76th Shrimp & Petro Fest looks to top itself

Riding high from 2010’s record crowds, planners of the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival are raising the stakes for their Labor Day affair.

Added to this year’s celebration is a second music stage, and festival director Lee Delaune says they’re teaming with the New Orleans’ Audubon Institute to beef up children’s activities. More than 160 crafters are set to display their goods. And for the first time ever, there’s talk of allowing commercial food vendors, including New Orleans’ restaurants, at the fairgrounds.

Also, noted artist, scientist, diver, angler, conservationist and explorer Guy Harvey has been added to the roster.

“We set records last year because of the [Deepwater Horizon] oil spill,” Delaune said. “People came because they wanted to see how we could put on a festival in spite of what happened in the Gulf.

“We showed them,” he continued. “We showed them how we have concern for our people, our shrimping and oil industries and, frankly, about our need as a people to have a good time.”

The 76th Annual Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival kicks off Thursday, Aug. 31, and continues through Labor Day, Sept. 5.

The staging area for Louisiana’s oldest chartered festival is Morgan City, between Lawrence Park and the plaza below the E.J. Lionel Grizzaffi Bridge.

Mitchell Brothers returns with its popular amusement rides and midway. Pay-one-price tickets are available Thursday, Sept. 1, from 5 to 9 p.m., through Monday, Sept. 5, from noon to 4 p.m. and again from 5 to 9 p.m.

“Continually, I am amazed at how the reputation of this festival keeps growing,” said Delaune, who has directed the event since 2006. “People know us.”

A staple in south Louisiana, the Shrimp & Petro fest celebrates the region’s top industries and the people who keep those enterprises running.

The challenge planners face, Delaune explained, is to bring fresh, new ideas to the festivities to keep crowds coming back. And this year’s six-day event is packed with new fun.

First, the Audubon Institute is bringing its Zoo Mobile and Wetlands Express to the Children’s Village on Saturday, Sept. 3. The mobile education program offers youngsters an up-close experience with the wetland’s most important inhabitants. The connection to wetland animals is designed to foster future stewardship to protect Louisiana’s most important resource: the wetlands.

“Our children are the future of this festival,” Delaune said. “If we don’t get them involved now with events like this, we’re going to lose their attention.”

Aqua balls, plastic shelled balls that young people climb into and battle against each other in a swimming pool, should also offer some cool relief.

A celebrated family affair, Delaune said this year’s Shrimp & Petro fest has fun for moms and dads, too.

“We really are going to have a different craft show this year,” assistant director Lee Darce said. “I have so many people selling unique and different things.”

Among the 160 different items are antique ceiling tins, wooden toys, a pottery wheel, baby beds and clothes, wood-bowl carvings, fresh water pearls, girls’ dresses and more. Morgan City High School’s Future Farmers of America are selling handmade cypress chairs, wings and metal works to raise money to support the program.

“Every year, we have a 35 percent turnover,” Darce explained. “We make the best use of it by inviting unique vendors, creating exciting opportunities for our visitors who like to shop. Our goal is to be unique. We don’t want the same thing over and over.”

The 34th Annual Arts & Crafts Show and Sale is situated under the U.S. Highway 90 overpass.

Men will enjoy the Labor Day Bass Tournament, which kicks off Saturday, Sept. 3, at Doiron’s Landing in Stephensville. Or, for car aficionados, the Festival Car Show at M.D. Shannon School grounds may be more your speed.

Everyone is sure to enjoy the Children’s Day Street Parade Saturday, Sept. 3, and the Blessing of the Fleet Sunday, Sept. 4, along the Atchafalaya River. And the Cultural & Heritage Expo, in the building adjacent to the festival office, is a reminder of St. Mary’s rich lineage.

Building on Morgan City’s popular “Rhythm on the River,” Delaune said the River Stage will feature VOODOO Bayou and Dejaˆ Vu. On the main stage, meanwhile, are Category 6, Allison Collins, Chubby Carrier and Amanda Shaw, David St. Romain and the Don Rich Band among others.

“We’ve got a lot of new groups who have never played the festival before,” Delaune said. “We’re really excited about the bands.”

Given the event’s name, Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, visitors would expect the top-selling dish to include shrimp. But Delaune predicts it will be a Chalmette find, a soft-shell crab po-boy, and crawfish bread that delights the crowd.

“The crawfish is actually baked into the bread,” he said. “When I saw this guy at a festival in Chalmette, there was a barricade in front of the booth because of the large crowd. Frankly, I can’t wait for him to get here … for folks that love to eat, like me.”

La. Shrimp & Petroleum Fest

Where: Lawrence Park

When: Aug. 31 through Sept. 5

Cost: Free admission with cost for food, rides

For More Info: (800) 256-2931 or shrimp-petrofest.org or cajuncoast.org