CRAWFISH FESTIVAL
One of Breaux Bridge's main attractions is its cuisine, especially crawfish. Restaurants of Breaux Bridge were the first to offer crawfish openly on their menus, and it was here that the now world-famous crawfish etouffee was created. Breaux Bridge became so well known for its crawfish farming and cooking that, in honor of its centennial celebration in 1959, the Louisiana legislature officially designated Breaux Bridge as "la capitale Mondiale de l'ecrevisse" or "the crawfish capital of the world". Since this designation, the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Association has hosted the annual crawfish festival, recognized as one of the state's finest festivals.
For 40 years, the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Association, Inc., which sponsors the Crawfish Festival in Parc Hardy, has strived to maintain its focus on family centered and authentic Cajun activities. The World Famous Crawfish Festival first began in 1960 after the wonderful response to the Breaux Bridge Centennial Celebration in 1959. Other great and fun-filled activities to experience during the festival weekend are the Crawfish races, Crawfish Eating Contest, Crawfish Étouffée Cook-off, and Cajun Dance contests. Visitors can also enjoy the Traditional Rural Crafts/Folklore exhibitions, such as the Cajun Dance demonstrations, music workshops, cooking demonstrations and the bourre exhibition. The Festival also will have an Arts and Crafts show, souvenir booths, and a carnival midway and games. Regional and local corporate sponsors are on the grounds showcasing their various products.
The Crawfish Festival is a festival paying homage to the Crawfish with thousands of pounds of delicacies cooked anyway and every way anyone would want them. The crawfish may be boiled, fried, etoufee, jambalaya, boudin, pies, bisque, gumbo, fettuccine, stew, and crawfish dogs. This celebration also features Cajun, zydeco, and swamp pop music on three stages during the three days of the festival....