Release Notes 2024

Planning and Logistics

Arrival | Getting Around | Q&C Hotel | Schedule | Food Tour | Brunch | Riverboat Cruise | Dine-Around | French Quarter | Closing Reception | Action Items

Now that Release Notes New Orleans is getting closer, we wanted to provide some logistical details as well as information about our schedule and dining arrangements. Please read this page thoroughly and attend to the action items below.

planes, trains, and automobiles

Arrival in New Orleans

Most people will be flying into New Orleans. The New Orleans airport (airport code: MSY), formally called the Louis Armstrong International Airport, is located on the west side of New Orleans, about a 30 minute drive from the Q&C Hotel, which will be our home base for the weekend.

A taxi or Uber is probably the easiest way to get from the airport to downtown where our hotel is located, but you can also take public transportation. If you would like to take public transportation from the airport, you will want to take bus 202 (the "Airport Express" line) to the Loyola & Poydras stop. The Q&C Hotel is about a 10 minute walk from that stop.

map pin

Getting Around New Orleans

New Orleans has a public transit system made up of buses, ferries, and street cars. You can learn more about New Orleans public transit and plan your trip on the website for New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (or "NORTA"). You can also plan your trip and purchase tickets using NORTA's mobile app, called Le Pass.

You will be responsible for your own travel to some locations, so we suggest that you download NORTA's Le Pass app, as well as apps for your ridesharing service of choice so that you can get around the city.

bed

Q&C Hotel

The Q&C Hotel will serve as our main venue for the weekend. Most of us will be lodging there, but it will also serve as a meeting point before activites, and its bar will be our wind down location at the end of the day.

Q&C Hotel
344 Camp St
New Orleans, LA 70130

Telephone: +1 504-587-9700
GPS: 29.9505294 -90.0688858
Apple Maps
Google Maps

calendar

The Schedule

Now that our plans have been finalized, we wanted to share the agenda for the weekend with you.

Thursday, April 11

Late Morning Arrival & check-in at the Q&C Hotel.
12:30 PM People who are present at Q&C Hotel can self-organize into smaller groups of 4-6 to get lunch. We anticipate that there will be stragglers. As people arrive in the area, use Slack to find others and join them.
After Lunch Regroup at Q&C Hotel, and grab any clothing needed for the walking food tour.
4:15 Meet at Turkey and the Wolf Stein's Deli for the walking food tour. Note: Start location has changed. See details below.
8:00 End walking food tour, and return to Q&C hotel to freshen up.
9:00 Regroup at hotel bar at Q&C Hotel. Conversation and drinks until whenever, or self-organize an evening activity.

Friday, April 12

10:00 AM Meet your brunch group in hotel lobby.
10:30 Brunch in small groups.
12:30 PM Grab any clothing needed for the riverboat cruise, and then regroup at the Q&C Hotel.
1:30 Begin walking as a group to the Toulouse Street Wharf for a riverboat cruise.
2:00 Boarding begins for the riverboat cruise.
5:00 Return to Q&C Hotel and freshen up for dinner.
7:00 Dine-around groups meet and walk to restaurants.
9:00 Regroup at hotel bar at Q&C Hotel. Conversation and drinks until whenever, or self-organize an evening activity.

Saturday, April 13

10:00 AM Leave from the Q&C Hotel for the French Quarter.
10:30 Beignets at Cafe du Monde. CASH ONLY!
11:30 French Quarter photo safari and lunch with your group.
4:00 PM Return to Q&C Hotel and freshen up for the closing reception.
5:45 Depart the Q&C hotel lobby, and walk to the closing reception as a group.
6:00 Closing reception at St. James Cheese Company.
9:00 Adjourn to the hotel bar at Q&C Hotel. Conversation and drinks until whenever, or self-organize an evening activity.

Sunday, April 14

Morning Breakfast on your schedule, and farewells. There are no formal activities scheduled.
plate, fork, and knife

Food Tour

On Thursday afternoon and early evening, most of the group will be participating in a walking food tour of New Orleans' Garden District. Your spot on the tour has been pre-paid as a part of your Release Notes ticket purchase, and Release Notes will take care of tipping our guides at the end of the tour.

We will meet for the tour in front of Turkey and the Wolf, located at 739 Jackson Avenue. We will meet for the tour in front of Stein's Deli, located at 2207 Magazine Street. You are responsible for your own transportation to the meeting point. Stein's Deli is a 30 minute walk from the Q&C Hotel, so you will probably either want to take an Uber, or take public transit. If you are interested, this would be a good opportunity to use New Orleans' street car system.

Stein's Deli
2207 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Telephone: +1 504-527-0771
GPS: 29.9295319 -90.0771099
Apple Maps
Google Maps

For the tour, please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the elements. We recommend that you bring a rain shell – just in case. The tour will last 3 to 4 hours, so even if it is sunny and warm at the beginning of our tour, it may not be by the end.

This is a food tour, and they have warned us to show up hungry, so there should be plenty to eat. If you have made the Release Notes team aware of any food allergies or dietary restrictions, those have been given to our tour guides. We have been assured that alternate dishes will be made available for those who need them.

Our group is large enough that we will need to subdivide into two smaller groups for the tour. Each smaller group will have its own tour guide, and each smaller group will be accompanied by a member of the Release Notes team – either Charles or Joe.

Tour Groups

Group 1
Group 2
plate, fork, and knife

Brunch

We thought that we would start our first full day in New Orleans with brunch. Brunch will be in smaller groups in order to make it easier to get a table. As a group, you can coordinate on Slack and make a reservation in advance at your restaurant of choice, or you can decide to "wing it" and choose a restaurant based on how you feel that morning.

Brunch Groups

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
riverboat

Riverboat Cruise

New Orleans is built on the Mississippi delta, and its history is inseperable from the river. So on Friday afternoon, we will be exploring the Mississippi River through a riverboat cruise, aboard the Steamboat Natchez. Your ticket for the riverboat cruise has been pre-paid as a part of your Release Notes ticket purchase, and Charles and Joe have your tickets. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase onboard.

To begin our riverboat cruise, we will meet at the Q&C Hotel lobby, and walk as a group to the Toulouse Street Wharf, located at 400 Toulouse Street (behind Jax Brewery). The Toulouse Street Wharf is a 15 minute walk from the Q&C Hotel, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

Steamboat Natchez
Toulouse Street Wharf
400 Toulouse Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Telephone: +1 504-569-1401
GPS: 29.955270643485083 -90.06276224697167
Apple Maps
Google Maps

For the riverboat cruise, please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the elements. We recommend that you bring a rain shell – just in case. The tour will last about 2 hours, and weather on the river is unpredictable.

plate, fork, and knife

The Dine-Around

The dine-around has always been one of the most popular parts of our Release Notes events, and we wanted to continue that tradition in New Orleans. On Friday evening, after we return from the riverboat cruise, we will divide our large group into smaller dining groups of six people. Each group will dine together at a restaurant of their choosing, and will be responsible for making their own dinner reservations. Even if you chose to "wing it" for the earlier brunch, you are strongly advised to make a dinner reservation in advance. New Orleans is one of the world's great food cities, and restaurants regularly fill up.

Please find your dining group below, and connect with them on Slack. You will be collectively responsible for choosing a restaurant, and making dining reservations for the evening of Friday, April 12, 2024.

Dine-Around Groups

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
fleur de lis

French Quarter Fest

Our event coincides with French Quarter Fest, a food and music festival that's held each year in the French Quarter and geared towards locals. We'll be taking advantage of that fortuitous timing by spending most of Saturday exploring the French Quarter and the festival being held there.

We will start by meeting in the lobby of the Q&C hotel on Saturday morning, and then walking as a group to world famous Cafe du Monde in the French quarter for beignets and cafe au lait. Cafe du Monde is a 15 minute walk from the hotel, and you will be spending most of the day outdoors, so plan your clothing accordingly. Please note that Cafe du Monde does not accept credit cards, so bring cash.

Cafe du Monde
800 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70116

Telephone: +1 504-587-0833
GPS: 29.957561 -90.0618544
Apple Maps
Google Maps

After enjoying our beignets, we will divide into groups to explore the French Quarter and French Quarter Fest. Admission to French Quarter Fest is free, with 22 music stages, lots of food opportunities, and world class people watching. Explore the French Quarter as a group, and somewhere along the way find a nice spot for lunch.

To encourage you to experience the French Quarter to its fullest, we have prepared a photo safari that your group can participate in. Just snap photos of as many subjects as you can on the list, and post them to social media using the hashtag #ReleaseNotes. Post the most photos and your group wins! Just remember that in the great tradition of Whose Line is it Anyway?, "everything is made up, and points don't matter."

French Quarter Photo Safari

French Quarter Groups

Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
mardi gras masks

Closing Reception

To close our event and thank everyone for coming, we have planned a closing reception to be held at St. James Cheese Company, a short walk from the Q&C hotel. The cost of all your food, drinks, and tips while at the reception has already been provided for.

St. James Cheese Company
641 Tchoupitoulas Street
New Orleans, LA 70130

Telephone: +1 504-304-1485
GPS: 29.9466279 -90.0674966
Apple Maps
Google Maps

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Action Items

There are a few items that we suggest you take care of before you leave for New Orleans. Please review the action items below and attend to them.