Labor Day weekend is synonymous with the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival on the Cajun Coast, but August will also boast another big event this year! In honor of the 50th anniversary of the movie, Easy Rider, filmed on the Cajun Coast, the Bikers on the Bayou annual event promises to be even easier, just 90 minutes from the Big Easy, New Orleans! Downtown Franklin will be transformed to look like movie scenes – Ben Franklin store, Ice House Sign, old cars, Melancon’s Cafe in cooperation with Morganza, and there will be food, music, and fun for the whole family! Then, in addition to a car, motorcycle and rat rod show, viewing of Easy Rider at the Teche Theater, you can take in a few locations filmed along the Cajun Coast! Ride or not, it promises to be a good time! Find out more about the event, and then check out the Facebook page for Easy Rider trivia and more fun leading up to the big day, August 24!
Stay the week, since you will definitely not want to miss the annual Shrimp & Petroleum Festival on the Cajun Coast! Celebrating its 84th year, the festival began as a blessing of the shrimp harvest and a way to honor the many who labored in the deep Gulf waters, and it is considered the oldest harvest festival in the state. The addition of the petroleum industry in 1967, to also honor this important industry, made it the huge celebration it has become today. Labor Day weekend hosts the 5-day extravaganza, paying tribute to both of these time-honored industries, shrimp and petroleum. It will feature great food, continuous, free live music, arts & crafts, children’s activities, and traditional events, such as the blessing of the fleet and boat parade.
And no festival in Louisiana is complete without good music! The music line-up is long-anticipated, featuring local headliners such as Kyle Daigle, the Ross Grisham Band, Travis Matte & the Kingpins, Category 6, South 70 and Souled Out, as well as this year’s winner of the KQKI Country Showdown, Shannon Loupe.
The blessing of the fleet is a special part of the festival, and giving thanks for the harvest begins with Mass in the Park under the oaks in Lawrence Park on Sunday. After the water blessings from the Morgan City docks and celebrations on the Atchafalaya River, a Certificate of Blessing and a prayer card of St. Brendan the Navigator, patron Saint of Seafarers is presented to each participant.
The Shrimp & Petroleum Festival has been honored as a Festival of the Year for the past ten years by the Louisiana Fairs & Festivals Association, a Top 100 American Bus Association event and a top 20 Southeast Tourism Society event. It was even noted by Time magazine as “…the best, the most unusual, the most down-home, the most moving and the most fun that the country has to offer.”
Make plans now to stay the week, and longer to explore. Check out our accommodations, and make your plans to visit!
