It's Time to Put Books Along the Teche Literary Festival on Your Calendar

Shadows-on-the-Teche

It's time to start filling in your new planner with cool events for 2019!

The first thing going on my calendar this year is the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival, which is scheduled for April 5, 6, and 7.

This year's featured Great Southern Writer is Rebecca Wells who is the author of The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood and other terrific books.

I went to this festival last year for the first time; I was fortunate enough to have been given a media pass and so we could participate in many of the events and it was truly a fantastic weekend.  In fact, there was so much to write about, I had to do it in two posts! The first one is here and the second is here.  Steve and I fell in love with the people and the entire area and we have made several trips back since then.

This is an absolutely terrific festival! On the agenda this year:

On Friday morning, start the day off with the Tastes Along the Teche Food Demo featuring professional chefs. Last year I met my food idol Marcelle Bienvenu! You'll get some new recipes and

Just hanging out with Marcelle Bienvenu!

learn some new techniques to raise the level of your cooking. Even better - you'll also get to sample everything!  Yum!

The Dave's Haunts and Jaunts bus tour through New Iberia is offered on both Friday and Saturday. If it's the same as last year, you'll climb on a lovely charter bus and tour historic spots around Iberia Parish and enjoy the fun commentary of Danny Bonaventure of Allons a Lafayette tours. This was a really entertaining event and as newcomers to New Iberia we learned a lot on this tour. It's definitely a must-do on your list.

Another event that should not be missed is the Opening Reception Friday night at Shadows-on-the-Teche, now a National Trust for Historic Preservation site. The home is beautiful and the grounds are breathtaking. You'll be right on the historic Bayou Teche. Music is provided by the Bunk Johnson Brazz Band and there will be a cochon de lait; last year there was also catfish and other seafood specialties.  As we arrived the band was playing on the front balcony; it was magical. At the end of the evening everyone did a second line through the grounds; this was one of my favorite events. I'd suggest squeezing in a tour of the house sometime during the weekend, too.

On Saturday night is the evening party at the Steamboat Pavillion with live music by the great Terry Huval and his group. You can learn to Cajun dance and eat delicious Cajun food. The best part of this event is how fun it is and getting to really visit with the local people! It truly captures the joie de vivre that epitomizes New Iberia. Oh, and the food was pretty darn good, too and there was plenty of it!

There are so many events planned that you'll need to check out the website and plan your agenda. Some of them overlap but the planners have worked hard to ensure that things are spread out enough where you can do the ones you really want to do.

Some of the events require tickets and some are free. The Academic Symposium at the library is free and features scholars and experts in a panel discussion on selected topics. I thoroughly enjoyed this last year. Other free events include various movie screenings throughout the weekend, an Art Guild Exhibit, a book fair along historic Main Street and you can purchase food from food trucks while you browse, a Live Oak walk along Main Street hosted by a local arborist, and a children's book panel.

Part of the George Rodrique exhibit at Bayou Teche Museum

I've barely scratched the surface here, but suffice to say that this is a festival that just gets better every year and will soon be one of Louisiana's most celebrated festivals.

In addition to the scheduled festival events, New Iberia offers many unique opportunities for the tourist such as the Bayou Teche Museum with it's George Rodrique exhibit, Konrico Rice Company where you can tour the oldest rice mill in America, Jefferson Island and the exquisite gardens, and Avery Island and the Tabasco factory. You'll need more than one weekend!

You really don't want to miss this one.

Further Reading:
Take a Trip to Books Along the Teche Literary Festival, Part I
Take a Trip to Books Along the Teche Literary Festival, Part II
Take a Weekend Trip to New Iberia (July 2018, SIGIS)
Books Along the Teche Literary Festival website
New Iberia Travel (tourism info)
Books Along the Teche (bookstore)
Books Along the Teche Literary Festival photo gallery (Acadiana Lifestyle)