Cochon De Lait Festival Mansura, La May 12-13, 2012

In Acadiana, cochon de lait is the ultimate celebration food. The time and effort that go into preparing and roasting a whole pig require the appreciation of a large gathering – and a special occasion. So it’s appropriate that in Mansura, LA, there’s no occasion more special, and no gathering larger, than the annual Cochon de Lait Festival – an event celebrating the food that marks so many other celebrations around these parts.

Held each year on the second weekend in May, the Cochon de Lait Festival first took place in 1960. It was an immediate hit and grew more popular each year. In 1972, about 100,000 people arrived in Mansura for the festival. It was too many people, and the town, with a population less than 2,000, was overwhelmed. For 15 years, the people of Mansura took a break from the Cochon de Lait Fest. But in 1987 came its triumphant return.

The throngs descend on little Mansura in central Louisiana each May for Cajun food, live music, rides, games, contests, street dances, parades, arts & crafts booths...and more cochon de lait than you can shake a stick at. The festival is the perfect place to witness the time-honored ritual of cochon de lait preparation. The pig is dressed and placed in a wire rotisserie cage – the same design that has been used for generations. A roasting shanty is constructed and filled with piles of pecan and hickory wood. Dangling in the heat and smoke above the smoldering wood, rows and rows of cochon de lait roast to perfection in their wire racks. It’s a sight to behold, but even more beguiling are the smoky aroma and the delicious taste. Add some additional flavor with a splash or two of your favorite TABASCO® brand Pepper Sauce flavor.

Directions: From Alexandria, take La. Hwy. 1 south, approximately 35 miles, to Mansura. From Baton Rouge, take Airline Highway (LA-190) out of the city. The same road will become La. Hwy. 1. Continue on La. Hwy. 1 into Mansura, approximately 60 miles. The festival is at the Cochon de Lait Civic Center on Main Street in Mansura.

For more information, visit www.cochondelaitfestival.com.