WGNO

Brief history of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — The free three-day event we now know as Festivals Acadiens et Créoles started as a single-day concert as a tribute to Cajun music back on March 26th in 1974.

Originally held at Blackham Coliseum, two years later in 1976, the festival moves to a fall date and relocates to the heart of Lafayette, Girard Park, for a more spacious feel and of course more dancing.


Fast forward, 46 years, the festival versus Covid. From Girard Park to computer screens, the large dance party went virtual. That didn’t matter, organizers say the music kept playing and the people kept dancing.

Turn the page to October 2021, cases start to spike but you can’t cancel tradition. This time, they didn’t cancel, they just postponed.

Now here we are.

The 47th Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in the 48th year.