|
Search
|
|
|
Search
|
Other Louisiana Festivals
The not-for-profit Audubon Nature Institute operates parks and museums in New Orleans dedicated to Celebrating the Wonders of Nature: Audubon Zoo, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Entergy IMAX® Theatre, Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species, Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center, Wilderness Park, Woldenberg Riverfront Park, Audubon Park and the ewly-opened Audubon Insectarium. For more information about Audubon Nature Institute, its public attractions and conservation efforts, please visit AudubonInstitute.org. Swamp Fest Music Line-Up
When: November 7-8, 2009
website
Where: Audubon Zoo
About the Festival:
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Louisiana Swamp Festival – Audubon Zoo’s signature festival spotlighting the food, music and history of South Louisiana. It’s all about everything Louisiana - the 25th annual Louisiana Swamp Fest at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, November 7 and 8, 2009. This family-style festival draws thousands of people each year with Cajun cuisine, Cajun and Zydeco music, cultural demonstrators and one-of-a-kind crafts – all against the unique backdrop of Audubon Zoo in uptown New Orleans.
Audubon Zoo has been hosting some fancy two-steppin’ for twenty-five years!
New this year – and in celebration of the 25th anniversary – Louisiana Heritage presentations dive deep into subjects such as the meaning of Creole and Cajun, the evolution of the Cajun fiddle and the history of the culture and ecology of our region - featuring a Zydeco workshop and a Cajun instrument petting zoo!
It wouldn’t be a festival in South Louisiana without the region’s famous food, including Shrimp & Crabmeat Gumbo, Spinach & Crawfish Bread Bowl, Gator Burgers, Soft-shell Crab Po-Boy, Alligator Sauce Picante and much, much more, all available for purchase.
For the less adventurous, regular Zoo fare such as hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream and the traditional Roman candy are all on the menu, too.
Visitors can also take some indigenous swamp culture home, with arts and crafts such as oil paintings reflecting Louisiana life, jewelry, jams and preserves, candles and paintings on driftwood. Cultural demonstrations at the Louisiana Swamp Exhibit feature wood carving, basket weaving, and fiber spinning and weaving.
Visitors are invited to watch or join in as dancers from around the area enjoy a musical line-up unique to our special part of the country. This year’s celebration promises a toe-tapping good time as musicians perform the finest Cajun and Zydeco sounds on two stages with headliners Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas on Saturday, and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band on Sunday.
Guests are invited to stroll through the Zoo to experience Audubon’s breathtaking collection of creatures, including young Menari, a baby orangutan who just recently began to meet her public. Menari is scheduled to be playing in the World of Primates exhibit at between 1pm and 2:30pm on Swamp Fest weekend, although weather or other factors may affect that schedule. Look for signage in the exhibit to learn specifics.
JUST A LITTLE HISTORY
The Louisiana Swamp Festival was conceived around the time of the opening of the award-winning Louisiana Swamp Exhibit, a five-acre mini-zoo located on the grounds of Audubon Zoo. With its languid lagoons and abundant cypress trees, the Swamp Exhibit is a true urban swamp. Opportunistic birds know they can find a free meal there, and the turtles are so numerous they barely fit on the floating logs. The last alligator feeding of the season always happens during Swamp Fest, drawing big crowds to the Swamp Exhibit boardwalk. Guests will see nutria, otters, snakes and catfish along their way to the ethereal white alligators – huge, blue-eyed gators unlike any other in the world.
Just like the Swamp Exhibit amazes locals and visitors with the bounty of wildlife literally in our own backyard, the Louisiana Swamp Festival helps keep the culture of this unique place alive and vibrant.
Audubon Zoo, a facility of Audubon Nature Institute, is located at 6500 Magazine Street in New Orleans. Admission to the Louisiana Swamp Festival is included in regular admission, which is $13 for adults, $8 for children ages 2-12 and $10 for seniors 65 years of age and over. Audubon Zoo members are admitted free of charge. No outside food or beverage allowed during special events and festivals.
For information on the Louisiana Swamp Festival at Audubon Zoo, call 504-581-4629 or 1-800-774-7394, or visit www.AudubonInstitute.org.
Come down to hear some of the best Cajun and Zydeco music around, including several of your old favorites and a few new sounds, too.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Performance Pavillion
10:15am - 11:30am
Hadley J. Castille and his Sharecropper Band feat. Sarah Jayde
11:55am - 1:10pm
Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots
1:35pm - 2:50pm
Lost Bayou Ramblers
3:15pm - 4:45pm
Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas
Swamp Exhibit
12:00pm - 1:15pm
Lafourche Cajun Band
1:30pm - 2:45pm
Lafourche Cajun Band
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Lafourche Cajun Band
Heritage Stage
10:45am - 11:15am
Sunpie Barnes presents Musique Creole en Creole
11:50am - 12:20pm
Historical Evolution of the Cajun Fiddle
12:35pm - 1:05pm
Taking on Water; A History of the Culture and Ecology of South Louisiana
1:15pm - 2:00pm
Roland Cheramie’s Cajun Musical Instrument Petting Zoo
2:15pm - 2:45pm
Comparing and Contrasting Zydeco and Cajun Music
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Performance Pavillion
10:15am - 11:30am
Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band
11:55am - 1:10pm
Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie
1:35pm - 2:50pm
Bonsoir, Catin
3:15pm - 4:45pm
Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band
Swamp Exhibit
12:00pm - 1:15pm
Tout Les Soirs
1:30pm - 2:45pm
Tout Les Soirs
3:00pm - 4:00pm
Tout Les Soirs
Heritage Stage
10:45am - 11:15am
A History of Zydeco with Geno Delafose
11:50am - 12:20pm
A Cajun Culture Workshop with Bruce Daigrepont
12:35pm - 1:05pm
Bonsoir, Catin; Acoustic Set
1:15pm - 2:00pm
Roland Cheramie’s Cajun Musical Instrument Petting Zoo
2:15pm - 2:45pm
The Chubby & Earl Zydeco Workshop
