Halloween weekend, thousands of people gathered at City Park in New Orleans for Voodoo Music + Arts Experience, a three-day event featuring music, food, art and more.

This year’s lineup featured headliners Kendrick Lamar, Foo Fighters and The Killers as well as other acts, including The Head and the Heart, Cold War Kids and Post Malone.

The chilly weather had me burrowed in my rain jacket all weekend, but many festivalgoers chose to dress up. I saw many an alien costume, but Rick Sanchez and Eleven from “Stranger Things” were also prevalent.

Sophomore Kaylyn Kegans attended for the first time this year and plans to attend again next year.

“I was super pumped to see Post Malone, but I thought he was disappointing and the crowd was too large,” Kegans said. “I didn’t think I would enjoy any of the EDM artists, but RL Grime ended up being my favorite show.”

Prior to the festival, I was most excited to see The Killers – a favorite of mine for years. However, I ended up more impressed with the smaller groups, particularly Black Pistol Fire.

Black Pistol Fire is an indie-rock band comprised of lead vocalist and guitarist Kevin McKeown and drummer Eric Owen. According to their official website they draw inspiration from groups such as Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Muddy Waters, but they remind me a lot of Jack White’s band The Dead Weather. Either way, they left me and my friends wanting to hear more.

One of my favorite things about the festival was the food, which was exactly as amazing as you would expect food in New Orleans to be. Jambalaya, gumbo and other Louisiana classics were offered, but my favorite was a grilled cheese sandwich filled with mac and cheese and bacon.

Reminiscent of an amusement park, the festival grounds also featured a Ferris wheel and an interactive haunted graveyard complete with spooky music and characters.

Art vendors sold items ranging from Halloween costumes to incense burners. Face painting was also offered, which I took part in myself. The face painting artists were able to draw something as simple as a flower or as complex as a sugar skull. Due to the long line of customers the process took a while, but the end result was worth it.

Overall, I thought Voodoo Fest was a great experience, and I recommend that any student who is able to attend in the future does. This was my first time attending a music festival, so I don’t have anything else to compare it to. But it lived up to my expectations and I plan to be back next year.