Cultural Immersion
At Vermilionville, a Cajun, Creole and Native American folk life attraction on Bayou Vermilion, attendees can experience all things Cajun. Filled with artifacts reflecting Acadiana from 1765 to 1890, this off-site venue features guided tours, costumed artisans, live music, boat tours and two-step dance lessons, plus optional candlelight tours and golf cart service. A performance center with a stage accommodates 800. An Acadian restaurant seats 75, and 42 can attend a cooking school. Groups can go local with a crawfish boil; a “cochon de lait,” or pig roast; a “boucherie,” a Cajun feast with accordion and zydeco music; or a “fais do-do,” or dance party.
Artsy Spaces
An anchor in downtown Lafayette for 38 years, the Acadiana Center for the Arts offers music, dance, theater, visual arts and event spaces in elegant galleries with industrial-chic architecture. Its theater features cutting-edge acoustics and adaptability from a 6,000-square-foot flat floor for 500 standing to a stage performance for 300 seated. A beautiful open atrium with marble floors, a grand staircase and a glass front accommodates 250. More intimate areas include ArtLoft, where 35 can attend a reception in a glass room overlooking vibrant Vermilion St, and a 15-capacity boardroom complete with smart-board capabilities and a high-quality projection system.
Alligator Both Ways
Cajun Country is famous for hefty gators, which groups can see and taste. The largest river swamp in the nation, the Atchafalaya Basin teems with alligators, migratory birds, cypress knees and gorgeous water vistas. On the Atchafalaya Experience, up to 18 people in three boats can nature-watch and gator-spot with a local father-son geologist-fisherman team. As for tasting, Cajun Food Tours combines history and culture with six Cajun-eatery stops on its 14-passenger party van, where attendees learn why Lafayette was named Tastiest Town of the South by Southern Living and Best Food City in the USA by Rand McNally-USA Today.
Lafayette, Louisiana
Location:
140 miles northwest of New Orleans, 35 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico
Access:
Lafayette Regional Airport, interstates 10 and 49 between New Orleans and Houston
Major Meeting Spaces:
Cajundome and the Cajundome Convention Center, DoubleTree by Hilton Lafayette
Hotel Rooms:
6,000 in Lafayette, 7,000 in Greater Lafayette
Off-Site Venues:
Acadiana Center for the Arts, Heymann Performing Arts Center, Vermilionville
Contact Info:
Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission
800-346-1958
www.lafayettetravel.com
