Five years ago, after a lot of controversy, Scott, Louisiana was dubbed the Boudin Capital of the World.
Since that time, the city of Scott has worked hard to put on an engaging family friendly event that everyone can enjoy.
Scott Mayor, Purvis Morrison said, “At the time people thought Broussard was the Boudin Capital of the world because in the 80s and 90s they held a Boudin Festival. When we sat down with the legislators we found out no one held the Boudin Capital of the World title, although Jennings was the Boudin Captial of the Universe. I’m not saying our boudin is better, because all boudin tastes good to me, but our title tells the world that we sell the most boudin.”
According to Festival President Jan Richard, the town of Scott sells anywhere between one and a half to two million pounds of boudin per year.
After officially receiving the title, the city of Scott celebrated by launching the inaugural Boudin Festival, an event that prides itself on being extremely family friendly, and features a Boudin Eating Contest, dance competition, an arts and crafts fair and a stellar musical line up.
This year’s Cajun delicatessen will be served in forms ranging from a boudin waffle to boudin tater tots, to pepper jack stuffed boudin balls.
Aside from celebrating boudin in all its delicious forms, what the festival board really wants to do is throw a celebration that brings the whole community together.
Morrison said, “A lot of the people in this area turn the festival into a family reunion, but I’ve also had the chance to meet people from as far as Australia and London during the festival.”
This year, festival goers will have the chance to enjoy boudin from places like Don’s, Billy’s Best Stop, Romero’s Grocery and Menard’s Cajun Grocery while they listen to music from the main stage and browse through the Arts and Crafts Fair.
Morrison said, “The festival area is pretty compact, so you could be on the carnival rides and still enjoy the music playing on stage, or sit and listen to the band while keeping your eyes on the kids because they’re right across the street.”
Festival goers will have a chance to win some cash prizes during the boudin eating contest on Sunday, which challenges contestants to eat as much boudin from their three pound plates as possible over the span of five-minutes.
Last year’s event attracted around 20 contestants, a big jump from the four or five people who competed during the first-year contest, and numbers are expected to climb.
On Saturday, festival goers will have the chance to compete for more cash prizes during the Cajun and Zydeco dance competitions, which will be held at the main stage.
Last year’s inaugural contests drew in close to 40 dancers and Richard hopes the numbers will continue to grow this year.
The musical lineup for the weekend includes bands like Keith Frank & The Soileau Zydeco Band, Lil Nate, Wayne Toups & ZyDeCajun, Kevin Naquin, Dustin Sonnier and Geno Delafose & French Rockin Boogie.
The arts and crafts fair will feature products like candles, carvings, ducks calls, pottery and jewelry.
Despite the lagging economy, this year’s festival has garnered more sponsorships than any other past festival and Richard is confident it’s because of the hospitality offered by the people of Scott.
Richard said, “Scott is a vibrant up and coming community and the people here are so friendly. Everyone knows your name, and we welcome those we don’t know here the same way, with a hug and a kiss.”
For more information about the Scott Boudin Festival or to see a schedule of events, visit scottboudinfestival.com or call 337-233-1130.
Upcoming Events
- The Big Easel Art Festival 2017, Sat., April 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Lafayette
The Big Easel Art Festival will showcase 47 artists who will display their works in tents in the River Ranch Town Square. Works will be presented in a variety of mediums including acrylic, pottery, porcelain, mixed media, oil, photography, metal, jewelry, wood, glass, Encaustic, clay, watercolor, fiber and more. All art will be available for sale on the day of the event.
- Faith & Family Day, Sat., April 22, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Lafayette
The Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team is offering discounted ticket prices to patrons who bring a recent church bulletin to the game.
Join the team at Lamson Park on Saturday as they take on Georgia State for a double header.
- Sesquicentennial Celebration Kick-Off, Sat., April 22, 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Lake Charles
Lake Charles is kicking off their 150th anniversary celebration with three events that are free and open to the public.
At 3 p.m., the Centennial Time Capsule will be opened at Historic City Hall, the Parade of Festivals will begin at 4:30 p.m. in Downtown Lake Charles and a Family Concert will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Arcade Amphitheatre.
- 5th Annual Louisiana International Film Festival, Sun., April 23, 10 a.m., Baton Rouge
Louisiana’s Leading annual film festival will take place April 20 through April 23.
The kickoff event will be held at Cinemark in Perkins Rowe at 10 a.m. on Sun., April 23.
The festival showcases award-winning national and international movies and aims to premiere stunning works in cinematography, music composition, software development, acting and engineering.
To purchase tickets, visit lifilmfest.org.
