Sharing the food, music, culture, and history at the heart of Cajun & Creole Country.

Biggest Spring Events in Lafayette

As the chilly air turns into a warm breeze, there's no better time to get out and about in Lafayette than spring. Like the flowers, celebrations of Cajun culture, food, and music bloom during the springtime and color the calendar with some of the city's finest annual events. If you can smell the…

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Mardi Gras Frequently Asked Questions

South Louisiana is home to the greatest free party on earth, a colorful celebration known as Mardi Gras. In Lafayette, LA, residents celebrate in many ways, including the traditional courir de Mardi Gras; parades with marching bands, beads, and doubloons; Mardi Gras Indians with elaborate dancing…

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Living It Up Before Giving It Up - Cajun & Creole Carnival

South Louisiana is home to the greatest free party on earth, a colorful celebration known as Mardi Gras. But what most people see on television the weekend before Lent starts much earlier. The entire Mardi Gras season runs several winter weeks in Lafayette and throughout the Acadiana region and…

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Lafayette Mardi Gras: Revelry For All Ages

No one knows how to throw a party quite like South Louisiana, especially during Mardi Gras season. Whether in the city of Lafayetteor the rural fields of Evangeline and Acadia parishes, Mardi Gras offers revelry for all ages. Here in Acadiana, there's little exclusivity regarding Mardi Gras event…

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Mardi Gras Royalty

Our Mardi Gras season, which stretches from the Twelfth Night of Christmas or Jan. 6 to Mardi Gras day, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the advent of Lent, is filled with extravagant balls and pageantry like no other. Organizations that host Carnival parades, balls, and pageants are known in…

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Dance For A Chicken: Cajun Country Mardi Gras

Most people recognize Mardi Gras as parades, masked balls, and other urban events, but in Cajun Country, a unique side of Mardi Gras takes place in the countryside and dates back centuries. In Acadiana, a region surrounding Lafayette, many towns celebrate the ancient Carnival tradition of courirs…

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Mardi Gras Treasures

Carnival is the season of merriment leading up to Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent. During Carnival, south Louisiana celebrates with parades and other special events. Krewes are the organizations that sponsor the parades, which are sometimes preceded by krewe…

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History of Festivals Acadiens et Creoles

In the 1930s, folklorists John and Alan Lomax visited South Louisiana to record Cajun and Creole songs for the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song (now the Archive of Folk Culture). It was the first time someone recorded Cajun and Creole songs on tape for archival purposes. In 1964…

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Family Friendly Guide to Lafayette Festivals

Here in Lafayette, LA we are known for our joie de vivre , a French expression meaning our exuberant love of life. We love hosting lively festivals to honor our rich cultures, and simply to have a good time with friends and family. Lafayette is famous for its year-round festivals celebrating…

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