NEW ORLEANS –  New Orleans is celebrating a big birthday.

The city is about to be 300 years old.

WGNO News with a Twist features guy Wild Bill Wood is out and about in the Big Easy looking for signs of the city’s big birthday.

And Wild Bill sees a celebration right on Canal Street in the heart of New Orleans.

It’s at the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans.

The Ritz is really putting on the ritz to celebrate the city’s tricentennial.

Just look at the windows.

That’s where Wild Bill is looking and taking pictures that you see right here.

Windows filled with balloons worthy of a party that celebrates New Orleans big 300.

As many people in New Orleans will tell you, the tricentennial celebrates not just where the city has been over the last 300 years, but where it’s headed.

The future.

That’s why New Orleans will celebrate its tricentennial with the kind of party that only New Orleans could throw.

It started in 1718.

That’s when the city was founded.

It’s a magical mix of French, Spanish and African American cultures.

And because New Orleans is a port city, the heart of New Orleans has always been open to people from all over the world.

That’s why immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Germany, Greece and Vietnam have come here and are now proud to call New Orleans their home.

And what a home it is.

New Orleans is home to Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Essence Festival.

And all these bring with them a great parade of parades and festivals.

How many festivals in New Orleans every year?

Last count, at least 135!