Festival celebrates all things French

As you cross the Intracoastal Canal and Bayou Lafourche heading to the annual French Food Festival, your senses are met with the Zydeco/Cajun beats and the aromas of boiled crawfish, shrimp, crabs and other Cajun delights.

The free festival celebrates what it means to be Cajun – through food, art, history, dance and music. And Larose is rich in its French Cajun culture.

Years ago, determined to build a community civic center, the residents got together to raise money and showcase the pride of Larose. In May 1981, their dream was realized and the Larose Regional Park and Civic Center was opened.

To celebrate, a festival was held just prior to Halloween. A huge tent was erected on the park grounds, and a number of traditional foods, including bouillabaisse, a traditional fish stew, were featured.

Today, the tent is still the center point of the French Food Festival, according to publicity chairperson Jasmine Sauder.

For 34 years, visitors and locals have enjoyed famous Cajun and Creole dishes prepared by park volunteers and their families. Many of the dishes have been passed down from generation to generation, she said.

Nearly 30 different specialty dishes are served at the festival.

“French food is a necessity here,” festival executive Brian Detillier said. “It is the biggest draw to the festival. Of course we will have traditional festival foods, but then you get into the more Cajun foods.”

Shrimp boulettes, crawfish etouffee, seafood gumbo, alligator sauce piquant, poboys, jambalaya, crab patties and seafood pistolettes are all part of the fare.

The festival also features carnival rides.

Children can purchase the pay-one-ride bracelets for $13 for the entire day. And there’s also an old-fashioned carnival midway, cotton candy and caramel apples.

A new feature at this year’s French Food Festival is the folk-life and culture tent. There, festival-goers can discuss the many books on Louisiana and Cajun/French culture.

“This year, we are making a huge push to make our folk-life demonstrations more interactive and informative while trying to keep our traditions alive,” Sauder said.

What would any Cajun festival be without music?

The French Food Festival’s lineup includes the Chee-Weez, Gary T, Waylon Thibodeaux, Steve Williams Band, Wayne Foret and other swamp pop and rock bands.

There will also be a festival art show and contest sponsored by Les Artistes du Bayou. New Orleans artist Richard Thomas, who took shelter in the area during Hurricane Katrina, will donate a poster to the festival as a “thank you” to the community for taking in his family, she said.

“The Larose citizen volunteers make the event possible every year,” Sauder said. “They donate their time, crops and talents to benefit their community civic center, which does not receive designated parish, state or federal funds.”

Prior to the food festival, a queen’s pageant and dinner will be held Oct. 20, and a children’s pageant is set for Oct. 21.

The French Food Festival kicks off Oct. 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Oct. 27, from 11:30 to 2 a.m.; and Oct. 28, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more pageant or festival information, call (985) 693-7355.

Expect to find a wide array of traditional festival foods and Cajun and Creole fare at the French Food Festival. From shrimp boulettes to seafood gumbo and alligator sauce piquant, French food is, of course, a necessity.