Doesn’t matter whether you’re a lifelong Louisianian or a first-time visitor to the Pelican State: if you’ve never experienced Louisiana’s River Parishes’ Christmas Eve lighting of the bonfires tradition, this event belongs on your bucket list. During the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, families and friends congregate atop the Mississippi River levees to build more than one hundred towering wooden pyramids, 20 feet tall, highly combustible, and lining the river for miles. Then on Christmas Eve, when the clock strikes 7pm, these pyres will be simultaneously torched, sending flames leaping high into the air. That’s what you call “Christmas Lights—South Louisiana-style!”
A beloved tradition for as far back as local history records, Louisiana’s River Parishes’ lighting of the bonfires has been illuminating the course of the lower Mississippi on Christmas Eve since the 1700s. While it’s believed that early French and German colonists brought the idea of celebratory bonfires with them from Europe, tales of how this became a Christmas tradition range from the notion that the fires were lit to guide Papa Noël on his journey through Louisiana, to the possibility that they were used as navigational signals for ships. Regardless of their roots, today the huge celebration draws thousands to enjoy the roar and crackle of the fires while walking the levee, admiring the handiwork of local bonfire-builders who have been constructing bonfires for generations—and sharing the holiday spirit with friends and community members. The highest concentration of bonfires is to be found on the east bank of the river, in the area around Garyville, Gramercy, and Lutcher, where parking is available. Alternately, visitors can choose to join the bumper-to-bumper procession of vehicles that fills LA Hwy 44 River Road through Gramercy and Lutcher—the epicenter of “Bonfire Country.” Visit ExploreBonfireCountry.com to learn more.
2024 HOLIDAY SEASON EVENTS IN BONFIRE COUNTRY
Nowadays, you don’t need to wait until Christmas Eve to start enjoying this unique brand of South Louisiana Christmas cheer. Throughout Louisiana’s River Parishes, Bonfire Country Season begins right after Thanksgiving, with parades, festivals and holiday happenings in small towns and in public parks leading up to Christmas Eve’s Bonfires on the Levee spectacular. Here’s a taste of what this season has in store in Bonfire Country.
Norco Christmas Parade
Sunday, December 1
On the first Sunday of each December, the Norco Civic Association Christmas Parade rolls to usher Louisiana’s River Parishes’ holiday season. The inspiration for 2024’s parade is Norco Noël: Santa Goes to the Olympics—a theme that participants are enthusiastically working into their costumes and decor. Expect around 70 floats, trucks, dancing groups, and marching bands. Parade begins at the corner of River Road and Apple Street at 1pm. https://lariverparishes.com/event/the-norco-christmas-parade/
The Spirit of Christmas at Destrehan
November 29—December 26
13034 River Road, Destrehan, LA
A family-friendly event hosted by the Greater New Orleans Therapeutic Riding Center (GNOTRC), The Spirit of Christmas is a ¼-mile walking tour that winds through five acres of illuminated live oak trees on the grounds of Destrehan Plantation. The route will be lit by thousands of LED lights and decorations, more than 70 lighted displays, 50 decorated Christmas trees, a lighted tunnel, and features Christmas character greetings, tasty holiday treats, and other sorts of seasonal cheer. The event, which is named “Spirit” for one of GNOTRC’s therapy horses, is a co-production between GNOTRC and Destrehan Plantation. 5:30 pm–11:30 pm nightly at 13034 River Road, Destrehan. Click HERE for more information.
Saturday, December 7
13034 River Road, Destrehan
A special holiday program designed with young visitors in mind, Destrehan Plantation’s Candy Cane Celebration offers an afternoon filled with seasonal activities in and around the historic home’s grounds and old Mule Barn. There will be holiday crafts, reindeer games and prizes, Elf Bingo, visits with Santa and Frosty, storytelling with Mrs. Claus, a candy cane hunt, and complimentary refreshments. $25 adults, $20 kids 3–12 years old. www.destrehanplantation.org
NOPC Farmers Market Spring 2018
35th Annual Festival of the Bonfires
December 13—15, 2024
Lutcher Recreational Park. 2545 Louisiana Avenue, Lutcher, LA, 70071
On the second weekend of December every year for almost four decades, the little town of Lutcher has been firing up its own tradition, celebrating St. James Parish’s famous levee-top lanterns with the Festival of the Bonfires, which serves as a prelude to the world-famous Christmas Eve lighting of the bonfires tradition coming up later in the month. The sparks ignite on Friday afternoon at 2 pm, ringing in three days of live entertainment, unforgettable Cajun food, Santa’s Very Merry Forest, carnival rides, and family fun at Lutcher Recreational Park. Each evening’s activities culminates with a bonfire lighting atop the Mississippi River levee. festivalofthebonfires.org.
Christmas Eve Lighting of the Bonfires
Every December 24
It all leads up to Louisiana’s River Parishes’ world-famous Christmas Eve bonfires—a tradition unique to all the world. Ground zero is on the Mississippi’s east bank, from the levee-top between the towns of Reserve and Paulina. But great bonfire viewing is also to be had from a car, bike, or while strolling along the east bank or west bank River Roads (Louisiana highways 44 and 18). Parking is available in lots and along streets in Lutcher. Bonfires are lit in unison at 7 pm, but arrive well before that to leave time for parking and getting into position. Visit ExploreBonfireCountry.com to learn more.
Zip lining in NOLA
MORE TO EXPLORE
Beyond the bonfires, there’s so much more to explore in Louisiana’s River Parishes, both during Bonfire Country Season, or at any time of year. Here’s a taste:
1: Make adventure your destination by planning a day (or a weekend) in New Orleans Swamp Country, where you can hike, bike, zip-line, take a swamp tour, or fish the Catfish Capital of the Universe.
2: Indulge your appetite for culinary adventures by following the Andouille Trail, where you can “follow the links” (see what we did there?) to learn the history of andouille, the River Parishes’ contribution to Louisiana cuisine, and visit restaurants and stores to buy it, make it, taste it, eat it, or even ship it to your front door.
3: Learn the River Road’s complicated history while visiting historic homes and museums that comprise the 1811 Slave Revolt Trail and New Orleans Plantation Country.