Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival - 5/02/15

Festivals seem to occur every weekend in Acadiana (Cajun country) and this weekend was no exception. The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival is one of the largest gatherings of Cajun, Zydeco, and Swamp Pop (never even knew that was a term!) musicians. Over the the 3-day weekend, 30 bands performed on 3 stages. There are cajun dance lessons and contests as well as crawfish eating contests.

Our friend that we met at Betty's RV Park, Renate, accompanied us to the Festival Saturday. There was music, food, carnival games and rides, and lots of food and drinks. Because I forgot my camera (can you believe it??), most of these photos are the ones that Renate took and shared with me (thank you!) The others were taken with John's iphone.

The festival was about 50 minutes from where we are staying in Abbeville, LA. Admission was $10/adult and we ended up paying $15 for parking. There were other parking options that cost $5, but we opted for convenience. I was not permitted to carry a bottle of water onto grounds as the folks that run these functions prefer that you purchase all food and drink at the festival.

Musicians. The first band we saw on the Festival Stage was the Huval Family Band followed by Wayne & Same Ole Two Step.

On the Crawfish Stage was Jambalaya with special guest D.L. Menard (aka "Cajun Hank Williams and Emmy Award Winner).

Dancing. There was plenty of two-stepping going on at all of the stages.

Food and Drink.  Renate and I ate some crawfish and John had a "big ole" turkey leg. We enjoyed some lemonade, but, of course, I had a delicious rum daiquiri ($20 for one and a refill in a large souvenir plastic container). There were many food options here with crawfish, of course, topping the list!

Carnival Rides and Games. All day passes or individual ride tickets could be purchased.

Vendors. We enjoyed perusing the wide array of Cajun-themed merchandise at numerous booths.

People watching is always one of the best parts of an event like this.

Be sure to bring chairs if you want to listen to the music. Lots of folks brought umbrellas or canopies to provide some shade from the hot weather. There are only a couple pavilions with picnic tables to enjoy the food you can purchase here.

Cajun poker lessons were provided under a tent near the vendors (not real money...)  And the "king" of the 2015 festival also stopped by while we were there!

This festival is held the first week of May annually. Check out this website for information about the 2015 event and next year for the 2016 one. This was a wonderful way to experience the essence of the Cajun culture here in southern Louisiana. It was fun to go to it with a new-found friend and see three other couples from Betty's RV Park there enjoying the music and food, too.

Website:  www.bbcrawfest.com