LAFAYETTE
– The Bayou
Vermilion Festival, which celebrates
Lafayette’s distinctive waterway, is set for Sunday, October 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at
Vermilionville. Cajun and Zydeco bands, festival food, water activities, children’s crafts, wooden boats and antique car displays, and environmental presentations are scheduled for guests.
The festival will kick into high gear shortly after the doors are open with Sheryl Cormier & the Cajun Sounds starting things off at
11:00 a.m. Following her are Lost Bayou Ramblers playing from at 1:30 p.m. And the festival will close with Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie playing from 4 to 6 p.m. Between sets, local fishermen will tell their tall tales- fish stories- which are a comedic highlight of the day.
Many of the day’s other activities will focus on the Bayou
Vermilion. The traditionally built bateau, Cocodrie, will go out six times for 30-minute narrated boat tours. There will also be three 45-minute canoe trips on the bayou. These outings will cost $5 per person, and space is limited. In the front of
Vermilionville, several putt-putt wooden boats will be on display. Plus, local groups will be on hand to provide information on topics such as boating safety, early twentith century watercraft maintinence demos and environmental conservation.
Free boat checks will be provided.
A most unusual event will be the “pouring babbitt bearings” at 10:30 a.m.
Activities designed especially for children include hands-on crafts (nominal fee) and a bayou-themed, fact-scavenger hunt. All guests will get a chance to tour
Vermilionville’s historic village, which represents a time period when the bayou was a major force in the daily lives of Cajuns and Creoles.
Festival food will be provided by
Vermilionville’s restaurant, La Cuisine de Maman.
The Lafayette Parish Bayou
Vermilion District is presenting this event to draw attention to the
Louisiana’s distinctive culture and ecology which was so strongly influenced by bayou transportation, food and other resources.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for members and students (6-18); and those 5 and under get in free. For more
information call 233-4077 or visit
www.vermilionville.org
.
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