Also posted at Pontchartrain Pete.

The NOLA bloggers have been doing great work covering the first weekend 2008 Jazz & Heritage Festival. Chronicling the rising prices, the food, the rain, the influx of tourists Foreigners taking over and most of all the music, NOLA bloggers have written of their experiences for all to read. We therefore bestow the following Lucky Blog awards for excellence in all things Orleanian and Jazz-Festy, First Weekend of Jazz Fest Edition:

Best Overall: Wet Bank Guy at Toulouse Street’s Battling Fortuna at the Track, and his posts that follow.

Most Thorough Coverage: Minor Wisdom’s posts starting with Where I’ll be on Friday (maybe) and continuing for each day of the fest so far.

New Orleans Music’s Best Friend: Bonerama Freak Stacey’s Jazz Fest or Rain Fest?

Best Jazz Fest Newbie Post: Kiss My Gumbo’s My 1st Jazzfest.

Best Jazz Fest Post From Someone Who Didn’t Go; also, Best Atmospheric Post: Tim’s Nameless Blog’s The Sounds of New Orleans.

Best Rant on the Foreigners Taking Over: Mosquito Coast’s Jazz Fest Musings.

Good Solid Posts That Do Not Necessarily Fall Into Any Category: Prytania Water Line’s Jazzfest Story and Drive By Blogger’s advice to the Foreigners at New Orleans Jazz Festival 2008.

So here are your awards to claim, if you so choose.

Full size:

Or bling-sized:

Disclaimer: Read these other blogs at your own risk. We don’t vouch for other peoples’ content in posts and comments we didn’t read. Also, Pete and Nola bestow these awards in appreciation of everyone’s hard work, wit and humor. If we left anyone out, sorry, we tried to gather as many as we could. You’re welcome to point out posts we should have seen in the comments.

This weekend and next is The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.  To many, this is THE festival of the year.  It is certainly the biggest and most famous.  My husband is one of those die-hard Jazz Festers.  He has a brass pass and will be attending every day minus one due to work, six days of festing for him.  That’s a lot.  My in-laws are two more hard core Festers.  They will have driven 30 HOURS, over two full days, to attend JF.  Yeah, it’s a big deal.

And in honor of Jazz Fest, Pete and I will be bestowing our next Lucky Blog Award.

We will be scouring blogs to find the single best post about this year’s Jazz Fest.  So, if you are festing it up at JF and think we may miss your post, leave a comment on this post with a link to your post and we’ll check it out.  You do not need to leave a post to be eligible to win, but we do need to read it!

So whether you are in New Orleans or not, hop around the NOLA blogs (many can be found under my NOLA Blog Krewes) and those vacationing in NOLA to read all about Jazz Fest 2008.  It never disappoints!

Pete has spent copious hours laboring over a new nonsense blog bling award. We give you:

We endeavor to award blogs and/or posts that are a kindred spirit with the beloved NOLA Lucky Dog. What is the spirit of a NOLA Lucky Dog, you ask? Well, it is original and iconic; it is reverential and irreverent at the same time; it will make your stomach hurt; and it is better if you are drinking liquor.

Fear not! This award will not be limited to NOLA blogs and bloggers!

To kick things off right, it seems only fitting to bestow this first Lucky Blog Award on Ashley Morris, a NOLA blogger who died suddenly this week. I did not know Ashley nor did I know of his blog until his death, but it is apparent from the love shown on the Twitter tube and the NOLA blogs that this was a great loss on my end. By all accounts, Ashley was a larger than life, NOLA loving, tell-it-like-it-is fellow. I have learned that he was a fan of Jameson, and that fact alone is highly indicative of us having gotten along swimmingly had we met. I also have learned a new word this week, a word he was fond of saying and maybe even coined, fuckmook.

So to you, Ashley Morris, we raise a glass and award you the first Lucky Blog Award. You are missed by those who loved you.