A Cajun & Creole Christmas

Spectacular historic homes, thousands of twinkling lights, seasonal parades, traditional musical performances and more fill the calendar for A Cajun & Creole Christmas this holiday season. A Cajun & Creole Christmas is a combination of 50 holiday events in Lafayette and throughout all of Cajun Country. Kindle your Christmas spirit starting the day before Thanksgiving at the last Downtown Alive! of the fall season, featuring The Pine Leaf Boys and the official lighting of the city Christmas tree. Don't forget to bring a new, unwrapped toy as this event is a Toys for Tots fundraiser. The day after Thanksgiving, enjoy lighted displays and a ride on the Northpole Express Train Zoo of Acadiana's Safari of Lights at the Zoo of Acadiana. Noel Acadien au Village at LARC's Acadian Village, Dec. 1-23, offers spectacular lighting displays, family entertainment, food and a visit with Santa. Lafayette's Oil Center is where you want to be Dec. 2 when the switch is pulled to light the colossal Santa, sleigh and reindeer at the Festival of Light. Enjoy holiday performances, play in the Sneaux Yard, go ice skating, eat and shop at this family-friendly event. One of Lafayette's oldest holiday traditions is the Sonic Christmas Parade, which rolls through the streets of Lafayette from downtown to the Oil Center on Dec. 4. Throughout the month of December, make plans to attend concerts and parades, tour historic homes decorated for the holidays, enjoy "The Nutcracker" ballet and spend time with family and friends. Check out the calendar of Christmas activities for details.

PORK & EGGPLANT
RICE DRESSING
Thanksgiving has been celebrated in the United States for a long time but was not widely observed by working-class Cajuns until the late twentieth century. In upwardly mobile communities like Lafayette, Cajuns joined their Anglo-Protestant neighbors in hosting dinner parties in honor of the holiday. In rural areas, poverty-stricken farmers were not likely to embrace a holiday that entailed producing a feast. After World War II ended, rural Cajuns adopted Thanksgiving but altered it for their own tastes and traditions. You were more likely to see wild game, oysters, fish or pork roast on the table. Baked turkey was too dry and bland for Cajun palates, which is probably how deep-fried turkey evolved. (Source: Stir the Pot: The History of Cajun Cuisine, by Marcelle Bienvenu, Carl A. Brasseaux, Ryan A. Brasseaux) Cajuns also created a myriad of side dishes to go along with their wild game and fried turkey. Try your hand at Pork & Eggplant Rice Dressing, compliments Chef Patrick Mould.
Get the recipe here>

Downtown Alive!: 11/18 & 23, Downtown Lafayette, 337-291-5566
Sugar Jam: : 11/19, Sugar Mill Pond Town Center, Youngsville, 337-856-2323
Louisiana Crossroads- Songs from the Coast: 11/25 & 27,AcA James D. Moncus Theater, 337-233-7060
Louisiana IceGators Hockey: 11/25 & 26, 12/2, 12/9 & 10, Cajundome, 337-704-4423
Keith Sykes & Jerry Jeff Walker:12/1, AcA James D. Moncus Theater, 337-237-2787
Cirque de Soleil - Dralion: 12/6, Cajundome, 337-265-2100
Louisiana Crossroads - Lil' Band O' Gold Swamp Pop Christmas Pageant: 12/8, AcA James D. Moncus Theather, 337-233-7060
2nd Saturday ArtWalk: 12/10, Downtown Lafayette, 337-291-5566
Mark O'Connor's "Hot Swing" featuring Jane Monheit: 12/13, Heymann Center, 337-233-7060 

AcA Calendar
The Acadiana Center for the Arts opened, in the heart of Downtown Lafayette, functions as a cultural anchor for Acadiana with museum-quality gallery space, workshops and meeting areas. Since the opening of the new James Devin Moncus Theater at the Acadiana Center for the Arts last year, the AcA has expanded its cultural offerings to performances of all types. In addition to hosting the highly successful Louisiana Crossroads concert series, the AcA features @ the Center programming offering audiences world-class performers, community shows, affordable family events, music, dance, theater and film in the sonically pure and visually stunning theater. The 300-seat theater with state-of-the-art acoustics is a jewel in the heart of downtown. Its re-configurable space can accommodate every type of performance from theater, dance, film, and a full orchestra to a Cajun or zydeco band in a dancehall atmosphere. Check the calendar to see what's going on @ the Center.