Mrs. Snake, I just got this email reply from a friend who lives there...might give you some good ideas. Have fun, I'm going there the following weekend!
Hey there! I'm not sure what your friends are interested in doing while here in New Orleans, but the best thing to do is to check out the website
www.nola.com. This website lists everything that's happening in New Orleans from music to food. Of course the kick-off to St. Patrick's day starts on Friday, so there are parades going on this weekend as well as next weekend when you are in town. They will be able to find something to do here, there's always a party going on.