Cajun classique

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Cajun Classique
Le Catalogue Général
de la Voyage en le Pays Cajun
Monday, April 7 - Sunday, April 13, 2014
Bayou Teche, Louisiana
Be part of this historic Cruise through the heart of Cajun Country.
Experience Cajun culture and cuisine  see 500-year old oak trees 
enjoy wildlife  dance to the rhythms of Cajun and Zydeco music  meet
with Cajun authors and filmmakers  visit Cajun boat builders  float
through the oldest operating Keystone Lock and Dam of the delta  stomp
on the grounds of famed Detective Dave Robicheaux, the main character
in novels by Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Lee Burke  tour the
world-famous Tabasco plant and Jungle Gardens  arrive in style at the
Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival and the Bayou Teche Wooden Boat
Show along Parc sur la Teche in historic Franklin, Louisiana.
- Marine Mechanic on call during the entire Cajun Classique Tour Directors are Southwest ACBS members Wayne Elliott & Cory Werk
Sponsered by the Southwest Chapter of the ACBS in association with
BAYOU TECHE EXPERIENCE
317 East Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge LA 70517, 337-366-0337
www.CajunClassique.com
- Ethanol-free gas: Conoco, 904 Rees St, Breaux Bridge LA 70517 -
info@CajunClassique.com
337.366.0337
CONTENT
General Information …………………………………………………Page
Location/Maps ………………………………………………………..Page
Itinerary ………………………………………………………………..Page
Points of Interest ……………………………………………………. Page
Lodging ……………………………………………………………….. Page
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United
States. Louisiana is the 25th most populous of the 50 United States.
Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans.
Acadiana, as highlighted in red above, is the official name given to French
Louisiana that is home of a large Francophone population and also known
as Cajun Country. Our Cruise goes through the heart of this region. We
start in Breaux Bridge, conveniently located at Interstate 10, and finish at
the spectecular Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival and Wooden Boat Show
in Franklin, Louisiana. Cajun Classique, truly a journey to remember.
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BAYOU TECHE: Red Arrows: key towns Blue Dots: waterway route
Monday, April 7
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ITINERARY
Arrival in Breaux Bridge, Exit 109 at Interstate 10
Check-ins at Bayou Teche Experience: 337-366-0337
317 E. Bridge Street, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana 70517
p.m. Cajun Classique Welcome Reception:
Group meal with regional cuisine
Meet local boat builders, Live music: Cajun Trio
Check-in: Microtel Breaux Bridge
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Tuesday, April 8th
8:00 a.m. to noon
Noon to 2:00 p.m.
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 9th
8:00 a.m.
9:00 a.m.
10:30 – 11:30
11:30 – 12:30
1:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
Launch boats / deliver trailers to Franklin
Walk about Breaux Bridge (antique stores)
Lunch and presentation by Greg Guirard
Visit local boat builder (Tony Latiolais)
Lake Martin Boat Tour
Dinner and live Zydeco music dance
Check-out: Microtel Breaux Bridge
DEPART for St. Martinville
Arrive and walk about in St. Martinville
Evangeline Oak
Acadian Memorial
Church
Lunch in St. Martinville
DEPART for NEW IBERIA
Arrive New Iberia
Check-in: Days Inn
Thursday, April 10th
Morning
Lunch
Afternoon
Evening
Friday, April 11th
8:00 a.m.
9:30 a.m.
Lunch
2:00 p.m.
Spend day in New Iberia
Tour Shadow’s on the Teche
Walk about downtown
Teche Museum
Teche Bookstore
Clementine’s
Tour Tabasco/Avery Island (Konriko)
Dinner
Check-out: Days Inn New Iberia
Visit local boatbuilder
tbd
DEPART for FRANKLIN
Check-in: Quality Inn
Saturday, April 12th
BAYOU TECHE BLACK BEAR FESTIVAL &
WOODEN BOAT SHOW, Franklin, Louisiana
Sunday, April 13th
Check-out: Quality Inn
Departure
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POINTS OF INTEREST
BREAUX BRIDGE is the gateway for our Cajun Classique. Just
remember I-10 Exit 109, and we meet in historic downtown right next the
bridge at Bayou Teche Experience. The premier outfitter in the region,
specializing in the 135-mile Bayou Teche, birder’s paradise Lake Martin,
Lake Fausse Pointe State Park and the Achafalaya Basin, the largest
wetland and swamp in the United States. Across the street is the Bayou
Teche Visitors Center, or stroll the quaint downtown streets of Breaux
Bridge, and you'll find yourself transported back to a time before life
became hectic. Down here, neighbors still know you by name. Breaux
Bridge is the heartbeat of authentic Cajun culture in south Louisiana. We
have traditional Cajun and funky Zydeco music, world-famous cuisine,
and a rich history filled with interesting stories. Welcome to the Crawfish
Capital of the World. Also known for its unusual listing of nicknames in its
telephone directory. Population: 8,139.
The exact origin of the name Parks is somewhat of a mystery. Although
some residents seem to think that it had something to do with the railroad,
one story states the first train to pass through the community arrived on
Easter Sunday. When the train engineer, who apparently did not speak or
understand French, inquired about the name of the settlement, the
residents replied "C'est Pacques" (it's Easter). The train engineer thought
he understood the word Parks, and the name apparently stuck. Today
Parks is a small village on the Teche. Population: 533.
St. Martinville is the seat of the St. Martin Parish. St. Martin de Tours
Church is the oldest church parish in southwest Louisiana. It is known as
the Mother Church of the Acadians because it was founded in 1765 upon
the arrival of Acadians in this area. The current building has served as a
center for religious activities in this predominantly Catholic community for
over one hundred fifty years. The Evangeline Oak, made famous in Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline", stands on the bank of the
Bayou Teche. Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site is located north of
the historic district. Population: 6,199.
On the National Register of Historic Places is the Keystone Lock and Dam
in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. Construction of the Keystone Lock and
Dam, located on Bayou Teche, was begun in 1910 and the facility opened
in 1913. Faced with economic hardships stemming from the decline of the
steamboat industry and the completion of the railroad at Lafayette, the
residents of St. Martinville, Louisiana, sought to improve their situation by
making the upper Teche navigable to barges, thus attracting industry to
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the area. Several area residents who owned property adjacent to Bayou
Teche donated land in anticipation of great benefits to the local population
that would result from the construction of the Keystone Lock and Dam.
The original facility consisted of a 175 foot dam and lock with an overall
length of 229 feet. The lock had a 160 foot chamber and gate bays at the
north and south ends. The oldest operating Corps lock in the delta, it has
timber miter gates and was hand-operated until 1960, when it was
converted to an electrical system.
Founded by Spaniards in 1779 on the banks of Bayou Teche, New Iberia
eventually became home to French settlers known as Acadians, who had
been driven from Nova Scotia by British troops. The Acadians, who in
their new home came to be known as Cajuns, imbued the region with their
unique cultural traditions and cuisine. Today the area – which is home to
world-famous Tabasco® hot pepper sauce – is renowned for its food,
music and festivals, which draw from the melting pot of Spanish, French,
African-American and Creole heritage. A walking tour of the East Main
Street National Register Residential District reveals the stomping grounds
of famed Detective Dave Robicheaux, the main character in novels by New
Iberia native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author James Lee Burke. History
is on display in the Bayou Teche Museum and at Shadows-on-the-Teche,
an antebellum home once occupied by Union soldiers during the Civil War.
New Iberia also is home to Konriko, America’s oldest working rice mill.
Population: 30,683.
Jeanerette is the sweetest place in Louisiana, the Sugar City! Sugarcane
continues to be a key factor in the economy. Jeanerette is the home of
manufacturers of equipment for the cultivation, harvesting and
processing of sugarcane. Today, additional sources of income include oil
and natural gas, salt, carbon black, a garment distribution center, and
fishing. St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church is the landmark in
town. Population: 5,542.
Charenton (historically French: Lieu-des-Chetimachas) is home to the
only remaining community of Chitimacha Indians. The Chitimacha operate
a museum, fish processing plant and school on the reservation. In addition,
what began as a bingo operation grew into a lucrative casino that
operates on the tribe's land in Charenton. Revenue from the Cypress
Bayou Casino has provided the Chitimacha with funds used to recover
land historically part of the reservation. Population: 1,903.
Baldwin is located on Bayou Teche and part of the St. Mary Parish.
Baldwin is the last town before the Teche reaches Franklin, the finishing
line for the Cajun Classique. Population: 2,436.
The Cajun Classique arrives right on time for the Bayou Teche Black Bear
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Festival and the Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show along Parc sur la Teche
in historic Franklin. This weekend is dedicated to the Louisiana Black
Bear, a species listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as
"threatened" under the guidelines of the Endangered Species Act. The
goal is to promote ecotourism, educate the public about the Black Bear
species and to protect their natural habitat. At the same time, owners of
classic and modern wooden vessels of all sizes will converge on Franklin,
Louisiana for the fifth Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show.
What started as a spur-of-the-moment idea around a breakfast table at a
local restaurant has become the fastest growing venue for classic and
antique wooden boats in the Southeast, set along a unique venue in deep
southern Louisiana in a city with more than 400 registered historic homes
and a Main Street known for its charm. Owners of 40 boats came to
Franklin in 2012 and every year it is growing more. The first show a dozen
boats showed up, three of which were from outside of St. Mary Parish.
It wasn’t. In 2011, 28 boats were on the bayou side. The Bayou Teche
Wooden Boat Show is a place where folks meet who own and love wooden
boats, and love meeting and talking with other people who love wooden
boats, whether they’re guests participating in the show or the good
people who come to see the boats.
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LODGING
Monday, April 7 - Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Call for reservations by using Rate Code “Cajun Classique”
$67 per night
Microtel Inn
2280 Rees Street
Breaux Bridge LA 70517
337-332-0432
Wednesday, April 9 - Friday, April 11, 2014
Call for reservations by using Rate Code “Cajun Classique”
$68 per night
Days Inn
611 Queen City Drive
New Iberia LA 70560
337-560-9500
Friday, April 11 - Sunday, April 13, 2014
Call for reservations by using Rate Code “Cajun Classique”
$61 per night
Quality Inn
1819 Main Street
Franklin LA 70538
337-828-1134
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