Festivals Acadiens


Acadiens, Festivals

Third weekend in SeptemberA combination of several festivals (food, music, crafts, and more) to celebrate Cajun culture in Lafayette, La., known as the capital of French Louisiana. When they were expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in the 1770s, the French Acadian farmers settled in the area around Lafayette in a region of 22 parishes that came to be known as Acadiana. The word "Cajun" comes from Acadian.
One part of the celebration is the Bayou Food Festival, which offers a range of Cajun cooking from crawfish gumbo to alligator sausage to corn maque-chou. The Louisiana Crafts Festival features handmade Cajun crafts and demonstrations by blacksmiths, decoy carvers, alligator skinners, and storytellers. The Festival de Musique Acadienne features centuries-old music sung in French. Modern crafts are also on exhibit, and lectures and workshops on the Acadian language and history are part of the weekend.
CONTACTS:
Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission
1400 N.W. Evangeline Trwy.
Lafayette, LA 70501
800-346-1958 or 337-232-3737; fax: 337-232-0161
www.festivalsacadiens.com