In 1974, when crowds arrived for a Cajun and Creole music show in Lafayette, they were surprised to find concert hall seating—organizers wanted to show locals that the music wasn’t just for dance halls, says Patrick Mould of the Festivals Acadiens et Creoles. Still, he says, “there were a lot of shiny chairs because they were wiggling on their seats.” Two years later, the organizers gave in to popular demand, and dancing has been allowed ever since. The founding of the festival, which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year, proved a pivotal moment in Cajun and Creole history, says Barry Ancelet, who coproduced that inaugural event: “Cajun music had been perceived as old people’s music. The festival setting changed that.” A half century later, the free fete has expanded into a three-day celebration of Cajun and Creole food, art, music, and French language, attracting an estimated 100,000 people. This year’s fest, which runs October 11–13 in Lafayette’s Girard Park, will include performances of songs played at the first concert. Ancelet says he’s no longer worried about the future of Cajun and Creole culture. “There’s been an absolute astonishing creative explosion in the last twenty or thirty years.”
Southern Agenda