Cajun Crawfish (photo by Robin May, courtesy of Festivals Acadiens)

Laissez Le Bon Temps Roulet! (Let the Good Times Roll!)

Festivals Acadiens started in 1972 as an effort to keep Cajun culture alive. Since then it has grown into a 3-day event that attracts people of many different nationalities from all over the world. Whether you're among the young or the young at heart, you can bet that Festivals Acadiens has something that will tickle your fancy. From Friday, October 12th to Sunday the 14th you can join the folks in Lafayette, Lousiana for good music, good food, and good times!

C'est bon (That's good) is the best way to describe authentic Cajun and Creole cooking, and nowhere in the world is the variety greater than at the Bayou Food Festival in Lafayette. Try fried soft-shell crab, seafood and artichoke lasagna, barbecue boudin, crawfish fettucini, corn and crab bisque, meat pies, catfish courtbouillion, wild game jambalaya, bread pudding and pralines. You can find all this and more as the area's best restaurants and caterers turn out to showcase their finest specialties. The Bayou Food Festival is in Girard Park adjacent to the Festival de Musique Acadienne and admission is free. All proceeds from the Festival will help fund the Lafayette Jaycees' community projects.

Festival de Musique Acadienne will showcase the best of Cajun and Zydeco music beneath the spreading oaks of Girard Park. Festival de Musique Acadienne, celebrating 32 years of entertainment, originated as the Tribute to Cajun Music Festival, an event that was designed to attract and educate the younger generation to the traditional values of the Cajun culture. Festival de Musique Acadienne now attracts Louisiana's best Cajun and Zydeco bands and draws thousands of people from across the country and around the world.

Louisiana Folk Roots presents Cajun and Creole Music Jam Sessions during Festival Acadiens. Jam sessions will take place throughout Saturday and Sunday in Girard Park. Anyone can bring an instrument and join in or just hang around and enjoy the great music of others. Louisiana Folk Roots is a non-profit organization dedicated to nurturing the unique folkways and cultural resources that are of such legendary abundance in Louisiana. Its purpose is to foster, encourage, share and preserve traditional expressions of Louisiana folk culture, with an emphasis on Cajun and Creole heritage, through performances and other types of related educational activities.

The Louisiana Craft Fair is the newest addition to Festivals Acadiens, presenting traditional and fine artists and craftspeople from across Louisiana. The Louisiana Crafts Guild, a non-profit statewide organization created for the professional craftsperson, hosts the Louisiana Craft Fair. The Craft Fair will be held in Girard Park near Girard Park Lake and admission is free, making the entire Festival a free event. The Louisiana Craft Fair will feature dozens of crafts booths. Craftspeople will be on hand selling their wares. Some of the crafts available include wood furniture , jewelry, Houma Indian crafts, gourds, pottery, kaleidoscopes, stained glass, soaps, musical instruments, photography, pen and ink drawings and silk.

To get more info on the attractions go to: Festivals Acadiens

To get info on visiting Lafayette, including accomodations, go to: Lafayette Visitors Commission