What's New in Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette, the heart of Louisiana's Cajun Country,
is known as the hub of all things Cajun - authentic Cajun cuisine, toe-tapping
Cajun and Zydeco music, Cajun culture, historic attractions, scenic swamps, and
festivals celebrating Mardi Gras, boudin, crawfish, black pot cooking, hot
sauce and more. Not so widely known are Lafayette's cutting edge chefs that are
creating inventive twists on Cajun classics and a plethora of new festivals
celebrating every aspect of modern life in South Louisiana. Lafayette is a
foodie's paradise, a Cajun/Zydeco music mecca and home to the best world music
festival. Any day of the week, you can dine on the best Cajun food in the world
and dance to authentic Cajun and Zydeco music. Every weekend, you can choose
from festivals, jam sessions and dancehalls, swamp tours, paddling or cycling,
and historic attractions. For more, visit the online media center at
Lafayettetravel.com/media.
Accolades
2016 STS
Top 20 Events: Scott Boudin Festival
and Gulf Brew
2015 Diamonds
in the Rough, Condé Nast Traveler
2014 Happiest
City in America, Wall Street Journal
Marketwatch.com
2013 Top
10 Foodie City, Livability.com
2012 Tastiest
Town of the South, Southern Living
2011 Best
Food City, Rand McNally/USA Today
New TABASCO® Experience!
TABASCO® has expanded the factory tour
experience. Now guests can view artifacts from TABASCO® Sauce's
founding family; see the growing process of pepper plants from seedlings to
full-grown; visit the mash warehouse for a peak at the aging process; view and
smell the aromas of the stirring vats; and learn about the company's bottling
and shipping process around the world. The new restaurant, 1868, features local
cuisine seasoned with TABASCO® pepper sauce flavors. TABASCO®
branded merchandise is available at the TABASCO® Country Store. Tabasco.com
Official Cocktail of Lafayette Parish: Sweet Crude
Rouler TM
New Orleans has the Hurricane, Louisville, Ky. has
the Mint Julep and now Lafayette, La. has the Sweet Crude RoulerTM. The creation
of the RoulerTM was the brainchild of David Meaux, founder
of Rank Wildcat SpiritsTM, the first spirits distiller in Lafayette Parish.
Sweet Crude RumTM is their award-winning small-batch white rum and is produced
using sugar cane grown in South Louisiana. How do you make a RoulerTM? Mix 2
ounces Sweet Crude RumTM, 2 ounces sweet and sour, ½ ounce simple syrup and 5-10
drops of bitters; pour over ice; add 2 ounces club soda; stir and garnish with
a lemon twist. Enjoy! RankWildcat.com
Cajun Food Tours
Experience the flavor of Louisiana on Cajun Food
Tours fun, cozy customized tour bus. Ranked #1 on TripAdvisor as the best thing
to do in Lafayette, guests learn about Louisiana history and culture, and taste
several of the renowned Cajun food delights that make Lafayette Parish so
unique. From fresh gulf seafood to boudin and cracklins, this tour lets you
sample a variety of Cajun and Creole specialties. CajunFoodTours.com
New Programming at Vermilionville
Vermilionville, situated on the banks of the Bayou
Vermilion, is a living
history museum and folklife park that depicts the lifestyles of the Acadian,
Native American and Creole people from the time period 1765 to 1890. In
addition to
local artisans that provide demonstrations of
essential crafts of the early settlers, Vermilionville's Performance Center
features Cajun Jam Sessions on Saturdays and live Cajun or Zydeco music and
dancing on Sundays. Throughout the year, the calendar is filled with festivals,
film series, boat tours, and workshops and presentations on a variety of
subjects. Vermilionville.org
Local Breweries
The Lafayette area is home to three local breweries.
Parish Brewing is an upstart operation that uses old-school techniques with
German, Belgian and North American malted barley and other grains. Bayou Teche
Brewing crafts beers that compliment local cuisine and lifestyle with names
like LA-31 Bière Pâle, Boucanée, Passionné and Saison D'Ecrevisses. Both
breweries have tap rooms and do tours. Lafayette's newest brewery, Cajun
Brewing, opened for in October 2015. Their initial line of products includes
three beer varieties: Cajun WIT, Ragin' Red Ale and Brown Ale. Future plans
include a tap room where visitors can sample test batches and get a taste of
new beers. ParishBeer.com
| BayouTecheBrewing.com | CajunBrewing.com
Music 365
Any day of the week you visit Lafayette, you'll
find live music somewhere. Randol's, Prejean's and Pont Breaux's feature Cajun
or Zydeco music nightly. Blue Moon Saloon features a Cajun music jam session
every Wednesday with live music Thursdays-Saturdays. At Vermilionville visitors
enjoy Cajun jam sessions on Saturdays and Cajun/Zydeco dances on Sundays. In
the Spring and Fall, family-oriented concert series fill the calendar
Wednesdays through Fridays. For more on Lafayette's music scene, get a copy of
the Lafayette Dancehalls brochure. Randols.com | Prejeans.com | PontBreauxCajunRestaurant.com |
Vermilionville.org | BlueMoonPresents.com
Lâche Pas Boucherie Spreads Cajun Culture
Lafayette's Toby Rodriguez and his Lâche Pas Boucherie
chefs are taking the Cajun Boucherie on the road for a two-year tour of the
United States that started on May 22, 2016. They roll into each city armed with
tools of the culinary trade and their Cajun ingenuity. Each stop on the tour
will host 30 local chefs, who attend free of charge as students learning the
craft of the Boucherie. A boucherie is traditionally a community gathering to
harvest an animal to produce sausage, ham, boudin, chaudin, head cheese and
more. The Lâche Pas Boucherie provides an opportunity for people to experience
this food tradition along with Cajun music and culture. The boucherie schedule
includes stops in: Santa Cruz, Calif., Portland, Ore., Seattle, Chicago,
Detroit, Boston, New York, Richmond, Va., Raleigh, N.C., Grand Coteau, La.,
Atlanta, Birmingham, Ala., Miami, Cuba, Lafayette, La., New Orleans, Houston
and Austin, Texas. Information and tickets are available by visiting
www.lachepasboucherie.com. For more on the boucherie tradition, visit the
Lafayette Travel blog at http://blog.lafayettetravel.com/category/food/boucherie/.
Contacts: Ben Berthelot, President & CEO, ben@lafayettetravel.com
| Kelly Strenge, VP of Media Relations & Special Projects, kstrenge@lafayettetravel.com
PO Box 63066
Lafayette, Louisiana 70505
337-232-3737
800-346-1958 (US)
800-543-5340 (CAN)