There is no place quite like New Orleans. It is French. It is African. It is native American. You could say that describes other cities, but nothing feels like this city. Between the music, the food and the humidity, New Orleans slows your body down and makes you move at its tropical pace. Even today, despite all its struggles, New Orleans grabs a hold of your heart.

The New Orleans Superdome became a national symbol of chaos during Katrina. But this landmark stadium is back in business and is, again, home to the Essence Festival every Fouth of July weekend. I always think of the Essence fest as the black Lollapaloza because of the variety of amazing soul, jazz, blues and gospel acts that perform every year. One of the great traditions at the Essence festival is that the last performance is always by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. Maze has been a local favorite since recording the classic 'Live in New Orleans' album in the late '70s.

Tipitina's (501 Napolean Avenue, 504895TIPS)is dedicated to the legend and legacy of the great pianist-songwriter Professor Longhair and was once the home base for the Neville Brothers. There …

I have a lot of fond memories of Mardi Gras. As a little girl, growing up in New Orleans, I would spend the Sunday before Fat Tuesday 'chasing Indians' - that is, I'd try my best to find the Mardi Gras Indians as they masked through the neighborhoods. And I would stand along Jackson, begging for the Zulu's to throw me something, praying it would be coconut.

My most recent Mardi Gras memories are of getting ready for the balls and parades, of rushing around at the last minute to buy throws and of getting very little sleep the night before Fat Tuesday.

You see, for five years, I rode with the Zulu Krewe as a parade duchess. I can't begin to describe the stress that comes with trying to get a costume fitted, sewn and decorated from over 900 miles away (I live in Chicago now). Nor can I describe the feeling of excitement I would get, every year, when the floats hit Jackson. Zulu is the only krewe to roll through a black neighborhood on Mardi Gras Day. It is on Jackson that, as a Zulu rider, you are bound to hear someone - family, …

New Orleans conjures up images of gumbo, jazz and, of course, Mardi Gras and the ever popular Essence Music Fest. But there’s much more to the city than good food, good music and good times: it's full of culture and is rich in African-American history. The next time you’re in the Big Easy to party, take a moment and visit a few of the city's historical sites that mark our important contributions to society.

Treme is one of New Orleans’ oldest neighborhoods – not too far from the French Quarter – and, in the 19th century, was home to the city’s free people of color. There sits Congo Square, located on the south end of Louis Armstrong Park. The Square was a place where both slaves and free blacks came together to socialize, dance and play music.

St. Augustine’s Church, also in the Treme neighborhood, was founded by the city’s free people of color in the early 1840s. Free blacks began to purchase pews in advance of the church’s 1842 dedication. Whites organized and attempted to out buy …