Rivertown

This is a nifty area of Kenner that has some good restaurants and some very interesting spaces and places to investigate. There is a lot of potential for this place to develop into a shopping and entertainment district but so far that hasn't happened. I mainly end up in this area when I'm visiting to eat at Gendusa's which has some good food and draws quite a crowd of its own. Overall this area is worth a drive to check out and you can easily tour it quite fast and then enjoy some good food at Gendusa's.

This is a section of Kenner near the river that is several blocks. There is a planetarium, a local theater, a park, several restaurants, shopping and a pottery place (you can paint your own pottery, or take one of the classes and make your own masterpiece). Anywho, there are several things to do in the area.

Rivertown sure has gotten a breath of fresh air in recent years. What used to be desolate and also known as the worst museum field trip you could ever possibly go on (circa late 90s) is now home to quite a few gems. Gendusa's and Porch and Patio are 2 great Rivertown restaurants. There is a cute women's clothing boutique called the Tin Roof. Sullivan's is a perfect fit for this old timey quaint street selling all kinds of homemade goods. And who can forget, Debbie on the Levee for a dobite! You can even get your license renewed at the Kenner DMV. I recently visited during Christmas time and they had a really nice Christmas light display that was free to enter! It was perfect for my 2.5-year-old to walk through and gaze at the lights. During the day and all year long it's a great photo op spot with a cute bridge over water. Wouldn't be the burbs without plenty of free parking. Gotta love that! There are still quite a few empty spots for businesses so hopefully this trend keeps up and more places start to open over here.

Poor Rivertown. This is a quaint little neighborhood that the city of Kenner reimagined as small museums and touristy shops...except the tourists didn't come and neither did the locals, or at least not much.So now it's a few aging "museums" with a few shops and restaurants hanging on thanks to faithful clientele. I was actually wandering in Rivertown for the first time in decades because the Deutches Haus Oktoberfest was relocated here temporarily. If Kenner wants to keep Oktoberfest they really need to expand it beyond two weekends. Great use of space though.

I came here to enjoy the laser show here , it was a kinda patriotic themed music show called Laser Spirit. I hear the show changes for the holidays. Well let me tell ya, my last experience with a laser show was a Joe Brown park in the east back in the 80s. Bunch of drunk teen agers running through the nature trails at midnight drinking and smoking, waiting for the Rush 2112 laser show. In all its glory with red and green lasers. Well THIS laser show... BOOM!! blew my mind!! Im serious its that good! The volume wasnt loud enough and I missed the tinge of pot and spilled beer in the air, but the amazing show made up for that. In between the laser show and a regular planetarium show, there is plenty to see in the space museum section. The girls had alot of fun playing WWL weatherperson on the green screen.. So did I. Though the place overall, is run down. I think there was supposed to be grand plans for this area and it just didnt happen. Though we will be back for more laser shows in the future. And those ONLY happen on saturdays at 1pm

Rivertown is a small town in Kenner, Louisiana which was originally inhabited by Native Indians and taken and claimed in the name of The King Louis the XIV it was also the town where the first ever Heavyweight boxing match occurred in 1870. It was daytime not much to see. It's resembles old time towns you see on tv with the little shops and church there is one street lined with light post Williams Blvd. Not too far away from the town is an area where they have a statue of the first two heavyweight boxers who at that time fid not use gloves and went 8 rounds bare knuckled. There's a cypress tree that was planted when ownership changed from the Native Indians a couple of old cannons and a stairwell that you can climb to the top of and see an old bridge where possibly people came in from the Mississippi River boats or train.

I'm not sure if the proprietors of Rivertown are trying to keep it a secret, but I think it does have potential, but almost always somewhat empty.My last trip was very disappointing. We have gone to the planetarium before, and after checking the schedule, decided to see one of the shows listed. Unfortunately the people who are responsible for the website did not bother to say that it was CLOSED for October Fest. That would have been a considerate thing to do. Next time I'll consider spending my time driving elsewhere.

Rivertown had a lot of potential. In a lot of ways, it still does.When you walk/drive through Rivertown, you feel like you are in a small town. You pass museums, a nice theater, houses and shops. I think that the main problem is it is located at the end of the world. Of course, when I say that, I mean that it is so far outside the New Orleans city limits that no one really thinks about it and those that do really aren't interested in making that long drive.I did enjoy it when Oktoberfest was in Rivertown. There was a lot of room and it didn't feel as cramped as it had at the old location, but sadly that is the only good thing I can say about the area. I think that if the powers that be made a concerted effort to draw people out to Rivertown (maybe a festival other than Oktoberfest or a concert series of some sort) than people would be a lot more willing to give this area a try.