Festivals Acadiens et Créoles kicks off Friday in Girard Park, celebrating 49 years of Cajun and zydeco music and heritage in Louisiana this weekend.

“If you know nothing about our culture, this is the place to be this weekend. If you love our culture, this is the place to be,” said Patrick Mould, vice president of programming and development.

Festivities begin Friday at 5 p.m. with a tribute to the king of zydeco, Clifton Chenier, at Scène Ma Louisiane.

Mould said that the tribute is not to be missed.

“Clifton enhanced a genre of music, he pretty much created zydeco.” Mould said. “What you see today played on stages can be traced right back to Clifton.”

Mould said that he has heard more excitement for this year's festival than he has in previous years. Mould attributes this to the event’s promotion and 49-year history of bringing people together.

“This is like the homecoming for all the musicians. They might travel out of town, and they don’t see each other all year," Mould said. “This is the one time in the year they’re all in the same spot.”

Festivalgoers should know that the festival will be cashless for all beverage sales this year. Drinks can be purchased directly at a beverage booth with a credit or debit card instead of the wristband or ticket system used previously.

No outside food or drinks are allowed at the festival. Festivals Acadiens et Créoles relies on drink sales to keep the event free and asks for all drinks consumed to be purchased on site.

Lafayette City Police have put together a security force that will be present at Festivals Acadiens et Créoles to keep the community safe and maintain a family-friendly environment.

Those who cannot make the festival in person this weekend can stream broadcasts of performances on KRVS Radio Acadie 88.7 FM.

Megan Brown Constantin, the director of marketing at KRVS, said that the broadcasts of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles allow listeners to hear the performances and festival sounds from far away.

“You don’t ever have to miss a minute of the festival,” Constantin said. “You can tune in on 88.7 FM while driving.”

KRVS will livestream performances from two stages on Saturday and Sunday from noon until closing. Listeners can tune in to listen on the KRVS app, krvs.org, or locally at 88.7 FM.

Continue reading: Festivals Acadiens et Créoles announces 2023 music lineup