Why Wanderfest Is the New Travel Festival to Have on Your Radar

Wanderfest officially kicked off on Saturday, March 12th, 2022 at the Spanish Plaza right on the Mississippi riverfront. VIP ticket holders met up on Friday evening for a party hosted at The Sazerac House—one of the city’s top interactive museums, dedicated to its most famous cocktail.

VIP guests were invited to an open bar, featuring Sazerac company products, like Peychaud’s bitters, Herbsaint liqueur, and, of course, Sazerac Rye whiskey.

“New Orleans is a city that gives so much culture and music to our country,” explains Santos. “And, very importantly, it’s a city that knows how to have a good party. It embraces celebration. And that’s what we wanted to do: celebrate ourselves and each other.”

Saturday morning, Mother Nature pushed the start time back slightly.

“The winds were so strong, that we literally had a cinderblock roll onto the stage,” laughs Santos. “We delayed opening two hours, but by noon we were off and running.”

Shown here, Oneika Raymond—award-winning journalist, travel expert, and television host of Travel Channel’s Big City, Little Budget—was joined by Hadiatu Dumbuya, a travel and lifestyle influencer, social entrepreneur, and international speaker. Combining advice for greener journalists with fresh takes on travel and a lot of well-timed humor, they were one of the most popular panels of the weekend.

Women travel writers, photographers, authors, influencers, brand representatives, hoteliers, chefs, and media personalities made up a crowd of nearly 800 ticket holders. Despite the brisk weather on Saturday, the mood was ultra-festive.

In addition to speakers and demonstrations on the main stage, Spanish Plaza was transformed into an outdoor marketplace with tents selling and showcasing dozens of travel-focused brands, from gear for adventuring to t-shirts and guide books.

Beth Santos has a deep love affair with the city of New Orleans and she and her team made sure that the city’s iconic culture was showcased in a plethora of ways for attendees. At 5 p.m. on Saturday, there was a Second Line Parade. Second Line Parades are rooted in Jazz funeral traditions, brought over from Haiti hundreds of years ago. Today, you’ll come across Second Lines in the city for funerals, but also for happy celebrations, from weddings to Wanderfest. More than 100 attendees marched through the Central Business District around Spanish Plaza. It was led by the local African-American women’s Mardi Gras marching group, Le Bon Ton Babydolls.

Feather boa rimmed umbrellas are a staple of any New Orleans Second Line parade.

“On Sunday, the weather was much nicer,” says Santos. “It allowed our vendors to really put out their wares. It felt like a whole new event. We sold over 750 tickets, half of which were local. We had women fly in from as far away as the United Kingdom.”

Networking, broadcasting live, creating great content, and inspiring those who couldn’t attend this year was all in a weekend’s work at Wanderfest 2022.

Off-site excursions—from bar crawls to swamp adventures to kayak trips and voodoo history tours—were available to attendees for small additional ticket fees. Shown here, a group of travel writers got a behind-the-scenes look at the work of Brandan BMike Odums, one of the city’s most respected visual artists, activists, and entrepreneurs. Want to join Wanderful’s women’s travel community? The supportive sisterhood is free and open to all ages and backgrounds.

See you at next year’s Wanderfest!