs handled by Black Raven Private Security Contractors.

Not all of my novels are set in my hometown. For example, the job in Imagine, A Black Raven Novel, is set far from New Orleans. Most of the story takes place on a luxury cruise ship in the dark waters of the South China Sea. On the cruise, Sylvia Leon (Leo) and Adam Evans (Ace) are part of a Black Raven team of undercover agents providing security for a high-stakes poker tournament. As the cover of the book indicates, the story has a Christmas theme, because the actual cruise aboard the M/V Imagine (the name of the novel is borrowed from my fictional cruise ship) takes place a few days before Christmas.

What could this story possibly have to do with October in New Orleans? The answer is simple, because a few magical moments in New Orleans on Halloween night transform Ace and Leo’s lives.

Imagine is a friends-to-lovers story, and, as I wrote it, I searched for a way to give readers a snippet of Ace and Leo’s chemistry as friends. For the first scene, I needed a location where two friends would go for fun about eight weeks before Christmas. While I thoroughly enjoy research, I was already constructing an imaginary cruise ship and researching details regarding Macau and the South China Sea. So, I chose a place that I know well, with plenty of atmospheric magic, a perfect destination where friends would go for Halloween fun. I plopped Ace and Leo into one of my favorite cities (New Orleans) in one of my favorite months (October) on a night (Halloween) when two “friends” would plausibly forget for a moment or two that they’re “only friends.”

The spectacle of Halloween in the French Quarter and on nearby Frenchmen Street is worth experiencing at least once. Drinks are flowing and people are costuming. Music fills the air and the official Halloween parade of New Orleans, the Krewe of Boo, parades through the French Quarter.

In Imagine, the story opens as Ace and Leo’s Halloween night in the French Quarter and on Frenchmen Street is fading. They are in costume, on Frenchmen Street, and stepping out of a music club. The scene takes them from Frenchmen Street to Esplanade Avenue to The Roosevelt Hotel. There’s a pedicab ride under moss-laden live oaks, fog is drifting into the city from the nearby Mississippi River, and … you’ll have to read the scene to find out what happens. Click here for an excerpt. Here are a few photos to help stir your imagination…

5. Make My Grandma’s Candied Popcorn

Many years ago my grandmother found a recipe for candy-coated popcorn. Her popcorn is much better than the mass-produced version that is sold with a toy inside the box. For years, she made it every Halloween, and she passed the recipe on to the next generation.

Grandma’s caramel popcorn is buttery, perfectly salty and sweet, satisfyingly crunchy, and full of nuts. It’s really good that the recipe makes plenty, because it’s addictive. I made a batch as I was writing this article; and I’ve shared the recipe with you here! It’s the perfect snack for an afternoon of reading or football watching. It’s also a great snack for parties, either at Halloween or any other time of the year.

Get Grandma’s Caramel Popcorn recipe here.

I’d love to hear about your favorite things to do in New Orleans in October or your October traditions in your home town. Leave your ideas in the comments below or send me an email. Wherever you are, I hope that your October is great!

With Love,