Thibodeauxville a Main Street hit

Thibodeauxville got its start in 1992 from humble beginnings – 13 arts and crafts booths, food vendors and approximately 300 festival-goers.

Today, the festival has grown to include 150 vendors and 15,000 visitors. Event organizer Rhonda Dempster is expecting this year’s Thibodeauxville to be the city’s biggest.

“Support from the public and vendors has been tremendous,” she said. “For the first time in the 14 years that I’ve been doing this event, it’s the first time that we’ve completely sold out of booths.”

A bonanza for early Christmas shoppers, Dempster said this year’s sale items include jewelry, birdhouses, wind chimes, baby items and plenty of baked goods.

“There’s a mix of any- and everything,” she said. “Anyone looking for ideas or something unique should find it here.”

Thibodeauxville also enjoys a reputation for serving up great south Louisiana cuisine, and Dempster promises more of the same this year.

“We have everything from the traditional hamburgers and hot dogs to Crawfish Monica, po-boys, buffalo wings, crawfish etouffee, crawfish pie and pizza,” she said. “And Wow (Café and Wingery in Thibodaux) is doing their famous fried pickles, which are always such a huge hit.”

For dessert, the choices are endless: snowballs, ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter fudge and pralines, to name a few.

From the festival’s four stages, entertainers will keep the crowd engaged. Performers include the Bayou Dixieland Jazz Band, Water’s Edge, French Bred (with a special appearance by Santa Claus) and Christian music and dance groups. The stages are located on St. Philip, Third and Fourth streets.

Possibly the most-anticipated event at Thibodeauxville is the annual Duck Race in Bayou Lafourche. For the $5 price of a duck, participants can chase a $100 to $1,000 cash prize.

Around 4 p.m., a total of 1,500 rubber ducks will be released into the bayou at the weir north of the Lafourche Bridge. The first four ducks to reach the bridge win.

“We still have a number of tickets available for ducks,” Dempster said. “If you haven’t seen it, it is something to see – 1,500 rubber ducks floating down Bayou Lafourche. It’s very unique to Thibodeauxville.”