Acadiana
A fertile land of bayous and prairies, this region was the first home of the Acadian people, who settled here in the late 1700’s. Today this area proudly shares its rich Acadian heritage, its food, music, French-speaking culture and joie de vivre!
Unearthing the Louisiana Mastodon
It’s hard to imagine a time when giant elephant-like mastodon were roaming the prairies of southern Louisiana. But the bones of long-extinct mammals have been unearthed in coastal areas of…
Blue Monday in Lafayette
Once each month, musicians come together to play for a purpose at the Blue Monday Jam in Lafayette, Louisiana. These Blue Monday shows are not just about music, but they…
Bird Sounds at Sherburne
Hearing bird sounds at the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area in the Atchafalaya Swamp was a reminder that spring is not far away. I had a little extra time to kill…
Swamp Pop – Let’s Dance
Swamp Pop was the name given to the South Louisiana Rock N Roll music that filled the airwaves and the local dance halls in the mid-1950’s through the early 1960’s.…
Bourrè
A good cajun bet Cajuns have played bourrè, a popular south Louisiana card game, for generations. And if you end up with a bad hand of cards, it can be…
Lafayette Farmers Market
The Lafayette Farmers Market features locally grown foods along with South Louisiana arts and crafts. Best of all, you can shop, eat or dance to the lively sounds of Cajun…
Cajun Accordion Master
A handcrafted Cajun accordion is a must for anyone serious about playing the popular south Louisiana music. When Larry Miller decided to get his first accordion more than four decades…
Acadian Memorial
The Acadian Memorial in St. Martinville has become something of a pilgrimage for people who have a family connection to Louisiana’s first Acadian settlers. The bayou-side museum contains family names…
Traditional Music
Students at the University of Louisiana Lafayette are able to learn to play and sing Cajun and Creole songs and earn a degree in Traditional Music. It’s a one-of-a-kind program…
Cypremort Point State Park
Louisiana’s Cypremort Point State Park gets you close to the Gulf of Mexico for a day of fishing or playing on a sandy beach and swimming. This park is one…
La Poussiere
La Poussiere Dancehall in Breaux Bridge is alive with the sounds of Cajun music and dancers every weekend in the town of Breaux Bridge. It’s one of very few remaining…
The Nature Conservancy and Lake Martin
Since the first time I visited Lake Martin and The Nature Conservancy’s Cypress Island Preserve, it has been one of my favorite Louisiana destinations. The 200-acre lake, located near the…
Chicot State Park
Surround yourself with the natural beauty of Lake Chicot and see native flowers and plants in the state arboretum at this central Louisiana State Park. Chicot features a long wooded…
Jungle Gardens
Avery Island and its Jungle Gardens seem a world away from the flat land of sugarcane fields and pastures that surround this south Louisiana tourist destination. It’s only a ten-minute…
Swamp Pop
south louisiana music What happens when the rock ‘n roll sound of Elvis Presley and the New Orleans rhythm and blues of Fats Domino collide with the Cajun and Zydeco…
Finding Louisiana Creole
A small museum in the Louisiana city of Opelousas introduces visitors to Creole. Rebecca Henry, who founded the Creole Heritage Folklife Center, explains that finding Creole is all about connecting…
Le Tournoi – Cajun Knights on Horseback
Le Tournoi is a unique competition that you will only find at one place in the country. Once a year, Cajun “Knights” on horseback race around a quarter-mile track in…
Going Cajun at Fred’s in Mamou, Louisiana
Mamou, Louisiana is one of the most Cajun places in the world. And any trip to this small, one-stop-light town needs to include a Saturday morning at Fred’s Lounge, where…
Chicot State Park’s Canoe Trails
The large lake at Chicot State Park seems like the perfect place to paddle a canoe or kayak. You will experience the classic Louisiana landscape here, with a shoreline and…
Pearl Harbor
a louisiana survivor’s story A Louisiana teenager looking for a full-time welding job in 1941 found himself in Hawaii, where he was an eyewitness to the attack on Pearl Harbor.…
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park
Visitors to Louisiana’s Lake Fausse Pointe State Park get to experience the Great Atchafalaya Basin Swamp, with plenty of water for paddling or fishing and miles of trails for nature…
Cajun Music in Gueydan
The small southwestern Louisiana town of Gueydan is celebrating its Cajun music roots with a monthly jam session in its local museum. Area residents, who have a connection to the…
Palmetto Island State Park
Palmetto Island State Park is a south Louisiana treasure. You can spend the night in a riverfront cabin surrounded by the swamp and wildlife. And during the day, rent a…
Growing Live Oak Trees
Every day is Arbor Day for Bob Thibodaux, who operates Bob’s Tree Preservation Service in the small Cajun town of Church Point, Louisiana. Thibodaux has made it a personal crusade…
Chicot State Park’s Arboretum
Chicot State Park is home to the Louisiana State Arboretum with miles of nature trails for viewing seasonal wildflowers. The arboretum’s hiking trails take you over forested ridges and down…
Louisiana Nature Photographer
Nature photographer C.C. Lockwood has spent a lifetime capturing the wild beauty of Louisiana’s bayous, swamps and wetlands. We experience daybreak in one of his favorite places, the Cypress Island…
Mardi Gras Mamou Style
Mardi Gras revelers on horseback parade through the flat Cajun prairie of Mamou, Louisiana, in a tradition that has its roots in Medieval France. The Mardi Gras riders, in their…
Cajun Music’s Accordion Master
For 30 years, Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys have been advancing the art of Cajun Music. But due to COVID, it’s been a year since the grammy-nominated band’s last…
Rookery – Helping Nature
This may be the perfect example of, if you build it, they will come. In this case, a water recycling project for a large-scale nursery near New Iberia, Louisiana, has…
Zydeco Breakfast
Enjoy the best in zydeco music and dancing at the world famous Zydeco Breakfast in Breaux Bridge. It’s a great way to start your weekend by immersing yourself in Louisiana’s…
Orphan Train Museum – Opelousas
New York City Orphans Arrive in Cajun Country by the Train Loads It was a bold plan to find homes for tens of thousands of orphans from the streets of…