A list of more than a dozen festivals in Louisiana that highlight the unique culture of the Bayou State.
Donny Broussard and the Louisiana Stars at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in 2022. Ethan Castille/Télé-Louisiane
By Jonathan Olivier
One of the best ways to get acquainted with the traditions of Louisiana is to attend a few of the many festivals that occur throughout the year. Some pay homage to regional traditions, others local musicians or foodways—but they all highlight the state’s unique cultural flair. Most festivals occur when there’s a break in the sub-tropical heat, usually in the spring months of March and April, as well in the fall in October. Our list compiles more than a dozen festivals in Louisiana that celebrate the music, food and culture of the Bayou State.
Music
Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in 2022. Ethan Castille/Télé-Louisiane
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans - April/May
Known affectionately around Louisiana as Jazz Fest, this is one of the biggest festivals in Louisiana of the year. Multiple stages showcase musical genres like blues, Cajun, folk, rock, rap, and Caribbean played by artists from local staples such as Beausoleil and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. The festival also attracts big names like Santana, The Lumineers and Ed Sheeran. Not only a music festival, Jazz Fest celebrates the region’s culture through food and crafts during two action-packed weekends. Tickets are required with several packages available to purchase.
French Quarter Festival
New Orleans - April
This festival, normally held each year in April the weekend before Jazz Fest, highlights the best of New Orleans’ French Quarter culture. Performances by acts like Irma Thomas and Rebirth Brass Band dot the neighborhood, complete with well-known food vendors serving up Creole food. Started in 1984, French Quarter Festival is completely free and open to visitors from around the world.
Essence Festival of Culture
New Orleans - July
Essence Fest was first hosted in 1995 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence, a magazine aimed at African-American women. Today, it has grown to become one of the largest African-American cultural and music events in the country. Typically taking place over the Fourth of July weekend, the festival draws acts like Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige to the Caesars Superdome. The Essence Expo features workshops and presentations, while vendors display art, food and culture from throughout the African diaspora. Tickets are required for entry.
Festival International de Louisiane
Lafayette - April
This five-day, free event in downtown Lafayette is unlike any other in Louisiana. Festival International is a celebration of the region’s unique mix of cultures, with musical acts coming from the regions that shaped south Louisiana, such as France, Canada and Africa, but also others from around the world. Usually occurring at the end of April, Festival International also features an array of local Cajun and Creole food.
Baton Rouge Blues Festival
Baton Rouge - April
This festival in Louisiana’s capital city is free and it pays homage to a distinct genre of music—swamp blues—that developed in the area in the 1950s by artists like Slim Harpo. Originating in 1981 on the campus of Southern University, today the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation produces the festival, bringing together acts from around the world.
Festivals Acadiens et Créoles
Lafayette - October
In 1974, francophone activists organized the Tribute to Cajun Music Festival, birthing today’s festival that has become the largest celebration of Acadiana’s Cajun and Creole culture in Louisiana. The festival’s line up includes local favorites like Wayne Toups and the Lost Bayou Ramblers, as well as the best in the region’s cuisine. Festivals Acadiens et Créoles is typically held each year in October in Girard Park and entry is free.
Food
A few of the various food vendors at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in 2022. Ethan Castille/Télé-Louisiane
Jambalaya Festival
Gonzales - May
This small town south of Baton Rouge bills itself the Jambalaya Capital of the World. Since 1968, thousands of people have flocked here to sample all sorts of jambalaya—a Creole dish of rice, sausage and meat—that results from the many vendors and the festival’s cookoff. Typically held during a weekend in late May, this free festival also features live music, carnival rides, a race and a pageant.
Etouffee Festival
Arnaudville - April
The Etouffee Festival celebrates crawfish etouffee—mudbugs that are “smothered” down in a gravy. Arnaudville is home to a sizable population of native Louisiana francophones, as well as cultural hub Nunu Arts and Culture Collective. Typically taking place in late April, this festival features live music, carnival rides and a cookoff.
Amite Oyster Festival
Amite - March
This small town on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain traces its connection to the oyster industry to 1949 when Carlo’s Oyster House opened up. In 1976, this celebration was birthed as Amite Oyster Day and today it’s held in March—one of the only festivals in Louisiana celebrating this unique part of the state’s culture. The free event features a cookoff, music and plenty of oyster dishes.
Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
Breaux Bridge - May
In early May at Parc Hardy in Breaux Bridge, the Crawfish Festival welcomes vendors offering crawfish prepared in just about every way imaginable: etouffee, boiled, boudin, bisques and more. The free event always features local Cajun and Zydeco artists, along with a parade and crawfish eating contest.
Scott Boudin Festival
Scott - April
Scott is known as the Boudin Capital of the World for good reason—it’s home to a concentration of establishments like Billy’s, Don’s, Kartchner’s and Best Stop. The Boudin Festival celebrates all things boudin—a sort of sausage filled with rice and pork—supplied by local vendors. This free event usually occurs in April and tickets are required for entry.
Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival
Ponchatoula - April
Ponchatoula, located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, is the Strawberry Capital of the World. Fittingly, since 1972 this festival has celebrated all things strawberries, typically in April. This ticketed event features a parade, live music and plenty of opportunities to sample local strawberry products from farmers of the region.
Giant Omelette Celebration
Abbeville - November
In the 1980s, members of the Abbeville Chamber of Commerce went to Bessieres, France, where they witnessed an omelette festival. While in France, they were knighted as members of a brotherhood of chefs, called the confrerie, and Abbeville hosted its own omelette festival in 1984–one of seven such festivals around the francophone world. Each year, the chefs use thousands of eggs, along with hundreds of onions and other ingredients, to cook the massive egg dish on a 12-foot skillet in the middle of town that is then eaten by participants.
French Food Festival
Larose - October
This festival celebrates the French roots that permeate part of Louisiana’s culinary history, a legacy that includes contributions from many ethnic groups like West Africans, Native Americans, and Spanish Caribbean peoples. Hosted by the Larose Civic Center as a fundraiser, the French Food Festival features an array of dishes that have put Louisiana cuisine on the map: gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya and boudin.
Culture
Most of the festivals in Louisiana feature live music and dancing. Ethan Castille/Télé-Louisiane
Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival
Morgan City - September
Located near the mouth of the Atchafalaya River, Morgan City plays host to this festival with roots dating back to a blessing of the fleet in 1936. Today, the blessing of the fleet remains a critical part of this free festival that takes place in September, paying homage to the shrimpers and oil field workers of the region. There’s also music, a car show, parade and a 5K.
International Rice Festival
Crowley - October
Held every third weekend in October since 1937, the Rice Festival is one of the oldest festivals in Louisiana. This region of the state is known for its abundance of rice agriculture, and this festival pays homage to the industry and its importance to Louisiana. Tickets are required for entry, allowing you access to live music with acts like Wayne Toups.
Rayne Frog Festival
Rayne - May
This small town in southwest Louisiana is known as the Frog Capital of the World. Although Rayne was named after B.W.L. Rayne, a railroad employee, it’s close to the Louisiana French word “raine,” which means frog. In the 20th century, the town was the largest exporter of frog legs in the world. At this festival, you can expect plenty of frog dishes and frog races along with live music and pageants.
Rougarou Fest
Houma - October
This festival celebrates the folklore of south Louisiana, owing its name to the region’s tale of a werewolf that was traditionally called the loup garou (pronounced rou garou). Admission is free, but all sales like rides and food benefit the Wetlands Discovery Center, a non-profit dedicated to studying the state’s coastal land loss crisis. One of the festival’s main highlights is its costume contest, which was ranked in the top 10 list of costume parties in the country by USA Today.
Blackpot Festival & Cookoff
Lafayette - October
Held in Lafayette’s living history museum, Vermillionville, Blackpot has amassed a cult following over the years that has turned it into one of the region’s liveliest festivals. The ticketed event includes live music on Friday night, which continues the next day along with a cookoff featuring an array of categories, like rice and gravy or gumbo. Many folks camp out on the museum grounds throughout the festival. The week before the festival, known as Blackpot Camp, features music and dance classes taught by the area’s experts.
Los Isleños Fiesta
St. Bernard - March
This festival celebrates Louisiana’s Isleños, a group of Canary Islanders who settled in the state in the late 18th century. Since these communities were isolated, many Isleños continued speaking Spanish well into the 20th century (although only a few speakers remain). Festival goers can sample Canarian dishes like ropa vieja paired with Canarian wine. Proceeds go to the Los Isleños Museum Complex in St. Bernard.
Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival
New Orleans - March
This festival in March celebrates the literary scene of New Orleans, owing its name to Tennessee Williams who lived in the city at many periods throughout his life. The ticketed event based in the French Quarter features panels, book signings and talks from authors and poets.
Louisiana Book Festival
Baton Rouge - October
This festival brings together some of the best authors who call the Bayou State home. Held each year in October near the grounds of the Louisiana State Library, the free event hosts book signings, panels, workshops and events honoring talented Louisiana writers.