"The biggest thing is our veterans," Brian Henly told NOLA.com before the Old Mandeville Restaurant & Bar Association, then less than a year old, held its parade down Lakeshore Drive. "We just want to honor those that serve us, give them a big thank you and show them how much the community appreciates them."
On Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, the Vet Together Mandeville Veterans Day Parade & Jambalaya Cook-Off returns to the Mandeville Lakefront. NextOp bills this year's edition as the 6th Annual Vet Together parade. Across the three most recent editions, the route, the jambalaya and the timing have stayed the same, while the organizer, the charities and the band on the lawn have all changed.
The parish's newest Veterans Day celebration
In its preview of the Nov. 9 celebration, NOLA.com called the Mandeville lakefront event the parish's "newest — and perhaps biggest" Veterans Day celebration. It was organized by the newly formed Old Mandeville Restaurant & Bar Association. Henly, the association's executive director, said it was the group's third event since it formed that February and that the plan was to hold it every year.
The association's program was packed. NOLA.com listed a keynote by Gen. Michael A. Cushman, a car show, vendors, inflatables for children, a silent auction, military vehicles on display and a set by Rockin Dopsie Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters. In NOLA.com's photo coverage, Cushman, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, rode at the front of the parade beside Cleve Fair of the Marine Corps League, and a long line of motorcycles made up one of the largest units.
By 2025, NextOp was running the parade. In its 2025 coverage, NOLA.com described "postcard-perfect weather" on Nov. 8. Marching units ranged from ROTC groups to the 610 Stompers, and veterans lined the oak-shaded length of Lakeshore Drive. The same article explains the early date. The parade is held a few days before Nov. 11 so more people can come.
Three editions, side by side
The event listings show what changed from year to year. The association-run edition's details come from NOLA.com's preview. The 2025 and 2026 details come from NextOp's own event pages.
| Association edition | 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 9 | Saturday, Nov. 8 | Saturday, Nov. 7 |
| Organizer | Old Mandeville Restaurant & Bar Association | NextOp | NextOp |
| Beneficiaries | NextOp and the Northshore Court Foundation | NextOp and the Northshore Court Foundation, for the veterans court | NextOp |
| Music | Rockin Dopsie Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters | Rockin' Dopsie Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters, 1 to 4 p.m. | Category 6, 1 to 3 p.m. |
| Cook-off window | Not listed | Noon to 3 p.m., in front of Pat's Rest Awhile | Noon to 2 p.m., on the lakefront |
The afternoon is tighter this year. The 2026 schedule gives the cook-off and the concert two hours each, down from three in 2025. The proceeds go to one cause, NextOp, where the last two years split them with the Northshore Court Foundation. Category 6 takes the lakefront stage after two editions of zydeco.
Each of these three editions used a Saturday a few days before Veterans Day, a jambalaya contest, and a parade that ends at the same building on Lakeshore Drive.
The building at the end of the route
The parade lines up at the Harbor on Jackson Street and heads down Lakeshore Drive to Pat's Rest Awhile, at 2129 Lakeshore Dr. Visit the Northshore's listing adds Foy Street to the route.
The endpoint has its own long history. According to Pat's Rest Awhile, the 2-acre lakefront property was a hotel in the 1880s and later a retreat for the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons. Hurricane Katrina damaged the remaining historic buildings in 2005. Barrett McGuire bought the site in 2014, and after seven years of restoration and construction, Pat's Rest Awhile opened in late 2020.
So the parade ends at a property that has hosted visitors to the lakefront since the 1880s and reopened in late 2020. In its preview of the association's edition, NOLA.com noted that food and drinks beyond the jambalaya would be sold at Pat's Rest Awhile, and it asked guests to bring their own chairs and picnic blankets. Our earlier guide to Old Mandeville's lakefront blocks covers the rest of the neighborhood around it.
Where the jambalaya money goes
Going to the parade is free. Tasting the jambalaya means buying a ticket, which NextOp lists at $10, and teams that want to compete pay a $100 entry fee. Local businesses can sponsor at four levels on the event's Donorbox page: Platinum at $10,000, Silver Star at $5,000, Bronze Star at $1,000 and Distinguished Service at $500.
This year, all of that money goes to one organization. NextOp says it was founded in 2014 to recruit, develop and place enlisted leaders in industry careers. Its services include one-on-one career guidance, translating military resumes, interview preparation and partnerships with employers. NOLA.com reported in 2025 that NextOp had helped more than 1,200 local veterans find work in Louisiana since 2017.
NextOp also works on this side of the lake. Northshore Technical Community College signed a partnership agreement with NextOp on June 5, 2025, to connect veterans with training and career services. When the cook-off is the only fundraiser on the lakefront that afternoon, each $10 tasting ticket supports a program that also works in St. Tammany.
Saturday, Nov. 7, from market to music hall
The parade sits in the middle of a day that already has events at both ends. Here is the city and NextOp schedule, from morning to night:
- 9 a.m. The Mandeville Trailhead Market opens at 675 Lafitte Street and runs until 1 p.m.
- 9:30 a.m. Parade units line up at the Harbor on Jackson Street.
- 11 a.m. to noon The parade runs down Lakeshore Drive toward Pat's Rest Awhile.
- Noon to 2 p.m. The jambalaya cook-off, with tasting wristbands sold on the lakefront.
- 1 to 3 p.m. Category 6 plays the lakefront.
- 6:30 to 9 p.m. Stephanie Jordan performs at the Dew Drop Jazz and Social Hall, 430 Lamarque Street.
The morning events overlap. The market is open until 1 p.m., so you can shop early and still reach Lakeshore Drive before the parade steps off at 11. In the afternoon, the cook-off and Category 6 share the hour from 1 to 2. The three and a half hours between the end of the concert and the Dew Drop show leave time to go home before heading back out.
The rest of November leads to the lights
After the parade, the Trailhead Market has three more Saturdays, Nov. 14, 21 and 28, with the 28th listed as the last date of the series. City offices close for the Veterans Day holiday on Wednesday, Nov. 11.
The next big gathering is the 27th annual Holiday of Lights, presented by the Tammany Trace Foundation at the Trace's headquarters at 21490 Koop Drive. Visit the Northshore lists free evenings on Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., with trams through Santa's Enchanted Forest, crafts and photos with Santa. St. Tammany Parish Government lists a drive-through display from Dec. 21 through Jan. 1, 2027, open from dusk to dawn.
Until then, the Saturday before Veterans Day belongs to the stretch of Lakeshore Drive between the Harbor and Pat's Rest Awhile. Tasting tickets and team registration are on NextOp's event page.
Some homes on or near the parade route have watched every edition from the front gallery, and the owners know what a lakefront address is like on a morning like this one. If you own one of those homes along Lakeshore Drive or nearby in Old Mandeville and wonder what it would bring today, Jennifer Rice and our team would be glad to prepare a complimentary home valuation built on our knowledge of Mandeville and its lakefront.
