Supernova Lights the Corner Where the Lafitte Greenway Meets Bayou St. John
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
Supernova returns to the Lafitte Greenway on December 10, 11 and 12, from 5 to 9 p.m. each night. It is free, and this year the light art, music and market all fit into one compact block at the spot where the trail reaches Bayou St. John. The Lafitte Greenway Partnership runs it with the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission, and organizers count this year as the sixth Supernova exhibit.
The location tells you the most about the event. Supernova is set up on the same pavement, in the same pavilion and among the same rain gardens that the Greenway uses every week. The Partnership is also working to give that stretch a more permanent role in the neighborhood. For three nights in December, the Bayou St. John end of the Greenway gets a preview of that future.
The Partnership's call for artists maps the event's footprint closely. Installations can go inside Greenway Station at 436 N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy., in the bioswales around it, on Greenway Plaza at 500 N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy., and in the parking lot that connects them. That lot will be pedestrian-only during the event. The site is bounded by the Greenway's bioswales, Lafitte Street, N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy. and the Station pavilion.
The pieces are built at a modest scale. Artists designed for a 10-by-10 footprint, and a selection committee assigns the final placement. Many small installations spread across a single block suit an hour of wandering better than a long hike. Along with the light art, the program includes music on two stages, food and beverage vendors, and arts-market vendors.
Here is the schedule the Partnership published for the build-up and the event:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| December 4–9 | Artists install their pieces |
| December 9 | Preview party for patrons |
| December 10–12, 5–9 p.m. | Supernova open to the public |
Anyone who walks the Greenway in early December will likely see the installations go up during that first week, before the lights come on for the public.
The 2026 call asked artists for work about the Greenway's history and cultural significance. It also asked them to play with the trail's linear shape, its natural setting and the sense of play it invites. That history is long. The corridor was dug as a canal in the late 18th century and became a railroad in the early 20th. After the railroad was largely decommissioned in the 1950s, the land sat vacant for more than 60 years, until neighbors organized around a shared plan for it.
The Greenway opened in fall 2015. It is a 2.6-mile linear park that links the French Quarter, Iberville, Tremé-Lafitte, Tulane-Gravier, Faubourg St. John and Mid-City. In its 2026 call for artists, the Partnership reported 500,000 visits on foot and by bike in the previous year, for commuting, recreation and play. Supernova is lit at the end of the trail closest to the bayou, so this year's theme sends visitors back along that route.
The Plaza is home base for the Crescent City Farmers Market's weekly Thursday market. The Partnership lists that Thursday market as part of Supernova's program. The market opens at 3 p.m. at 500 N. Norman C. Francis Parkway. On Thursday, December 10, regular market shoppers will already be on the Plaza two hours before Supernova begins at 5. Supernova's own vendors set up that night, but only Thursday has the weekly market as well.
The Station also hosts art markets, music series and fitness classes during the year. That steady weekly use is why the Partnership puts its biggest night of the year on this corner. The Greenway calendar has more before Supernova: Movies in the Park shows The Nightmare Before Christmas on Friday, November 20, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
"The evenings felt more family-friendly than most festivals, allowing children and teens to participate in interactive installations."
The musician Kirkland Green said that about performing at a past Supernova, in remarks published on the Partnership's Supernova page. He also said he went on to play Jazz Fest the following spring. The same page describes the event as bringing thousands of neighbors and friends together for an end-of-year celebration.
Supernova is temporary, but the Partnership's plans for this stretch are long-term. Among its key initiatives, the Partnership describes a project to liven up the Greenway between N. Broad Street and Bayou St. John, including a pedestrian plaza at the bayou. For three nights, Supernova closes the parking lot to cars and fills that corner with art, music and food, which shows the kind of space the Partnership is describing.
The Greenway's other big project sits farther out along the trail. NOLA.com reported that the city has set aside $4.8 million to extend the trail and that Batture Engineering is leading the design. Negotiations with Norfolk Southern over its rail line were still unresolved. The planned route continues past Delgado and City Park Avenue to Canal Boulevard and connects with the Cemeteries Transit Center, with a branch toward the Marconi bike line and City Park. According to the same report, a 2024 master plan set December 2026 as the deadline for the extension, and the city said it was unclear whether the rail deal would be finished by then. That December deadline falls in the same month as Supernova.
Supernova runs from 5 to 9 p.m., so you can eat before or after. The closest option is Bayou Beer Garden at 326 N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy., on the same parkway as the Station. Beyond that, Gambit's Fall 2026 dining guide lists a cluster of places on Bayou Road, Esplanade Avenue and N. Broad Street:
Several neighbors are daytime places, which helps if you want to make a full day of the neighborhood on December 12 before the lights come on. Leo's Bread, at the same Bell Street address as Respite, serves breakfast and lunch. Pagoda Cafe at 1430 Dorgenois St. serves breakfast and lunch daily. On N. Broad, McHardy's Chicken & Fixin' at 1458 N. Broad St. is listed for lunch with takeout and delivery. Sweet Soulfood at 1025 N. Broad St. serves lunch Monday through Saturday.
Hours change around the holidays, so check with each place before you head out.
The trail runs through six neighborhoods, so most people coming from Tremé, Mid-City or the French Quarter side can walk or bike the Greenway itself to reach Supernova. That approach fits the theme. A route that began as a canal and became a railroad leads to a pavilion lit by art about that history. Coming from the bayou side, the Station and Plaza sit along N. Norman C. Francis Pkwy. near Lafitte Street, and the parking lot between them will be closed to cars. The Partnership is still recruiting musicians, food vendors and arts-and-craft vendors through its Supernova page, which is the place to check for the lineup as December 10 gets closer.
At Vince Liuzza, we keep a close eye on how places like Greenway Station and the planned plaza at Bayou St. John shape the blocks around them. If you live near the Greenway and want to talk about what its plans could mean for your street, email Vince directly.
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