Acadiana Center for the Arts announces its latest expansion of programming with an all-new St. Landry Parish Student Arts and STEAM festival on Saturday, March 4, 2023 from 10am-3pm, at the Courthouse Square in Downtown Opelousas.

The free festival is a celebration of student-artists in all artistic disciplines from every corner of St. Landry Parish. The event features outdoor performances from school bands, choirs, and performance classes, art exhibitions in businesses and outdoors, hands-on art activities for families, and a student artist market where you can purchase original artwork and crafts directly from the artist.

A live spoken word competition Poetry Out Loud will take place at the Delta Grand Theatre, featuring a juried panel and competing student poets from across the state. The winner of the competition will go on to participate in the National Poetry Out Loud competition in Washington, DC in May.

“AcA fills an important gap in St. Landry Parish schools by ensuring that every student has access to elevating and eye-opening experiences in the arts throughout their time in school,” said AcA Executive Director Samuel Oliver. “This event is a celebration of AcA’s partnership with the St. Landry Parish School Board, which has flourished over the past 5 years and benefitted every student and school in the parish.”

“It is well documented that key factors in education are significantly impacted by arts programs like ours: social and emotional development, building important skills like creativity and communication, and simple reductions in truancy because young people are much more eager to engage in positive
learning experiences in the arts,” said St. Landry Parish Superintendent Patrick Jenkins.

Student Arts Expo in Opelousas is a partnership between Acadiana Center for the Arts and St Landry Parish School Board with support from Opelousas Main Street, Opelousas Downtown Development District and St. Landry Parish Tourism.

Find more information and a detailed schedule and map of the activities at AcA’s website.

About AcA

As the community leader in arts and culture, the Acadiana Center for the Arts (AcA) serves to bring elevating arts experiences to the people of Acadiana through many approaches including holding public concerts, presenting art exhibitions, providing grants to artists and cultural organizations, and bringing artists into schools across the region. AcA brings equitable access to the arts through year-round education and outreach activities and aims to build a more sustainable cultural ecosystem for future generations in Acadiana.