There's So Much More than Crawfish

The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival has stiff competition by way of the Jazz Festival in New Orleans, but it does its fair share of gathering Cajun and zydeco music lovers. Most of the time, once a visitor has attended the Crawfish Festival, he or she returns year after year. The festival offers its 35,000 visitors a much more laid back atmosphere—and a much more affordable one.

The festival’s appeal lies in the traditions of the people that produce it. “I think the two biggest draws are the food and the music,” explained Bernard. “The Cajun cuisine is one thing that visitors definitely enjoy. And we are a little more unique as far as music; our music is strictly from the culture—it’s either swamp pop, Cajun, or zydeco. When visitors can come see thirty of the best-known bands in that tradition of music, they don't want to pass it up.” Indeed.

It’s well established that the festival features incomparable Cajun cuisine, especially highlighting Louisiana’s most recognizable seafood. Plus, it’s worth mentioning that each of the sixteen vendors offers something that the other vendors don’t, ensuring the maximum variety of eats. Then, there’s the unbeatable, homegrown music, which plays till midnight on Friday and Saturday and till 4 pm on Sunday on three stages. What else?

Lots else. Anyone can enter a crawfish into the popular crawfish races—whether the competitor is an elite crustacean who’s been training all year or one rescued from a barrel of soon-to-be-boiled brethren. There’s also the bourré demonstration presented as part of the festival’s heritage tent. Bourré is a card-game that originated in the area, and trick-playing locals will be explaining the rules.

If you want to look like you know what you are doing on the dance floor, then you can also take Cajun dance lessons from Calvin and Lou Courville; they will demonstrate and teach lessons on waltz, two-step, and other popular forms in four different sessions during the weekend.

Sunday wraps with a parade honoring the Crawfish King and Queen. Hours, ticket prices, driving directions, and a schedule of events can all be found at the festival’s website: bbcrawfest.com.