Good morning, New Orleans.

The Freret Street Festival will be held 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Oct.

31 on Freret Street from Napoleon Avenue to Valmont Street. The free event will feature 200 local artists and chefs, 46 businesses, and 20 bands across three stages.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation announced Oct.

28 that it awarded more than $2 million to 513 artists and organizations to support music, visual arts, education, festivals, documentaries, and cultural preservation, with grants ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 and reaching more than half of the state's 64 parishes.

Entergy Louisiana is launching a $2 million bill-assistance program this week that will give a one-time $100 credit to customers below the federal poverty level or earning less than their parish's cost of living; apply online through your parish United Way with photo ID and income documentation.

The OnPath Foundation will host its second annual Pathmakers Spark Series on Monday, Dec.

7, from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Cannery, featuring opening remarks by Fleurty Girl founder Lauren Haydel, a next-generation entrepreneurship panel & a lunch keynote from Sidney Torres IV; tickets start at $60 and proceeds support OnPath programs.

New Orleans-based Hollywood Trucks Technologies announced its ECOLUXE solar-powered production trailer was named to TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 (Entertainment).

The company says a multi-year Universal Production Services deal will deploy ECOLUXE at Universal Studios while parent AMP plans to adapt the platform for emergency response, transportation, and distributed energy.

TEDxNOLA will hold its inaugural “What the World Needs Now” tomorrow, Oct.

30, at Loyola’s Communications/Music Complex with 27 speakers and performers across behavioral science, public health, law, education, technology, cuisine, and music. Tickets closed at midnight Oct. 28, and university students may attend free with prior registration + organizers plan smaller salon events in early 2027.

Two nationally known mystery writers will lead a Jefferson Parish Libraries mini-conference at 1 p.m. on Nov.

1 at East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie, where Ellen Byron & Michael Rigg will teach setting and how to craft believable investigative characters.

T. Parker Host announced a $50 million investment at Avondale Global Gateway to add rail, a 200,000-sqft warehouse, dock and road upgrades and to activate a fifth deepwater dock that can handle up to six vessels.

Work is underway and the project, backed by $6.95 million in state and parish support (rail), is expected to finish by Dec. 2027.

New Orleans hotels expect Saturday occupancy will reach 88% for Halloween weekend, with Friday at 81%, the city’s destination marketing group New Orleans & Company projected Wednesday; the surge follows 14 major conventions drawing at least 225,000 attendees through December and events like Freaky Deaky at Mardi Gras World.

NORD expanded afterschool offerings this fall with 25 community partners offering more than a dozen new classes + Terry Overton’s hands-on horse lessons at Milne Recreation Center in Gentilly; classes cost $10 with sliding-scale rates and fall programming ends Nov.

21.

Lycée Français lost about a third of its students, falling from 1,078 to 719 this fall, and its board reported an $835,000 budget deficit in March.

United Teachers of New Orleans sued on Oct. 13 over withheld records as parents and teachers withdraw amid disputes with CEO Chase McLaurin (and a new $6,800 upfront pre-k fee).

With Halloween coming Saturday, Oct.

31, keep pets safe by keeping candy and wrappers out of reach, offering dogs plain canned pumpkin or puzzle toys instead of people treats, keeping animals indoors during peak trick-or-treat hours, and securing decorations and cords.