ADY Celebration Parade - October 2026 - NOLA

We're Celebrating Life 'Cuz We Ain't Dead Yet!

Parade with us this October in New Orleans

1.5 hours | 0.5 mile | 1,000,000,000s of laughs🥳 

The second annual Ain’t Dead Yet Celebration Parade hits the streets of New Orleans, LA on October 3, 2026, and you’re invited! 

It’s so easy to become overwhelmed by responsibilities, routine and stress - and even forget what fun looks like. Maybe you’re sandwiched between teenage kids and aging parents with no time for yourself. Perhaps you’re despairing about the state of the world… or simply feel like you’ve lost your spark. Or maybe your spark is shining bright and you’re looking for a way to celebrate something big (or small!).

So if it’s fun and joy and celebration you need, we invite you (and your family and friends - your “Krewe”) to set aside Saturday October 3, and join this year’s ADY Celebration Parade. And because we do know what fun looks like, we promise you’ll have an amazing time!

Research shows that people who experience more joy actively plan and make space for it. And that joy spreads like light off a disco ball when we share it with others 🪩

The ADY Celebration Parade is a 1.5 hour, 0.5 mile second-line parade up Bourbon St., led by a band and guided by parade marshals. You’ll be given parade swag and ADY goodies, and we’ll be throwing in lots of surprises to make things extra fun. Last parade we started with 50 participants, which grew to over 150 as spectators joined in the fun, so be prepared to make new friends! Proof that joy is contagious ✨

🥳 Make a weekend of it!* 🥳

Thursday and Friday, October 1-2, 2026, afternoons: Check-in
Check in for the Celebration parade at the Port Orleans Brewing Co.: Meet the ADY team and collect your parade goodies. Port Orleans is a great rendezvous point, especially if you and your Krewe** are coming from out of town. Grab a bite and try a craft beer (or two), before hitting the streets of the French Quarter. They've even offered to hold luggage for free if you arrive before your hotel or Airbnb check-in is open. The ADY Joy Van will be on-site too (you gotta see it!).

** A Krewe is a club or social organization that creates parades and balls in New Orleans to celebrate Carnival. We've adopted the term for the people who laugh, cry and celebrate with us - the ones who show up, who get it, and who make life better just by being in it.

Friday October 2, 2026, 6pm onwards: Welcome Reception
Iconic Bourbon Street bar and nightclub Razzoo is hosting a welcome reception for all ADY Celebration Parade participants from 6pm. We’ll have our own space to get to know each other and get excited for the Parade! Find us by the ADY banner on the patio. Cash bar.

Saturday October 3, 2026, 10am - Noon: Thriver Parade
Downtown New Orleans provides a perfect backdrop for the first annual Thriver parade hosted by our nonprofit, the ADY Life Center. This separate parade is focused on celebrating cancer Thrivership, and is scheduled to take place along the banks of the Mississippi in Gretna, LA (only a 10 minute Uber ride away) in partnership with local hospitals and cancer support groups. 100% of the proceeds (just $25 per ticket!) go to supporting the Center - sign up now!

Saturday October 3, 2026, 5pm: ADY Celebration Parade
The main event: Join our 1.5 hour, 0.5 mile second-line parade up Bourbon St. We'll meet up at The Chart Room, and a band will lead us along a permitted route, with parade marshals managing flow, safety and engagement. We’ll be throwing in lots of surprises to make things extra fun… Remember to bring the parade goodies you collected at check-in.

Saturday October 3, 2026, 6:30-8:30pm: Post-Parade Party
Keep the energy going after the ADY Celebration Parade at this fun, joyful afterparty at the beautiful Lafitte Hotel and Bar (right next to the oldest bar in the US, the iconic Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar). Food, an open bar and great music will be provided. Guaranteed to be a blast! 

*The Wyndham New Orleans - French Quarter has created a discounted room block and waived the destination fee for our event participants. You can book through the link above or call them directly at (866)-781-3768. Note: Rooms are limited and discounted rates are only available until 9/1/26.
If you want additional (free) help with travel, we've partnered with Generation Guest  - just reach out to them directly.

This event is for you if…

… you’re alive and still standing! If you ain’t dead yet, that’s worth celebrating. We all need more joy, fun and whimsy, that’s what this parade is all about. 

You might also be inspired to bring your Krewe of family or friends to celebrate a milestone:

• A big birthday
• Love ♥️
• Divorce
• Friends reuniting 
• A family celebration before the kids fly the nest 
• A parents’ celebration after the kids have flown the nest 👀
• You and your besties graduating college 
• A new job… or retirement after decades of working
• A flippin’ fun and memorable weekend in NOLA just because 🪇
  
  … and especially if you can’t remember when last you had some FUN! (You deserve it.)

Whatcha gonna get out of this?

~ Have a lot of fun and feel good!
~ Connect with your friends and make lovely new ones (isolation, be gone)
~ Experience New Orleans in a unique and delightful way
~ Make uplifting memories that you’ll carry with you long after you return home
~ Reframe challenges and expand your gratitude for life
~ Spread joy and good vibes - something the world really needs more of, right?

Come and join a fabulous Krewe of people who are on a mission to find the joy and fun in life, for as long as we’re still here.