Head to Arnaudville, Louisiana on the last Saturday of the month from 9:30am-11:30am for monthly coffee and conversation in French at NUNU Art & Culture Collective. La Table Française celebrates all French language use. Join Saint LUC French Immersion Cultural Campus Board President, Mavis Frugé, in conversation. Whether you speak Creole, Cajun, or Parisian, there’s a spot for you.
On May 24 at 7pm, the Festival of Words hosts a poetry reading and Open Mic at the Hive Market in Grand Coteau. The evening features former Patricia Cravins as she discusses oral history and Tyler Robert Sheldon, an acclaimed poet. Come out for inspiring words and great food.
The Academy of the Sacred Heart, site of the only Vatican-recognized miracle in America at the Shrine of St. John Berchmans, is celebrating 200 years this year. As part of this celebration, they are inviting the community to join them for music and dining in their gardens on April 9th.
Listen in as their renowned Acadiana Symphony Orchestra enchants guests. Performing alongside them is the Academy Upper School Choir, Academy Lower School Choir, and Berchmans Academy Boys Choir. Enjoy this springtime celebration on the historic and picturesque grounds of their centuries-old campus.
The Juneteenth Folklife Celebration highlights the folk art, heritage, and traditions of African-American culture in St. Landry Parish. Rebecca Henry, owner of the Creole Heritage Folklife Center, hosts the event. She is a child of sharecroppers, artist, and a wealth of cultural knowledge. This celebration pays tribute to the date when Texas slaves first heard the news of their freedom.
On Saturday under the Farmers Market Pavilion in Opelousas from 12:30pm – 7:30pm, you will be able to listen to live music and traditional dancing. It’s going to be a great time. See original folk art and learn about the heritage and traditions of the region. As this is a family-friendly event, no alcohol is sold or allowed on-site.
Congé is a spring celebration held on the breathtaking grounds of the Academy of the Sacred Heart and Berchmans Academy in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. Toss some confetti eggs with the kids as you play carnival games or test yourselves on the rock wall. There will also be games, live music, fantastic food, a silent auction, and a raffle.
The Congé Easter Egg hunt starts at 10am. Your child can take pictures with the Easter Bunny and find as many eggs as they can carry.
Spend some time with voices from the past at the St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery Tours & Historical Reenactments in the Zydeco Capital of the World, Opelousas. This historical group tour will transport you back in time. Reactors focus on a chosen time period in Opelousas’ over 300 years of history and dress the part.
You’ve heard of New Orleans’s famous haunted tours, but you’ve never seen a tour done by the ghosts themselves. Tour the cemetery where Napoleonic General Garrigues de Flaugeac and Louisiana Governor Jacques Dupré are interred with your ghostly guides.
All proceeds from the cemetery tours fund the Cemetery Historical Restoration Project. The tours began in 2003 and, to date, 30-plus gravesites have been restored.
Saturday tours take place at 6pm, 6:30pm, 7pm, and 7:30pm, while Sunday tours are at 2pm and 3pm. Handicapped accessible tours will be available. Call the organizer for more details. Bus groups are welcome.
Every year, the Louisiana Orphan Train Society holds an event in Opelousas, Louisiana. Here, descendants of the Louisiana Orphan Train Riders gather at the museum dedicated to their ancestors. From 10am-2pm, you can tour the museum, trace your lineage, and hear their stories.
The Louisiana Orphan Train Museum is one of only two of its kind in the United States. Hear the untold stories of the over 2,000 children who rode the train from New York and eventually found homes in Louisiana between 1873 and 1929.
August 15 is a very special day in Acadiana. For those in the Roman Catholic Church, it is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For this same reason, it is also a day that should resonate within the hearts of all those who embrace their Acadian heritage. In celebration, a Eucharistic procession takes place along Bayou Teche from Leonville to St. Martinville, retracing the voyage of the Acadians over 250 years ago. During this procession, 50 boats will disembark at 9:30am and travel along Bayou Teche. The 40-mile procession will make several stops along the way for a recitation of the Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
This year, the procession will start in Franklin, travel up the Bayou Teche, and end in New Iberia.
Families are encouraged to register a family boat or gather as a family at one or more of the stops along the procession route. You can register your boat here.
Find overnight lodging here and explore the area.
Eunice Community Concert Band & Choir presents their 33rd season of bringing song and life to Eunice. Established in 1990, they’ve always hosted events with a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. They even encourage audience participation. Special choir selections can be credited to the heirloom cases of WWII-era music provided by one of the organization’s co-founders. The concert band, adult choir, and children’s choir train arduously in the months leading up to the summer performance.
The concert is $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. Tickets are available in advance by calling 337-457-1776, but will also be available at the door.
Eunice Community Concert Band & Choir present their Christmas concert. Usually, this event would take place at the historic Liberty Theatre. However, due to the renovations currently underway at the beloved theatre, for the past few years, they’ve sung at the First Baptist Church in Eunice. The concert will have two performances in the first full week of December. One will be on Thursday at 7pm and another on Friday at 7pm.
The ECCBC was established in 1990 making 2024 their 34th anniversary. This community is made up of a choir concert band, adult choir, and children’s choir. This talented group practices diligently in the months leading up to the concert. They sing in a variety of styles. This family-friendly event is designed to get everyone in the holiday mood.
Selections: Sparklejollytwinklejingley, Thankful, Can You Hear the Christmas Bells, Who’s the Little Baby?, We Need a Little Christmas, The Holiday Tango, Happy Holiday/White Christmas, Christmas Portrait, Star of Bethlehem, Santa Baby, All I Want for Christmas Is You, Fantasy on Deck the Hall
Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12. Call 337-457-1776 for additional ticket information.
