At 9:30 Saturday morning, parade units will start lining up at the harbor on Jackson Avenue, where the masts of Old Mandeville's boat slips meet the foot of Lakeshore Drive. Four days later, on Veterans Day itself, the city's observances come back to the same short stretch of Jackson Avenue, in front of Harbor Field and at the Pontchartrain Yacht Club.
The two days are planned by different groups, but they meet at the harbor. The Saturday event has also changed hands in a short time. In 2024, the lakefront celebration was presented by a new Old Mandeville restaurant association. This year it is a fundraiser hosted by a nonprofit that places veterans in civilian careers. The jambalaya ticket you buy on Saturday pays for that work.
Saturday, Nov. 7: harbor to Pat's Rest Awhile
NextOp, the event's host, bills it as the 6th Annual Vet Together Mandeville Veteran's Day Parade & Jambalaya Cook-off. NextOp's event page says the parade lines up at the harbor, travels down Lakeshore Drive and finishes at Pat's Rest Awhile. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs lists the event at 2019 Lakeshore Drive.
The day runs in four blocks:
- 9:30 a.m. Parade units line up at the harbor on Jackson.
- 11 a.m. to noon. The parade rolls down Lakeshore Drive. The Rotary Club of Northlake-Mandeville's calendar adds Foy Street to the route description.
- Noon to 2 p.m. The jambalaya cook-off takes place on the lakefront in front of Pat's.
- 1 to 3 p.m. Category 6 plays on the lakefront.
Watching the parade is free. Tasting the jambalaya takes a $10 ticket, which NextOp sells in advance through its event page, and the Rotary listing says wristbands will also be sold on the lakefront. Teams that want to cook pay a $100 entry fee by choosing the team registration option on the same page. NOLA.com's Veterans Day guide lists [email protected] as the contact for cook-off teams.
The parade steps off at 11 a.m. That matches the moment NOLA.com's guide uses to explain the holiday's origin: World War I ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, and President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Armistice Day a year later.
Getting to the lakefront this year
The usual bike route into Old Mandeville is broken this fall. St. Tammany Parish lists Tammany Trace Bridge #14, between Molitor and Dupre streets in Mandeville, as closed through early 2027 for replacement, with a detour on Montgomery Street. Bridge #13 over Bayou Castine, between Rapatel Street and Group Camp Road, is closed through May 2027, and the parish says it has no detour.
If you ride from the east side of Bayou Castine, the Trace no longer gets you to the parade. If you ride from closer to the trailhead, plan on the Montgomery Street detour around the Molitor-to-Dupre gap before you reach the harbor end of town. The parish's Tammany Trace page has the current closure list.
How a lakefront party became a career fund
Two years ago, a different group's name was on the Saturday event. WGNO's community calendar listed it for Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, with the Old Mandeville Restaurant & Bar Association as the contact organization. According to NOLA.com's account of that celebration, the association, which had formed earlier that year, presented the Veterans Day celebration on the lakefront. Motorized and walking units paraded at 11 a.m., and the crowd then gathered outside Pat's Rest Awhile and along the lakefront for music, food and drink.
The route and the gathering spot are the same today. The beneficiaries have changed. Proceeds from the 2024 and 2025 events went to both NextOp and the Northshore Court Foundation, according to WGNO's 2024 calendar listing and NextOp's page for the 2025 edition, which took place Nov. 8, 2025. For 2026, the sponsorship page reads "Hosted by NextOp Veterans," and the event page names NextOp as the only beneficiary.
NextOp is not a general veterans' charity. On its About page, the nonprofit says it recruits, develops and places military members and veterans in industry careers. Its employment coordinators work one-on-one with veterans and transitioning service members on career choices, resumes and interviews, and then match candidates with employers. The money raised at a cook-off on Lakeshore Drive goes toward helping veterans move from military service into civilian jobs.
The sponsor tiers show where the money is meant to come from. NextOp's sponsorship page lists four levels, each named for a military honor:
Platinum Sponsor ($10,000), Silver Star Sponsor ($5,000), Bronze Star Sponsor ($1,000), Distinguished Service Sponsor ($500)
At the low end, a $500 sponsorship equals five cook-off team entries or fifty tasting tickets. Sponsors are expected to carry more of the fundraising than the jambalaya line does.
Wednesday, Nov. 11: back to the harbor
Saturday's event belongs to NextOp, and the observances on the holiday itself belong to older institutions. NOLA.com's guide lists two Mandeville events on Wednesday, Nov. 11, both on Jackson Avenue within sight of where the parade lined up.
At noon, the Daughters of the American Revolution and the City of Mandeville will dedicate a Revolutionary marker on Jackson Avenue in front of Harbor Field. The marker will remain after the holiday, adding a permanent piece of history to a block that already holds the harbor and the ballfield.
An hour later, at 1 p.m., the Pontchartrain Yacht Club at 140 Jackson Ave. will serve a free lunch for veterans. Because the dedication starts at noon and the lunch at 1, a veteran can attend the dedication and then walk to lunch on the same street.
The rest of the week across the Northshore
Mandeville's events fall on the Saturday before the holiday and on Nov. 11 itself. The rest of the parish fills the days in between and the days after:
| Date | Place | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7, 11 a.m. | Mandeville lakefront | Vet Together parade, jambalaya cook-off, Category 6 concert |
| Sun., Nov. 8, 4 p.m. | Slidell Municipal Auditorium, 2056 Second St. | Veterans Day concert with the Northshore Community Orchestra; free, doors at 3:30, first-come seating |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 10 a.m. | St. Tammany Parish Justice Center, 701 N. Columbia St., Covington | American Legion Post 16 commemoration |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 10 a.m. | TerraBella Village, 111 Terra Bella Blvd., Covington | Flag raising and moment of silence |
| Wed., Nov. 11, noon | Jackson Avenue at Harbor Field, Mandeville | DAR and city Revolutionary marker dedication |
| Wed., Nov. 11, 1 p.m. | Pontchartrain Yacht Club, 140 Jackson Ave., Mandeville | Free lunch for veterans |
| Fri., Nov. 13, 10 a.m. | Covington Trailhead, 419 N. New Hampshire St. | Lance Cpl. Justin D. McLeese Memorial Bridge dedication |
The Covington ceremony at the Justice Center includes the Presentation of the Colors, the national anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance and several guest speakers. The keynote speaker is U.S. Marine Corps veteran and 22nd Judicial District Court Judge-elect Michael Cochran. If you want to attend the Covington commemoration and the Mandeville dedication on the same day, the 10 a.m. and noon start times leave about two hours.
For Saturday, jambalaya tickets and cook-off team registration are on NextOp's event page. The parade lines up at 9:30 a.m. at the harbor on Jackson Avenue and steps off at 11.
At Allison Vencil, we're glad to see our neighbors gathering on Jackson Avenue on Nov. 7 and Nov. 11 to thank the veterans who live among us. If you're cooking on Saturday or bringing your family to the Harbor Field dedication on Veterans Day, we hope to see you on the lakefront. If a question about life on the Northshore comes up along the way, let's connect.
