July 2022

Of all the things that Louisiana is known for, food might top the list. Of course, there is a rich history of language, dancing, and faith, but if an out-of-towner happens to tell you what sticks out the most about the state, it’s very likely that their answer will be the food. People come from all over the world to experience the culture of south Louisiana, and the food is certainly one of the biggest draws. It’s as unique as the diverse cultures that make up the inhabitants, and for that reason, simply cannot be reproduced anywhere else. Cajun food is the lifeblood of south Louisiana, and it covers a wide range of presentations. Native inhabitants are familiar with the humble kitchens where many of us grew up eating rice and gravy, night after night. But tourists might be more familiar with the large festivals and cookoffs featuring Cajun music as well as a diverse array of food from the traditional (gumbo and jambalaya) to the modern-inspired (boudin balls stuffed with pepperjack or cheddar cheese). Although these two settings may be very different, the origins of the food, and the willingness of the people of south Louisiana to share and enjoy it, stays true. Speaking of culinary origins, Breaux Bridge has made its mark on the culinary landscape of Louisiana in its own ways. A popular Cajun food dish, crawfish étoufée, was officially first served in restaurants in Breaux Bridge, going back many decades to the 1950s. Although this roux-based dish can also be made with shrimp, the crawfish type is more common, and has filled the homes of many Breaux Bridge residents, and south Louisiana residents in general, with the delicious smell of dinner simmering on the stove. It’s also no surprise that the town is home to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, which occurs every May and celebrates the city’s rich history as the Crawfish Capitol of the World. You can come for the étouffée, the gumbo, the boudin, the crawfish in Breaux Bridge, or any number of other traditional and modern Cajun foods. One guarantee is that the culinary experience in South Louisiana is like no other, and you may find yourself hungry for the next visit.

Every year in May in Breaux Bridge, tens of thousands of people flock to this small southern Louisiana town for one thing: crawfish.  But why May? The first full weekend in May is when Breaux Bridge celebrates its famous crustacean with the best way Acadians know how: a festival.  In 1959 Breaux Bridge was given the title of Crawfish Capital of the World, and in 1960 the inaugural Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival was born as a continuation of Breaux Bridge’s centennial celebration.  It has continued to grow every year, moving from the historic downtown location where it used to be held to its current location at Parc Hardy along Rees Street. The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival preparations begin early in the spring with a beauty pageant where they crown the current year’s queen, and the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Association chooses the year’s notable Breaux Bridge man to be the king.  The Crawfish King and Queen, along with their Junior Royalty and Ecrevettes, are featured in a parade on Sunday morning of the festival going from the Breaux Bridge City Hall to the Crawfish Festival grounds. The festival is steeped in tradition, and the heritage tent at the festival allows visitors and residents alike to learn more about Cajun heritage; you can watch Cajun dancing and cooking demonstrations, learn about Bourrée (a card game unique to Cajun culture), participate in or observe the crawfish etouffee cooking competition and much more. Every year a local artist is chosen to design a poster to represent the year’s festival in official images.  You can purchase copies of the poster at the information booth, or purchase the year’s official t-shirt featuring the poster’s image at the t-shirt booth.  After scouring the shirts and posters, don’t forget to take a look at all the other goodies in the arts and crafts section, featuring local vendors and vendors from afar.  Of course, that’s just one side of the festival.  The main attractions are the food and the music, but that’s for another time.

Food is king when it comes to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival.  The main attraction is the boiled crawfish, and the festival sells so much that refrigerator trucks are full from top to bottom with sacks of Louisiana’s crustaceans.  Aside from the simple bug boil that Louisiana natives know and love, there are booths that sell more adventurous preparations of crawfish.  Perhaps most popular are the crawfish pistolettes, where pistolette rolls are deep fried and then stuffed with a cheesy, spicy crawfish mixture.  If you’re in the mood for more bread, cheese, and crawfish the crawfish spinach bowls are to die for.  A large roll is hollowed out and then filled with a spinach, cheese, and crawfish mixture.  Aside from those concoctions, the festival also sells boudin, jambalaya, etouffee, crawfish beignets, crawfish po-boys, and more Cajun food that doesn’t center around crawfish.  For people who want to prove how much they love boiled crawfish, you can participate in the boiled crawfish eating contest. During the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, the sound of the music drifts to the neighboring areas and fills the town.  The festival consists of three separate stages, and more than 30 bands play throughout the three-day event.  The major players take the stage on Saturday night, but the days are full of good music whether you’re watching the Festival stage, the Cajun stage, or taking to the Breaux Bridge tent. Featuring Grammy winners like Wayne Toups and Steve Riley and many other regional and world-famous musicians and bands, the festival delights from the time the gates open to the time they close. 

In Breaux Bridge, modern day Cajun jam sessions can be found around town throughout the week and weekend.  Some performances are formal and feature a professional band known throughout the area.  Others are jam sessions, held at a certain time and place where you can bring your instrument and perform with other musicians in an informal setting.  The history of Cajun music goes back to the expulsion of the Acadians from their homes in l’Acadie and their migration to southern Louisiana.  Original French songs and ballads had already begun to change with the Acadians’ experiences in the New World and their encounters with the native Americans and colonists.  As time wore on, Cajuns in Louisiana were influenced by the African rhythm and blues, Spanish tunes, and other Native American sounds.  Sometimes songs were performed acapella, sometimes with a fiddle or two.  One fiddle would play lead, and the other rhythmic accompaniment. In the 1920s, the accordion joined the instrument line-up for Cajun music.  Brought over by German immigrants, the accordion was not a good fit for Cajun music at first because it was not tuned to match the open-string fiddle.  When accordions were made to the tune of C and D, they found their way into Cajun music because they were loud enough to be heard over the raucous dancing that accompanies a Cajun jam. The accordion is more musically limited than the fiddle, however, so some Cajun melodies can only be performed on the fiddle. The late 1920s also brought about the first recordings of Cajun music.  “Allons a Lafayette” was recorded in New Orleans by Joe and Cleoma Falcon.  With the rise of the recording industry, outside influences began to take their toll on traditional Cajun music.  Zydeco was born, and Cajun music began to take on the sounds of bluegrass and other genres.  However, in recent years there has been a resurgence in the effort to protect the unique culture of Acadiana, and with that its music.  We can only hope that future generations continue with the preservation of Cajun heritage.

The bridge that frames the entrance to downtown Breaux Bridge is beloved by the town.  The incarnation of the bridge we know and love today was built back in 1950 for a total of $233,000 (or $2.4 million today), however the first bridge in the town was built in 1799 by Firmin Breaux.  Several bridges have been torn down, rebuilt, and moved since then, but the bridge we know of today has become such a staple for the town that it is featured on photographs and paintings of the town.  The drawbridge crosses over the Bayou Teche, and if you’re lucky enough you can see it lifted for maintenance.  To get a great view of the lifting bridge, Parc des Pont Breaux has a great pier that offers a clear sight of the action.  The bridge is perhaps made more famous for its painting of a crawfish, given to the town by the Kiwanis club in the 1980s to highlight the town’s renown for the crustacean.  In recent years, it has been clear that the bridge was in need of some TLC.  Rusting, fading, peeling paint have become almost as charming as the bridge lit up at night in a town that thrives on tradition and history.  Soon, it will be refurbished.  There was fear at one point that the draw bridge would be torn down and a new bridge would be put up in its place, but true to form the town came together and saved it.  So, what is in store during the makeover?  A good sandblasting and new coat of paint, as well as a restored crawfish painting.  The charming bridge won’t be going anywhere soon.

We may not be able to dance together, eat together, or celebrate together right now, but that doesn’t mean Breaux Bridge, LA is lacking in activities you can do on your own or with your immediate family.  Fresh air is good for the soul, and no air is fresher than the air in the swamps or along the Bayou Teche.  Take advantage of the life’s slow pace right now.  Lake Martin is the perfect place to go kayaking and experience the great outdoors.  Bring binoculars to bird watch or search for alligators basking in the sun.  Roseate spoonbills (also known as Cajun flamingos) are beautiful, large pink birds with wooden spoon shaped bills.  They have made a great comeback in recent years after being endangered with Lake Martin’s protected rookery status.  The best months to see the birds are January through May.  After that it gets too hot and most of the birds (like us) hide out from the heat. If fishing is more your speed, dropping your boat into the water by yourself or with your immediate family and touring the Bayou Teche or the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp is a great activity. Pack a lunch in the ice chest for the entire family and spend the day outside in the sunshine.  If the kids aren’t up for fishing, pack them a “safari” kit with magnifying glasses and a notebook and pencil so they can draw any wildlife they see or interesting plants they find along with way.