Festivals Acadians
Lafayette, LA
October 13-15, 2006
It would probably not be an exaggeration to claim this is the best "Cajun" festival in the world. It's two days of continuous exemplary Cajun music in a spacious shaded park setting with dozens of folklife demonstrations and a supply of good local food. And, it's basically all FREE. Like a wagon wheel, Lafayette, LA occupies the center point as roads fan out to a dozen Cajun villages in a 40-mile radius, giving Lafayette its nickname of "Hub City."
The festivities kick-off Friday evening with a special edition of the weekly "Downtown Alive" event. This is a street dance in the heart of downtown Lafayette where everyone literally dances the night away to the music of top-notch bands.
By Saturday morning, Festivals Acadiens is in full swing in pretty Girard Park. First a quick explanation - long ago when the festival first began, someone came up with the concept of "four festivals in one", which is why each part of the festival has its own name. The main area is the Festival de Musique Acadienne, where the center stage presents incredible music from the morning till dusk. Encircling the music area, a dozen or so food booths create the Bayou Food Festival. The other "festivals" in different regions of the park are La Vie Cadienne Wetlands & Folklife Festival and the Louisiana Crafts Festival.
On Saturday, the music usually gets under way at 11am. This is the real stuff.
Barring the occasional exception, the lineup exclusively features Louisiana
Cajun bands. Under the October sun, the dancers two-step, swirl and kick up
clouds of waist -high dust. The Bayou Food Festival features familiar area
food from restaurants such as Don's Seafood, Café Vermilionville, Acadiana's
Catfish Shack, Miss Helen's Cajun Seafood Restaurant and T-Coon's, to name
a few. The fun, tasty dishes are local faves such as fried shrimp po-boys, seafood
and artichoke lasagna, jambalaya, soft shell crab po-boys, fried crab cake,
red beans and rice, sausage and tasso pasta, sweet potato pie, bread pudding
and bananas Foster. What's nice about the food choices is that you can find
the traditional dishes you want at such an event, but they have a little added
gourmet touch. Plenty of beer trucks and bottled water vendors provide libations
for the day.
Beyond the food area, the Heritage Pavilion features additional music in a more low-key setting, with acoustical music and workshops. Jam sessions take place throughout the weekend at the Louisiana Folk Roots Tent. Bring your instruments and join in, or just hang around and enjoy the great music in an intimate setting.
As you make your way along the tree-covered walkway, you'll pass near the La Vie Cadienne Wetlands Folklife Festival by Lake Girard. A relatively new addition to the festival, it focuses on the skills and traditions born of the Louisiana wetlands. You can learn how to build a duck blind, set up a goose spread, throw a cast net and rig a shrimp trawl as you view the on-going demonstrations by hunters and fishermen, trappers and boat craftsmen.
Farther down the walkway is the Louisiana Crafts Festival. Held on the museum grounds and in the convention center, more than 75 booths with traditional crafts native to Louisiana and modern-day quality artwork can be found. The "Front Porch", a cute wooden Cajun cabin front porch façade, is the setting for talks on cultural traditions of healing, music and crafts.
2006 dates: October 13-15
Directions: The primary location for the festival is in Girard Park with other activities a quick 1/4 mile walk down the road to the Natural History Museum. From I-10, take the Lafayette Exit # 103a to head south onto U.S Hwy. 167, the Evangeline Thruway (it's called I-49 heading north). Follow the Evangeline Thruway about 2 miles, take a right onto Johnston. Stay on Johnston for about 1 mile and turn left onto St. Mary. Girard Park is on the right, mid-way between Johnston and Pinhook Road.
For more information, call the Lafayette Tourist Commission at 800-346-1958 or 337-232-3737.
Or click here for more information.
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Photography © Syndey Byrd
Story © Julie Posner
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