There’s plenty of places for authentic Cajun goods

Dear Editor,

In response to your “From the Editor” column in the August issue of the Gumbo, I would like to give you a brief list of where to find some of those authentic Cajun items visitors to our area are always in search of. Try some of these places and you won’t be disappointed.

Laurel Valley Village Sugar Plantation & Museum

LA Hwy. 308, just south of Thibodaux (across the bayou for NSU)

This place is loaded with treasures! Everything from homemade items to books, cook books, real cane syrup, T-shirts, Cajun CDs, art work, etc. … the list goes on. There is no admission fee to tour the village/museum.

Jean Lafitte Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center

314 St. Mary St.,Thibodaux

The JLWACC has a wonderful gift shop area where you can get just about every book written on Cajun culture as well as books on the Old South. They carry books and CDs that teach how to speak Cajun French. They have Cajun toys, bonnets and so much more. The exhibit area tells the story of the Cajuns and there is no admission fee. They offer tours of Historic Downtown Thibodaux, a Cajun Jam Session on Monday evenings and boat tours of Bayou Lafourche.

BeB’s Place

Located one mile south of the Lafourche Parish Welcome Center in Raceland.

This is the home of the unique, handcrafted cloth Cajun Sha BeBe Dolls.

This cute little shop also sells Cajun crafts such a hand painted oyster shells. They also carry Cajun CDs as well as local books and other treasures. And let’s not forget the wonderful little gift shops at many of our area Swamp Tours. Places such as Torres Cajun Swamp Tours and Zam’s Bayou Swamp Tours in Kraemer as well as Author Matherne’s Airboat Tours at the foot of the Bayou Des Allemands bridge sell goodies such as alligator heads, alligator back scratchers, key chains with a small alligator foot on them as well as t-shirts and other things that a visitor to our area would take home to show off there trip of South Louisiana.

I hope that you have found these places to be what you have been in search of.

Peggy Benoit

Travel Counselor & Administrative Assistant

Lafourche Parish Tourist Commission