The 81st Annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival returns to Downtown Morgan City this Labor Day Weekend with its decades-old tradition of stellar live music, parades and more as Louisiana’s oldest chartered harvest festival honors those who work in the state’s two cornerstone industries of shrimp and petroleum.
The festival began more than 80 years ago, when the port at Morgan City and Berwick received their first haul of jumbo shrimp, fresh from the deepest waters ever fished by a small boat. The very first celebration was held, appropriately on Labor Day, when members of the local unit of the Gulf Coast Seafood Producers & Trappers Association, in recognition of the holiday, staged a friendly labor demonstration that has come to be known as the first festival as frog and alligator hunters, shrimpers, crab fishermen, dock workers and oystermen paraded in the streets.
Then in 1967, the festival’s organizers decided to recognize the petroleum industry, which had firmly implanted its roots into the area economy. The Festival was then known by its present-day name, the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival.
Today, the festival offers fun for the whole family with children’s activities including sack races, seasoned storytellers and a Children’s Mini Street Parade featuring decorated bicycles, wagons and strollers that winds its way through the Historic District to Lawrence Park where prizes are awarded for the best decorated floats and costumes.
Other festivities include the Cajun Culinary Classic that highlights the area’s incredible homestyle Cajun cooking and traditional dishes including jambalaya, fried alligator and of course shrimp. The festival also features one of the biggest craft shows in the South with more than 100 craftsmen and artisans from all over the region showcasing their wares.
Another big attraction is the festival’s Blessing of the Fleet and a water parade, which features decorated shrimp boats, pleasure craft, offshore supply boats and big “muscle” boats used by the offshore industry, including supply boats, tug boats and crew boats. There’s also the street parade that honors past and present royalty and visiting queens. Other events include a 5k fun run/walk and a golf tournament.
The 81st Annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival takes place Labor Day weekend starting Thursday, Sept. 1, through Monday, Sept. 5, in Downtown Morgan City. The festival is free and open to the public. For more information visit ShrimpandPetroleum.org.