Eunice, LA

Today we are resting after spending a hectic fun filled two days in Eunice, LA. This friendly agricultural community lies amid rice fields and crawfish ponds. It is Louisiana’s hub and incubator of Cajun music. The music originated with the Acadian settlers who migrated to southwestern Louisiana during the late 18th century and is almost always sung in French.

Friday we visited the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center where we learned about their music and heritage. That evening we enjoyed a boiled shrimp dinner with potatoes, corn on the cob and salad at D.I.’s Cajun Restaurant in Basile, LA. They had a live band playing which was very enjoyable.


Mike went to the Savoy Music Center Jam Session at 9:00 Saturday morning. Marc Savoy, a world renowned accordion maker and musician pays back his customers by having a jam session and providing boudin (Cajun sausage made from the other white meat, rice, and spices), donuts, and coffee. He has been doing this since 1966. Nothing is rehearsed and everything is spontaneous. Everyone plays together. There were about fifteen musicians jamming. His goal is the preservation and perpetuation of Cajun music. He greets everyone at the door, and if you’re a stranger he welcomes you and makes you feel right at home. What a great experience.

Saturday evening we headed for The Liberty Center for the Performing Arts where we saw two groups play. The center’s main goal is to preserve and celebrate the culture indigenous to the Acadians with most of its events taking place at the theater. Weekly Saturday shows have been going on since 1987. Admission for the 1½ hour show is only five dollars. It is a live radio and television show called “Rendez Vous des Cajuns”. The emcee spoke mainly Cajun French with very little English.
As the bands played, people got up and danced in front of the stage. They don’t talk with each other as they dance, nor do they look at each other very often! They looked like zombies, all dancing in a counter-clock-wise oval.