15 December 2025
By Ivanna Washington
Contributing Writer
To kick off the holidays, a structure 30-feet high was lit up to commemorate the largest and only holiday bonfire in New Orleans.
On Sunday, Dec. 7, hundreds of residents gathered to celebrate the annual Algiers Holiday and Bonfire Concert. The event was hosted at Algiers Batture on the West Bank of New Orleans, just beyond Algiers Point, with many families taking the ferry to engage in the festivities.
“This is the perfect space,” said LaVerne Toombs, the interim executive director of the Algiers Economic Development Foundation which puts on the bonfire with sponsorship from Ochsner Health. “It’s right by the Mississippi River and right here by the Algiers Point ferry terminal so people catch the ferry and come over. It’s very convenient,” she added.
The bonfire acknowledges a longstanding tradition of Christmas Eve bonfires in Southern Louisiana. Along the Mississippi River, large wooden structures are built and lit on fire to light the way for Papa Noël, the Cajun Santa Claus.
Many early designs of the wooden structures consist of simple designs resembling pyramids or cones accompanied by logs used to ensure stability. These structures eventually varied allowing room for creativity with this event’s structure resembling the tower of a castle painted red and blue with Christmas-themed designs. Traditionally, around 7 p.m., these large structures are set ablaze, lighting the skies and creating a path along the river that cannot be missed.
“This is a Southeast Louisiana tradition you see all along the river parishes,” said Erik Garcia, the second vice president of the Algiers Economic Development Foundation. “It’s a longstanding tradition we recently brought back a few years ago and it’s a great event to bring the community together,” he added.
Featuring local food trucks, vendors and live music from local bands such as Royal Essence, the event served as a big start to the winter holidays for all in attendance, providing many small businesses the opportunity to grow and promote to the public.
“This event’s been good for us since we’re from the East Bank,” said NoLa Cookie Co. owner Brittney Hawkins-Dobard. The cookie company was featured on the news for their re-creation of a famous pastry that originated in France and went viral on the social media platform TikTok. “Moving to the West Bank helps with exposure to customers and gives them the opportunity to know about us and to learn what we offer,” said Hawkins-Dobard.
Founded in 1991, the Algiers Economic Development Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission to nurture a thriving environment for Algiers-based businesses. With the help of local support, the organization aids their community in helping businesses to grow, while maintaining meaningful relationships throughout the community.
“This is also a historic district,” said Toombs. “I think a number of people don’t know that much about Algiers even though it’s a part of New Orleans, but it holds a lot of important history,” she added.
Established in 1719, the area was originally owned by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, the French-Canadian settler who founded New Orleans in 1718. The area spans along the Mississippi River and was used as a pen to hold enslaved Africans known as the “King’s Plantation.” Around the 1820s, Algiers Point began to industrialize with the ferry starting to operate, and in the 1850s, railroads became established making Algiers a largely commercialized area highly populated by factories. It wasn’t until the 1870s that Algiers would become the neighborhood we know today, following its annexation to the City of New Orleans. With its vast history and development from commercialization, Algiers Point has become an area of historical importance, one that many feel isn’t always recognized in the city’s wider events.
“Our mission as the AEDF is to encourage economic development in the Algiers community and this is one of these events where it brings the community together and highlights these businesses,” said Garcia.
“Algiers is the second-oldest community in New Orleans behind the French Quarter, and with this beautiful backdrop it doesn’t get any better than this,” he added.
This article originally published in the December 15, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.