Creole Culture Day

June 14, 2020
Vermilionville

Creole Culture Day is held annually on the second Sunday in June at Vermilionville. This annual celebration explores the past and living history of the Creole heritage. Each year brings a new theme and with it programming that includes sharing circles, cooking demos, children’s activities, live music, jam sessions, exhibits, boat tours, canoeing, and the Richard J. Catalon Award ceremony where they honor an individual who has contributed greatly to the Creole Culture. See below for 2019 schedule of events and check back for the 2020 schedule.

Creole Culture Day

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Upcoming Festival Dates

June 13, 2021
June 12, 2022
June 11, 2023
June 9, 2024

2019 Timeline of Events

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. View Inside Map for All-Day Activities, Exhibits & Demos

10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.: $5 30-minute Boat Tours (Main Boat Dock; purchase tickets in Gift Shop)

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Kids' Arts/Crafts (Chapel)

11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Canoeing (Petit Bayou)

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Cooking Demo: Crawfish Pasta by LA Greedy Girl (Cooking School)

11:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.: - Richard J. Catalon Video (Performance Center)

11:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Richard J. Catalon Award Ceremony for Geneva L. Phillips (PC)

12:00 p.m.: - 2:30 p.m.: Mary Broussard & Sweet La La (Performance Center)

12:00 p.m. – 12:15: Spoken Word Poetry with Daphne Thomas

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: Cooking Demo: Smothered Okra by Lillie Norbert

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: Creole Jam Session led by John Wilson (La Forge)

2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.: Readings of Debbie Clifton by Geneva Phillips

3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Cooking Demo: Sweet Dough Pies by Deloris Sias (Cooking School)

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Sharing Circle: Community Talk: Today’s Creole and African Diaspora Experience in Acadiana led by Conversation Starters (Chapel)

3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: Donna Angelle & the Zydeco Posse (Performance Center)

About the Bayou Vermilion District & Vermilionville

Since 1984, Bayou Vermilion District has worked to beautify, conserve and manage sites along the Vermilion, ensuring the preservation and enhancement of the natural, cultural
resources for its citizens. The Bayou Vermilion District’s mission focuses on the environment and the unique culture of Lafayette. On the cultural side of our mission, the Bayou Vermilion District opened the Vermilionville Living History Museum and Folklife Park as a way to to increase appreciation for the history, culture, and natural resources of the Native Americans, Acadians, Creoles, and peoples of African descent in the Attakapas region through the end of the 1800s. Through historic interpretation and conservation along the Bayou Vermilion, we strive to educate guests on the interactions of these groups and the connections between past and contemporary folklife, thus empowering guests to apply these lessons from our shared histories.