If you live in Acadiana there’s a good chance you attend your fair share of festivals. It seems like there’s a festival around here just about every week. That’s because there is.  If you’re in a Cajun band and you think at one time or another you’ve been booked to play all of them, Google “Acadiana Festivals.” I bet there’s a couple you haven’t heard of.

The crown jewel of our Acadiana Festivals is Festival International. Over 300,000 people attend the Lafayette festival every year. Artists come from 20 countries. Maybe it’s just me but it seems to get bigger and more fun each year – though I’m just judging that by the time it takes to recover.

The Executive Director of the Festival since 2016 is a gentleman you might also know as a mild mannered software designer. Or, conversely, the badass drummer from Scott’s Drum Center. He’s one in the same, Scott Fehan.

Two of the newest festivals around here are the Acadiana PoBoy Festival and Plate Lunch a palooza. The Poboy Festival is designed to celebrate the legacy of the humble poboy sandwich. And Plate Lunch a palooza is all about making a big deal about our local love affair with a good deal good meal.

Both of these local food-centric celebrations are the product of a company called S.E., which stands for Social Entertainment. If you like being social and being entertained you may already be familiar with the creative force behind S.E. He’s also the guy behind Dix Daiquiris, Tropical Smoothie, and the Jefferson Street Pub. He’s Gus Rezende.

photos at Cafe Vermilionville by Gwen Aucoin.