Louisiana Festivals

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Louisiana Festivals
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Shrimp Festival
Every year Delcambre, Louisiana blesses the fleet
of its shrimp boats to begin what is known as the
Shrimp Festival. Delcambre has one of the most
productive fleets in the region. The third full
weekend in August is the weekend dedicated to
celebrating this economic livelihood. The
weekend is filled with pageants, cook-offs, food
booths, carnival rides, and fais-do-dos.
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Rice Festival
Crowley is the home of the Rice Festival. It is
held the third weekend in October and is one of
Louisianas oldest and largest festivals. This
festival calls attention to the importance of
rice in Louisianas economy. The weekend is
filled with balls and banquets, eating contests,
cooking contests, livestock shows, musical
entertainment, pageants, and parades.
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Frog Festival
The Frog Festival is an unusual but exciting
weekend dedicated to celebrating Raynes heritage
of being the largest worldwide shipper of frog
legs throughout the 20th century. The weekend is
filled with activities such as a frog jumping
contest, a diaper race, frog races, fais-do-dos,
carnival rides, food booths, and pageants. The
festival taken place in November for the last few
years, but at one time it was held in September.
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Festival Acadien

Festival Acadien is a combination
of cultural
festivals celebrated in
Lafayette, Louisiana on
the third
weekend of September. Festival de

Musique Acadienne attracts the best of Cajun
and Zydeco bands from across the country and
around the world. It was originally designed to
attract the younger crowd in order to educate
them in the Cajun culture. Heritage Pavilion is
one of the most unique music venues at Festivals
Acadiens. Girard Park is the location of
workshops and a performance stage used for
performances by the best in Cajun and Creole
music. Anyone can bring and instrument and jam in
the sessions that take place throughout the
weekend at the Louisiana Folk Roots Tent. The
Louisiana Crafts Fair presents traditional and
fine artists and craftspeople demonstrating and
selling. While listening to the unique Cajun and
Zydeco music you can shop at the Crafts Fair
which is located within walking distance from the
music venues.
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Jazz Festival
New Orleans is the birth place of jazz. The
jazz festival, however, is not just a
celebration of jazz, but instead a celebration
of the music created from within the boundaries
of Louisiana. The last week of April and the
first week of May are dedicated to the
inspiration of music. The festival features a
wide variety of venders filling the streets with
local food and crafts. There is a large area
dedicated to the cultural and historical
practices uniquely found in Louisiana.
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Yambilee Festival
The Yambilee Festival is held annually in
Opelousas, Louisiana during the last full week in
October. It was born over a cup of coffee
between two friends as a way to honor the local
sweet potato industry. It was said that this
festival was to assist in the advancement of the
material prosperity and progress of the State of
Louisiana. This week long festival includes
activities such as parades, pageants, carnival
rides, music, and food.
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Crawfish Festival
In 1960 the Legislation named Breaux Bridge,
Louisiana the Crawfish Capital of the world.
Since then every May Breaux Bridge has held an
annual Crawfish Festival. This festival has
become one of the largest gatherings of world
famous Cajun, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop music. Over
a period of three days approximately thirty bands
will play while hungry people flock there to
enjoy the many dishes prepared with crawfish.
The weekend entertainment also includes
cook-offs, crawfish races, dance contests,
parades, and carnival rides.
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Cattle Festival
Abbeville, Louisiana holds the Annual Louisiana
Cattle Festival on the first full week in
October. It was originally known as the Dairy
Festival but was changed to the Cattle Festival
to honor the cattle industry within Louisiana.
Each year outstanding people are selected for
honors such as Grand Marshall, Citizen of the
Year, Outstanding Cattleman, Restauranteur of the
Year, and Outstanding 4-H Scholarship Winner.
The fun-filled three-day Festival includes events
such Cooking Contest, Queen's Pageant, Cattle
Livestock Show, Parade, Live Entertainment,
Street Dancing "Fais Do Do" and Street Fair.
Booths with Food, Drinks, Souvenirs, Arts and
Crafts, and Cajun Hospitality are available
during the entire Festival.
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Duck Festival
In 1977 Gueydan was named the Duck Capital
ofAmerica by Louisiana Secretary of State. An
annual fair is held the weekend before Labor Day
dedicated to the hunting heritage of the
Acadiana region. In addition to great
food and bands, there are parades, pageants,
auctions, carnival rides, and arts and crafts.
Contests such as the duck and goose calling,
skeet shooting, and cook-offs held the weekend of
the Duck Festival.
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Cotton Festival
The second full weekend in October, Ville Platte
hosts the Louisiana Cotton Festival and Le
Tournoi de la Ville Platte. The festivities
begin on Tuesday evening when authentic Acadian
music, followed by the crowning of the Le Roi and
La Reine (king and queen) of the local nursing
home. On Wednesday, the local 4-H members hold a
cookery contest and the Cotton Pickin' Pet Show.
There is a carnival all week long for the
children to enjoy. A beautiful harvest mass is
celebrated to give thanks to our Creator for the
bountiful crops followed by a colorful parade
with floats, visiting queens, marching bands and
the Tournoi riders dressed as knights ready for
battle. After the parade, the riders run Le
Tournoi (the
traditional jousting tournament). Riders
representing the Knights
of the Round Table carry lances that they
use to try to collect
seven small iron rings (representing evils
that destroy cotton)
located around a quarter-mile circular track.
The Tournoi Queen
accepts the winning knight in the Ball that
evening concluding the
festival.
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Peach Festival
The city of Ruston has the largest orchard in
Louisiana. They celebrate each year with an
annual Peach Festival held on the fourth weekend
in June. This festival has a variety of
entertainment such as a pie eating contest,
fishing tournament, rodeo, and antique car show.
The Queen Dixie Gem and the Princess Peach can
dance the night away at the Peach Jam in the
evenings.
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Strawberry Festival
In April, Ponchatoula, Louisiana, hosts the
Annual Strawberry Festival. This festival prides
itself knowing that the only venders allowed on
the grounds are non-profit organizations. The
celebration includes a festival ball, talent
show, Miss. Strawberry Pageant, and baking
contest. Food booths and carnival rides are
located all around the fair grounds.
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Christmas Festival
The Christmas Festival of Lights is located in
Natchitoches, Louisiana. Beginning at the end
of November and continuing until January it is
one of the nations oldest community-based
holiday celebration. Mini-festivals are held
every weekend in December. The Christmas Festival
is on the first weekend of December. This
festival brings in over 100,000 people each year
whom wish to enjoy the parade, live
entertainment, food, fairs, craft shows and
fireworks shown over the Cane River Lake. Some
even take a nightly tour by street car or horse
and carriage.
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Pecan Festival
The Louisiana Pecan Festival takes place the
first full weekend of November each year. The
Queens Pageant is held in October officially
kicking off the festival. Festival activities
include craft booths, costume contests, musical
entertainment, cooking contest, carnival rides,
and fireworks.
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Cracklin Festival
The Cracklin Festival began in 1985 as a
fund-raiser for the Port Barre, Lions Club. The
profits are donated to people with special causes
or needs. Like most festivals, the Cracklin
Festival has a variety of entertainment for all
ages. Great food, live bands and carnival rides
fill the fair grounds the second week in November
for the Cracklin Festival. There is a Queens
Pageant with fifteen different age division,
parades, a craft show and of course a Cracklin
Cook-off.
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Gumbo Festival
Fun rides, live music, and over 2000 gallons of
gumbo is exactly what one would expect in Bridge
City for their annual Gumbo Festival held the
second full weekend of October. One can enjoy
plenty of Cajun and Zydeco music at the
fais-do-dos. There is also a Beautiful Child
Contest, and a 5K run over the Huey P. Long
Bridge. King Creole Gumbo and Miss Creole Gumbo
will be on hand to greet and welcome everyone
visiting for the festive occasion.
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Jambalaya Festival
Gonzales, Louisiana was named the Jambalaya
Capital of the World by Governor John McKeithen
in 1968. With this wonderful news a festival
was born. In the early years of this festival,
the Jambalaya Queen would reign over events, like
boxing on the football field, bingo in the gym,
dancing to the music of five local bands, and the
children carnival. In recent years the festival
includes live bands, various cooking contests, a
5K run, and carnival rides for the kids. It has
grown from having only 13 cooks participating in
this event to having at least 69 cooks competing
for the Jambalaya World Title.
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Zwolle Tamale Fiesta
The three-day event is held in Zwolle each year
the second weekend in October on the Zwolle
Festival Grounds. The Fiesta itself stems from a
combination of Indian and Spanish efforts to
produce the greatest hot tamale in the country.
The Zwolle Tamale Fiesta is this towns way of
recognizing the area's heritage. There are plenty
of delicious hot tamales, entertainment, arts and
crafts, dancing, parades, and children's
activities. The Fiesta is fun for the entire
family.  Activities planned for the Fiesta
include a tamale making demonstration, tamale
eating and tamale judging contest, treasure hunt,
street dance, arts crafts, and a parade. It
also features pageants, arm wrestling contests
for all ages, Spanish costume contests, rides and
food booths, the very popular Fiesta Mud Bog Race
for trucks.
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Sugarcane Festival
New Iberia honors the sugar industry on the last
full weekend of September with its annual
Sugarcane Festival. Weekend activities include
an Annual Sugarcane Festival Run, The Kings
Reception, The Queens Sugar Contest, a festive
ball and the blessing of the crops. The weekend
is filled with craft shows, cooking contests,
fais-do-dos, and firework displays. There are
many parades to see this weekend but the most
entertaining would be the annual boat parade. In
the boat parade people decorate their boats and
ride along Bayou Tech tossing candy into the
crowds of people waving along the bayou.
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Swine Festival
In 1966, the first Swine Festival was held in
Basile, Louisiana.
Its purpose was to express the importance
of raising and selling
feeder pigs. Although swine
producing is no longer an industry the
people of Basile still celebrate this festival to
promote the swine industry and the Cajun Culture.
You can find entertainment of all kinds at the
Swine Festival. King Porky and Queen Petunia have
put together a variety of activities such as
boudin eating, hog calling, and greasy pig
chases, live bands, and great food. Throughout
the weekend you can find young and old on the
carnival rides, watching the parade, or eating
the wonderful Cajun cuisines.
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Use three festivals from this presentation and
complete the chart below. Write a brief summary
about your findings.
Festival Name WhereCity WhenMonth ParadeYes or No QueenYes or No FoodYes or No DancingYes or No RidesYes or No Something Unique