St. Martinville Pepper Festival
St. Martinville, LA
October 19
A common misconception about the cuisine of south Louisiana is that it’s all spicy hot. And while a good number of our dishes bring a lot of heat, most Louisianans will tell you that our food is generally more well seasoned than fiery hot. Still, the chili pepper – especially the cayenne and Tabasco varieties – is an indispensable part of south Louisiana cooking.
Which is why, the third Sunday of October each year, fans converge on St. Martinville for a celebration of the pepper in all its glory.
Among the various food items offered at Pepper Fest, you’ll find several featuring peppers, understandably. But you’ll also find numerous booths selling standard south Louisiana festival cuisine – jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, crawfish and shrimp poboys, seafood pasta and more. Attendees will be able to learn a little bit about south Louisiana cooking, too, as local chefs will be giving cooking demonstrations throughout the day.
For many, the main event of the annual festival is the pepper-eating contest, during which the bravest souls compete to see who can eat the most Louisiana peppers in a five minute period. This is one competition that’s not for the faint of heart.
Since it’s always good to have hot sounds to go with hot flavors, the Pepper Fest offers a top-notch musical line up, led by 2008 Grammy Nominee Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, who will bring their popular brand of Zydeco music to the festival starting at noon. At 4 p.m., after the pepper-eating contest, festival-goers will dance to Nik-L Beer Band, a longstanding St. Martinville party band that covers the greatest oldies, hard-driving Zydeco tunes, Motown hits, country, funk, swamp pop, Cajun, Mardi Gras music and more.
Of course, Pepper Fest offers more than food and music. You’ll find a number of arts and crafts booths, as well as booths selling pepper plants, pepper cookbooks and locally made hot sauces. The fest kicks off with a 5K road race, followed by the Motorcycle Poker Run.
Be sure to take a moment to wander around historic St. Martinville. The festival is located on the town square that backs up to Bayou Teche. Located just down the bayou is the Evangeline Oak, marking the spot where two Cajun lovers were reunited as described in Longfellow’s famous poem.
2008 date: October 19 (2009 date: October 18; 2010 date: October 17)
Admission Cost: $5 ($2 for children under 12)
Directions: Traveling west from New Orleans or east from Lafayette on I-10, take exit 109 toward Breaux Bridge. Turn south on LA-328. Travel 1.8 miles and turn right on E. Bridge Street. Travel about a quarter mile and take a left at LA-31/S. Main Street. Proceed 13.2 miles on LA-31. Turn left at E. Bridge Street/LA-96. Proceed into the center of St. Martinville. The festival is located on the far side of the Town Square.
For more information, visit http://www.stmartinkiwanis.org/pepperfest.htm
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