Shrimp and Petroleum Festival on target for Labor Day Weekend

Louisiana’s oldest chartered harvest festival is scheduled to celebrate 79 years of tradition and family fun this upcoming Labor Day Weekend, Thursday to Monday.
The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival will be held in Morgan City, only 90 miles from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Most festivities are held within the beautiful Downtown Historic District and are free to the general public. Great food, continuous free live music, traditional events, children’s activities and new events will highlight this five-day extravaganza.
The 51st Labor Day Art Show & Sale will start Wednesday and continue through Sept. 20, located downtown at the Everett Street Gallery. Hours to view the exhibit will be daily during the festival from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The official ribbon cutting will open the festival at 5 p.m. Thursday on Second Street under the U.S. 90 Bridge. Also, on Thursday, The Mitchell Brothers Carnival rides and games will begin at 5 p.m. and continue through 9 p.m. Monday. Bracelets will be offered 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday and from noon to 4 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday. Bracelets are $25 each.
Indulge your taste buds and satisfy your appetite at the 26th Annual Cajun Culinary Classic, a showcase of local “home style” cooking featuring delicious Cajun and Creole dishes, as well as a variety of desserts and other cuisines. The Cajun Culinary Classic is open 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and noon to 9 p.m. Monday. Local non-profit groups and civic organizations benefit from the proceeds.
The 37th traditional Arts & Crafts Show & Sale will open at 5 p.m. Friday under the U.S. 90 bridge and continue through 9 p.m. Monday. The event features over 100 artists and crafters from south Louisiana with unique merchandise and artistic masterpieces.
Children’s Day activities will begin with children’s field and game events at 9 a.m. Saturday. Children of all ages can participate in sack races, three-legged races and more. Professional storytellers will entertain children as well as their parents with their stories after the field and games events. The Children’s Day Mini Street Parade will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday. Decorated bicycles, wagons, strollers and four wheelers are welcome to participate. The Children’s Day King and Queen will officially open the Children’s Village with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The Children’s Village features games, prizes, face-painting, and more. The Children’s Village will be open at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Downtown comes alive with continuous free live music performed at the Heritage Music Stage. The festival will feature bright, upcoming artists from the area, as well as hometown legends. The music lineup for this year will include: Friday, 5 p.m. Tommy G & Stormy Weather, 7 p.m. Drunk Punch Ponies, and 9 p.m. Supercharger; Saturday, 1:30 p.m. At Fault, 4 p.m. Velvet Sky, 6:30 p.m. Snapper & the Fishsticks, and 9 p.m. Voodoo Gumbo; Sunday, 1:30 p.m. Chubby Carrier, 4 p.m. Brasher/Bogue, 6:30 p.m. Frontiers, and 9 p.m. Mojeaux; and Monday, 1 p.m. Amanda Shaw, 3 p.m. South 70, 5 p.m. Hal Bruni Band, and 7 p.m. Kevin Naquin & the Ossun Playboys.
A Cultural & Heritage Expo will be on display next to the festival office from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Monday. Cypress Corvette Club Open Car Show will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at M.D. Shannon Elementary. A 5K Fun Run/Walk will begin 8 a.m. Saturday. The Gospel Stage will also open on Saturday at M.D. Shannon Elementary, 409 Brashear Avenue, at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Traditional activities on Sunday will take place starting with Mass in the Park. The community will give thanks for its blessings at Mass in the Park at 8:30 a.m. Sunday and will be celebrated under the oaks in Lawrence Park. Everyone is invited to attend. The Historic Blessing of the Fleet will begin at 10 a.m. on the Atchafalaya River, followed by the water parade, which features decorated shrimp boats, pleasure craft, offshore supply boats and some of the biggest “muscle” boats of the offshore industry including supply boats, crew boats and tugboats. A Certificate of Blessing and a prayer card of St. Brendan the Navigator, patron Saint of Seafarers, will be presented to each participant.
The street parade will begin at the corner of Second and Onstead streets at 3 p.m. featuring past and present royalty along with this year’s maids and their pages, and visiting queens from various festivals throughout the state.
Fireworks on the River will begin at 9 p.m. Sunday evening. Grab a spot in Lawrence Park, along the seawall or old Morgan City/Berwick bridge and enjoy the firework spectacular.
The festival began in 1936 when the port of Morgan City and Berwick received the first boatload of jumbo shrimp, fresh from the deepest Gulf waters. The festival became the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in 1967, when the oil industry was firmly implanted into the local economy.
The festival was voted Festival of the Year in Division III for the past nine years and by the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals, a top 100 American Bus Association event, and a top 20 Southeast Tourism Society event. In July of 1991 Time magazine described the festival as “... the best, the most unusual, the most down-home, the most moving and the most fun that the country has to offer.”
For more information, contact the festival office at 985-385-0703, or visit the festival’s web site at www.shrimpandpetroleum.org. For a festival schedule, contact the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau at 800-256-2931 or the festival office.