About Lafayette LA
Lafayette is a city in the state of Louisiana, which as well serves as the parish seat of Lafayette Parish. It is the 4th biggest city in the state and the principal city in the Lafayette Metropolitan region. French colonists established the very first permanent settlement here that was known as Petit Manchac. This settlement served as a trading outpost, which was situated along the Vermilion River. In the late 18th century, many Acadian refugees moved into this region of Louisiana after been expelled from Canada when Britain won the 7 Years War. These refugees then intermarried with other settlers in the area, and eventually formed the Cajun Culture. The region was named Vermilionville and was developed for agriculture with sugar plantations being the bulwark of the local economy. In the year 1884, the town was renamed in honor of French General Lafayette who had played a very active role in the American Revolutionary War. In the 1940s, oil was discovered in the area, and petroleum and natural gas production became the city’s top industries.
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Top attractions
Lafayette boasts of a wide variety of performing arts companies. This includes the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra & Conservatory of Music, the Lafayette Ballet Theatre & Dance Conservatory. The Chorale Acadienne, the Lafayette Concert Band and the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana. Another key attraction in this Louisiana city is the Acadian Village, which is a reconstructed Cajun Bayou community that comes complete with collections of Cajun furnishings. The Alexandre Mouton House Museum is yet another attraction that is essentially a historic building, which served as the residence of the state’s very first Democratic governor; Alexandre Mouton. Lafayette is as well home to the Acadian Cultural Center and the Lafayette History Museum & Planetarium. It also boasts of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, which is a facility that possesses the globe’s first 6-sided digital virtual reality cube, and the world’s biggest digital 3D auditorium. There is the Paul & Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum that is yet another key attraction in this Louisiana city too. Lafayette is also home to the Vermilionville Historic Village that has the distinction of being one of the globe’s biggest Cajun and Creole living history museum. The Vermilionville Village boasts of a grand total of 7 historic structures that date from the mid 18th century to the late 19th century-.
Lafayette Ballet Theatre
The Lafayette Ballet Theatre is a prestigious ballet school that has for more than 30 years taught numerous dancers in this region of Louisiana. It has affiliations with other nationally acclaimed schools including the School of American Ballet, Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet to name but a few.
Vermilionville Village
Vermilionville Village was first opened in the early 1990s, and is a living history museum together with a folklife park. Its primary objective is to preserve and present the cultural heritage of the Acadian, native Amerindian and Creole people. This Lafayette attraction is noted for hosting over 30 special events on an annual basis. Besides the weekly Saturday Cajun Jam and the Sunday Dances. It comes complete with 7 restored original homes that house over 13 local artisans who deliver demos on a wide range of arts and crafts, which were practiced by the city’s early settlers.
Hub City Cycles
Situated in the downtown area of the City of Lafayette, Hub City Cycles boasts of an eclectic collection of bicycles. Visitors to the city can conveniently rent bikes to explore the city and even tour the Atakapa Ishak Bicycle Trail, which is in close proximity to this Lafayette establishment. Hub City Cycles also performs minor repairs and servicing of bicycles.
Parc International
Parc International is a completely enclosed all cement park that has the distinction of been one of the trendy hot spots in the area. Over the course of the year, it hosts outdoor films, concerts and a number of the most popular Lafayette annual festivals. Parc International is easily accessible by foot or biking , and is in close proximity to the Atakapa Ishak Bicycle Trail.
Lafayette Farmers and Artisans Market
Located in the city’s Central Park, the Lafayette Farmers and Artisans Market is an exciting destination that lets locals showcase locally grown produce, arts and crafts and even jewelry. This market is characterized by beautiful oak trees and also offers impromptu live music performances by Cajun bands.
Cite Des Arts
Cite Des Arts is a highly acclaimed Lafayette performing and visual arts center that is situated in the downtown area. It offers a very innovative program, which lays a strong emphasis on education and community outreach. It is now recognized as one of the finest grassroots arts incubator in this region of Louisiana, and serves as a key hub for the city’s art, music and plays scene.
Parish Ink
Parish Ink offers and puts to show apparels, accessories as well as art like products with South Louisiana roots. It is one of the top Lafayette centers of Acadian Culture. The main mission of Parish Ink is to create a line of apparel, accessories and art like products, which solely focus on the city’s Acadian cultural heritage.
Crawfish Aquatics
This is yet another of the City of Lafayette’s most popular hot spots, and is renowned as the ultimate destination for swimming in the region. Crawfish Aquatics provides youth swimming lessons to kids of 2 years and up to 12 years.
Mountain Bike Lafayette
Mountain Bike Lafayette happens to be this Louisiana city’s sole biking trail, and is situated in the Acadian Park. It is highly acclaimed for hosting many bicycle gatherings that attract biking enthusiasts from this region of the state of Louisiana.
Alexandre Mouton House Museum
This is yet another top attraction in the City of Lafayette that is located in the downtown area. The Alexandre Mouton House Museum boasts of period specific furnishings along with a wide variety of historic and cultural memorabilia. This house was built by Jean Mouton who has the distinction of being the founder of Vermilionville, as Lafayette was previously called. The Alexandre Mouton House later on became the primary residence of Mouton’s son; Alexandre Mouton. Alexandre Mouton, like it was earlier noted, went on to be become the very first Democratic Party governor of the state of Louisiana.
Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum
This City of Lafayette museum for the arts has the distinction of being the biggest of its kind located on the Gulf Coast in between the cities of Houston and New Orleans. It puts to show a wide variety of evolving exhibits on diverse works of art. The Paul and Lulu University Art Museum also has a regular schedule of lectures and even programs that are delivered over the course of the year. This museum is situated in the campus of the University of Louisiana.
Blackpot Festival
The Blackpot Festival is one of the most popular events that Lafayette hosts on an annual basis. It showcases numerous live music performances that vary in genre. This ranges from Cajun and Zydeco music, Creole music, Swing music, Hot Jazz music, Blues music, Bluegrass music to mention just but a few. One of the key highlights of the City of Lafayette’s Blackpot Festival is the staging of an old fashioned accordion competition. This festival is held annually in the month of October for 2 days that are filled with excellence music shows, food, camping and even jamming. It is a cooperative of a number of Southern Louisiana musicians, artists and even Southern Culture enthusiasts.