The Pontchartrain Center holds a lot of events. Graduations from various schools, Robotics competitions, craft fairs and so on. Most recently, I came for the Jurassic Quest traveling show, and let me tell you, this is the perfect venue for that. There is enough space for everything to be spaced out. For events that require seating, there are bleachers that pull out. The restrooms seem clean and well stocked. There is also a food booth that seems to provide various food items. There is a ton of parking. The only downside is that it is out at the furthest point from New Orleans, or so it seems. But the parking is free, and the events are usually less expensive than in the city. read more

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Went for a Casting Crowns concert and enjoyed the facility immensely. They had numerous restrooms to accommodate the crowds but only 1 open concession stand. Now it did serve all types of food, hot dogs, fries, tater tots etc, it was quite a line though it flow pretty quick. They had vending machines, if you didn't want to wait in line. It was a great experience and next time a concert is available in that area will definitely make arrangements to go. read more

Two of my all-time favorite events held at the Pontchartrain Center are the all-breed dog show every summer and the public library held every 6 months. It's so much fun when it's filled with all kinds of different dogs. The most fun when our club has its specialty show and there are over 30 Great Danes all in one place. It's an amazing feeling to be around so many dogs and so many big dogs at that. The space is big enough for everyone including all of our enormous dogs. There are also vendors selling dog beds, toys, leashes and other dog related necessities. My other favorite is the book sale put on by the local library. It's pretty well organized with the books separated by subject and in some cases alphabetized by author which makes things easier to find. I love books, all kinds of books so it's the most fun treasure hunt when I get to search through the books. The books are reasonably priced and on Sunday they are all half price so you can walk out spending $1 or less on most items. I'll be honest though, you definitely get the best options on the first day they are open. Paying $2-4 per book is not bad. The book sale is going on this weekend (3/14-17/19) so if you're out and about in Kenner go check it out. read more

The Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center - Great Dane specialty at the all breed show - Stadiums & Arenas Near Me - Kenner, Louisiana

What do gun shows, Mardi Gras balls, state wrestling championships, children's dance recitals and political rallies have in common? The Pontchartrain Center. I have attended all of those events, and more at this large facility at the end of Williams Blvd. The good: This facility has plenty of free parking. There is less free parking since a hotel was built several years ago, but you should find a spot. The facility is fairly large. While not as big as the New Orleans Convention Center, this facility can host very large events, even two large events at a time. I was once here for a dance recital while the VP was speaking in the room next door. There were even Secret Service Agents making sure the kids didn't act up. It is relatively safe. There are always uniformed Kenner (Brah) cops and regular security guards, especially at gun shows. The bad: It is incredibly far from anywhere, but Kenner (Brah). The parking area is large, but fills up quickly. You may have to walk a long distance to get to the building. That really sucks when it is raining and you're trying to carry a child in a puppy costume. In summary, The Pontchartrain Center is A-OK. read more

The Pontchartrain Center is on the other end of the earth to me, right off the lake on Williams Blvd. It is Kenner's answer to the convention center. It can be rearranged into a variety of configurations. None have been to great. The staff was surly, the bathrooms weren't very clean, the parking was nightmare AND I there were men in inappropriately short shorts b/c Back to the Beach was happening just across the levee and the casino. Thank goodness my niece is quitting dancing school, so I won't have to go to another dance recital here next year. I hope it will be another decade before I return. read more

It's that time of year again and I look forward to attending The George Shinn Foundation Shinndig Christmas Dinner. For our Senior Centers across the New Orleans and surrounding areas. The smiles on their faces is priceless. read more

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I have been to a couple of events at the Ponchartrain Center now. The first was a training session for work. It was mostly well organized, including a test drive track in the parking lot (yay!). However, we were promised refreshments... I think they put out about 10 cookies for 50+ people, along with some watered down lemonade. Insufficient, especially when their concession stands aren't open mid-day. Not sure if this was bad planning on my company's part, or the Center, but it sucked. The other "major" event that I attended here was my daughter's dance recital. Unlike the work event, they had the concession stands open. In fact, the entire place smelled like popcorn. This was the typical overpriced food you would find anywhere else, so I didn't purchase any, but at least it was offered. The staff have always been friendly when I've had to interact with them... which is good, because the layout of this place can be a little confusing (especially since they don't seem to believe in signage to direct visitors to the correct hall). I prefer the convention center, but the Ponchartrain Center is a good JP alternative, I suppose. read more

This venue is large with ample parking and seating. It hosted the event I attended very suitably (high school graduation). Staff was friendly, if not terribly helpful. I did see a couple major problems though. First, there's not really a great place to congregate outside of the "auditorium," which only creates an issue if it's an event where everyone is excited and wants to hug and kiss their families afterwards. Like a graduation. There were just hundreds of people spilling out into the street, which created problem #2: Getting the hell out of there. Because of the fact that everyone was spilling into the street, it was impossible to get out! There was an officer directing traffic, but he was not very good at it. I think he was just standing around enjoying the mayhem. There is only 1 small road to get in/out, and all of the people and cars and craziness made it take about 20 minutes to go 100 yards. If they could fix this problem, it would be 4 stars. read more

I had the misfortune of attending a dance revue recently. This place is a joke. There aren't enough handicapped parking spots but about 30 EMPTY spaces for "employees only". It's not rocket science, simply create MORE SPACES or cover the signs with a temporary Handicap Sign when those employees are gone for the day. The floor staff obviously hate their jobs & are rude. I had one grab my arm to prevent me from entering past the curtain until the dance was over. I get that but why allow so many people to leave. We were in the second to last row, but the gate that would have allowed us to the 2nd floor was locked. WHY? The place was filled with grandparents & great grandparents. Why are you unable to plan for this kind of event? So many people were complaining in the bathrooms, in the lobby, on the floor & at the concession counter about parking or lack thereof, gates being closed, rude employees, rude employees at concession, people at the concession blocking everyone. Your business seems to be run by the floor staff. No manager on site. Here's a picture of the EMPTY parking spots I am referring to. read more

While New Orleans itself has the Convention Center, Kenner has the Pontchartrain Center. It's you're typical convention center and hosts a myriad amount of events. I've been there for everything from the circus to a gun show to taking a standardized testing for an engineering license. Experiences have been mixed, it can be a good place or a bad place to have an event. I would say you shouldn't let this locale be the determining factor in attending an event, but it really is a roll of the dice. read more

Big venue. Can break the whole place up into multiple rooms. It's a decent enough place to have large events, but it's way out of the way.

Very high prices, not very friendly or knowledgable. It was also $10 per person to get in... This is madness. Very few places had decent prices. Lots of china nylon garbage & bad knives .... Don't know if I will go back for a few years read more

The staff at the Pontchartrain Center is excellent. We rent facilities like this every week in a number of different cities. Genell has been our event manager twice. She and the staff have gone out of there way to help make our events successful. The operations manager that runs the set up and tear down has been very helpful to help solve our out of the ordinary needs. We made last minute changes at the suggestion of the SMG team on site that proved to be a great idea. We look forward to coming back to this facility. read more

Pretty cool place although it's under a little construction at the moment. Parking was good and getting in was easy. Very nice location.

The Louisiana State Bar Association used this place to put on a legal seminar. This one was the seminar that is set for New Orleans. They are held around the State. Well for a New Orleans seminar it is a long way away from the City. Free parking is a big plus but the place is way out there. I could observe my gas guage in my vehicle move downward on the drive. And the evening traffic trying to get back to New Orleans got a great many souls out of purgatory for me today. read more

I have been here for many dance conventions. They have security set up like its the White House. They search kids dance bags and take away their water bottles and healthy snacks,but they provide free water in the dance classes makes no sense. On top of not being able to bring in any outside food or water it's funny that they allow the security to sit during lunch with THEIR own outside coolers with THEIR lunch in them and eat inside like we are told that we can not do. They also do not allow you to go in and out but one set of doors and if you do try and go out another set they like to yell at you about it. Overall I think this venue is not very friendly to the patrons who come to events there. I wish the dance conventions would never go back there. Also to add one more thing and that is the food they provide is not healthy for these kids to consume while they are dancing but don't let them bring in any of their healthy protein bars! read more