The Great Acadian Awakening Music Festival Prepares to Celebrate A Big Anniversary

The Great Acadian Awakening Music Festival is scheduled for the first weekend in October to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the arrival of what we now call our "Cajun" ancestors from the area known today as Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

They were exiled from the area, then called "Acadia," and found their way to various parts of south Louisiana where they settled along the bayous, with their cultures and traditions.

The festival, which takes place October 2-4, will include a lecture by Warren Perrin who is an expert on the history of the Acadians. Of course, there is plenty of great Cajun music included in the list of events, including Grammy Award winner Jo-EL Sonnier. Refreshments will be available, as will local and regional arts and crafts.

The staff of the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical & Historical Library will be available for those attendees who are interested in searching their family trees to find out how deeply planted their roots are in Cajun culture.