The community is invited to join the Bayou Vermilion District’s Vermilionville as they celebrate their annual Acadian Culture Day on Sunday, Aug. 14 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at their historic village.
Every year Vermilionville hosts this free event for the public to explore how the Acadian community maintains its heritage. This year’s theme will be “Youth in Culture,” and the annual Acadian Cultural Preservation Award recipient, which is presented in recognition of outstanding lifetime contributions to the preservation of the culture and the community, will be the late Al “Popsie” Broussard, mayor of Loreauville and chairman of the New Acadia Project.
The day includes live music by the Huval, Fuselier & Dupuy Cajun Band (with special guest Gerald Broussard, Jr.) as well as the Lafayette Rhythm Devils. A Tintamarre parade will kick off the day along with prizes that will be awarded for "Best Costume" and "Best Acadian Spirit," followed by a Cajun Jam led by Forest Huval (bring your instruments – all levels are welcome), and a Cajun dance lesson with Brandon Broussard.
The day will also include a sharing circle on youth in Acadian culture, kids crafts and activities, film showings, photographic essays by Phillip Gould, canoeing, cooking demonstrations with fruit tarts and doberge cake, and craft demonstrations such as trapping, fiddle making, and more.
Acadian Culture Day is supported by an External Agencies Funding Program grant, sponsored by Lafayette Consolidated Government and administered by the Acadiana Center for the Arts. Additional support comes from Party Central and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.
For more information about Acadian Culture Day visit Vermilionville.org or call 337-233-4077.
Schedule of Events
10:00 a.m. Vermilionville opens; demonstrations and exhibits throughout the village until 4:00 p.m. including photographic essays by Philip Gould, trapping and coureurs des bois, cotton spinning, quilting, woodwork and fiddle making, dance lessons, 18th and 19th century games, storytelling, house and garden tours, etc. Vermilionville will also be unveiling its newest addition to the village: three Gulf Coast Native sheep and a Provence donkey, located in an enclosed area behind the Boucvalt house. Visitors are encouraged to view the new animals at any time during the day, and food to feed the sheep will be available for purchase.
10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Acadian Cultural Preservation Award Ceremony for the late Al “Popsie” Broussard.
10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Rotation of film showings: The Pirogue Maker (starting at 10:30 a.m.) and Vermilionville: Made by Hand, Built on Tradition (starting at 11:00 a.m.)
10:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Bayou Vermilion Boat Tours, every hour on the half-hour except for 12:30 p.m. (last boat tour leaves at 3:30 p.m.)
10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Tintamarre parade (the public is invited to dress up and/or bring noise-makers to participate; winners of “Best Costume” and “Best Acadian Spirit” competition will receive a free one-year membership to Vermilionville)
11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Canoeing in the Petit Bayou, kids crafts and activities in the Chapel.
11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Huval, Dupuy & Fuselier Cajun band with special guest Gerald Broussard, Jr.
12:00 p.m. Corn maque-choux pasta cooking demonstration with Colin Berthelot
1:00 p.m. Doberge cake cooking demonstration by Poupart’s in the cooking school
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Cajun Jam open to all levels, hosted by Forest Huval
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Sharing Circle on “Youth in Culture” with Ethan Airhart, Sarah Mikayla Brown, Adam Doucet, Elaine Clement, Michael Doucet, Mavis Fruge and Gerald Broussard, Jr.
2:00 p.m. Chicken and sausage jambalaya cooking demonstration with Janay LeJeune
2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. La Fondation Richard Guidry film
3:00 p.m. Fruit tart cooking demonstration by Poupart’s in the cooking school
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. The Lafayette Rhythm Devils