International Acadian Festival
Colorful Cajun-ness
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Bayou Plaquemine Waterfront Park 57845 Foundry Street, Plaquemine, Louisiana 70764
Courtesy of the International Acadian Festival, from the 2020 Festival.
To honor the Acadian roots shared by so many area residents, Iberville Parish holds a Water Ceremony every year, a re-enactment of Longfellow’s poem in which Acadian exile Emmeline LaBiche (Evangeline) travels down Bayou Plaquemine on her journey to the Teche Country in search of her lover, Louis Arceneaux (Gabriel). As the story goes, she and her Native American guide spent the night on the banks of the bayou in what is now the City of Plaquemine.
In the present-day ceremony, the Indian princesses and Evangeline (queen of the festival) arrive to greet the crowd at the Waterfront Park by fire-lit pirogues. All this, plus the typical festival trimmings: rides, games, music, Cajun food, 4-H booths, arts & crafts, cornhole tournament, and the International Acadian Festival Parade. $26 at the gate. 57845 Foundry Street, Plaquemine. acadianfestival.org.
