Inside the event hall at the Delcambre Shrimp Festival, banners honoring former festival queens hang from the ceiling.
With wide smiles, shrimp-festooned tiaras and glittery shrimping boots, the queens pose proudly next to the boats that keep Delcambre's vital industry going. One banner includes a quote, and a reminder, for all festival attendees: "Why not celebrate an industry that feeds you?"
That celebration was in full swing over the weekend, with thousands of people gathering at the festival grounds to visit, dance and eat shrimp prepared every way — boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp sauce piquante, shrimp salad, shrimp po-boys, etc. Festival cooks said Saturday that they expected to boil somewhere between 600 and 800 pounds of shrimp — local only, of course.
Dreau Williams boild shrimp for the 72nd annual Delcambre Shrimp Festival. The festival was held on August 14 to 18, 2024 in Delcambre, La. Festival goers were offered shrimp dishes like boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp sauce piquante, shrimp salad and many more shrimp dishes. The annual shrimp cook-off contest was held on Saturday, August 17, 2024. The winning team was Shrimp Poppa’s. ACTs Cooking Krewe took second place. Bayou Brothers Gingerbread won third place.
"'Foreign' is a dirty word here," said Dreau Williams, standing over a steaming pot in a kitchen with a high-water mark on the wall. In 2005, storm surge from Hurricane Rita flooded all but a few structures in the city limits.
That mark, about 6 feet off the ground, is a reminder that this community has always pushed through amid struggles. With all the fun and spirit that Louisiana festivals are known for, a sober outlook on the state of the shrimping industry was pervasive throughout the Delcambre Shrimp Festival. Louisiana's shrimp economy is experiencing a multidecade decline, largely thanks to cheap imports flooding the market.
Nowhere is this felt more deeply than in Delcambre, a community that for generations has been home to one of the area's most productive shrimping fleets. Today, fewer families can afford to shrimp full-time, but they say it's still in their blood — and the shrimp festival, now in its 72nd year, is an opportunity to celebrate their traditions.
"My dad was a shrimper for 50 years. And the girl I married, her dad was a shrimper 50 years as well. We grew up in it. We loved it. Once it gets in your blood, it never leaves," said Clint Renard, who has participated with his family in the shrimp festival cook-off for the past 20 years.
This year, the Renard's "Country Drive" team could be found busily preparing delicacies like shrimp lettuce boats, Greek shrimp nachos and creamy shrimp eggrolls for consideration by the festival judges.
"For me, it's my pastime. But to continue the tradition of shrimping out of Delcambre, I built a shrimp boat and named it after my dad, Willie Renard. I built that in honor of his name to keep the tradition alive in Delcambre and say that someone is still participating, the younger generation is still participating in keeping the shrimping industry alive," he said.
The Shrimp Poppa's team when they were announced winners of the Shrimp Festival cooking contest. Shrimp Festival was held on August 14 to 18, 2024 in Delcambre, La. Festival goers were offered shrimp dishes like boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp sauce piquante, shrimp salad and many more shrimp dishes. The annual shrimp cook-off contest was held on Saturday, August 17, 2024. The winning team was Shrimp Poppa’s. ACTs Cooking Krewe took second place. Bayou Brothers Gingerbread won third place.
Even with fewer shrimpers, Delcambre's economy continues to be closely linked to the industry. Another cook-off team, "Tee's Tavern," prepared cheesy shrimp and olive bread and barbecue shrimp over potatoes, cooked by people with deep local ties. Kristy Touchard said her husband's family owns Touchard Marine Supply, a net shop that has been in business for more than 45 years.
"I was born and raised here. Went to school here. We love the shrimp festival and we love the shrimping industry," she said. "It's what pays our bills."
According to Jason Migues, Delcambre Shrimp Festival president, the systemic pressures of continuing to shrimp out of Delcambre include the closing of an ice plant last year, which means that local shrimpers have to travel farther and pay more to keep their catch on ice.
Despite the challenges affecting the industry, he said the annual festival is a reminder that the community still supports their shrimpers.
"You don't see as many shrimp boats today. Back when I was growing up, in the '80s, there used to be boats all along this canal," Migues said. "They said you used to be able to jump from boat to boat. All of this was locally owned shrimp shops, and people made a living. It's not like that anymore.
"It's dwindled down a lot. There's still a few proud shrimpers, and we support them in any way we can. We're just about promoting the industry that is still here, and reminding people not to buy foreign shrimp. Buy local. Support your local people."
Thu Dang, from left, Nina, Minnie and Sanx Nuynx enjoy many different shrimp dishes. The 72nd annual Delcambre Shrimp Festival was held on August 14 to 18, 2024 in Delcambre, La. Festival goers were offered shrimp dishes like boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp sauce piquante, shrimp salad and many more shrimp dishes. The annual shrimp cook-off contest was held on Saturday, August 17, 2024. The winning team was Shrimp Poppa’s. ACTs Cooking Krewe took second place. Bayou Brothers Gingerbread won third place.
Started in 1950 as a way to raise money for the Fire Department, the Delcambre Shrimp Festival continues to invest back into community schools, parks and churches. The five-day festival, held each year over the third weekend of August, includes a street fair, the shrimp cook-off, a firefighter water fight and nighttime fais do-dos on the festival grounds. It all concludes with a Sunday fisherman's Mass and blessing of the fleet on the Delcambre Canal, the waterway that connects this small town to Gulf waters.