The smell of okra and other wonderful dishes, the Creole language, heritage and culture and the Bayou Teche come together in St. Martinville on Oct. 5!
The African American Museum kicks off the Okra Cook-Off at 6pm, right in front of the museum at 125 So. New Market St. Everyone is invited to take part in the Cook-Off or just come out and taste some specialties of the region and some of the best food you`ve ever eaten! Judging takes place at 8pm, and the awards ceremony follows at 9pm.
An okra cook-off requires some Creole and Zydeco dancing music, DJ provided by Nedie Musical Productions from 6pm to 11pm!
Check out the museum for the opening at 7pm of a special exhibit, Kouri Vini, honoring the Creole language, heritage and culture, produced by Christophe Landry. His exhibit includes several Louisiana maps plotting the historic development of Creole (language and culture).
Come a bit early, and join us as we welcome the Tour du Teche participants arriving in kayaks/canoes/pirogues between 2 and 10pm at the floating dock between Old Market St. and the Evangeline Oak.
Interested in taking part in the Cook-Off?! Entry fee is $35. Food and other vendors are also welcome for a fee of $40. Forms are available on the City of St. Martinville Facebook page or by contacting City Hall at 337-394-2230 or the Tourism office at 337-394-2233.
Christophe, no stranger to St. Martinville and the African American Museum, is an academician, a polyglot and language, culture and human rights activist with multi-generational ties to French, Spanish and American Louisiana. In addition to graduating with honors from UL Lafayette with a bachelor`s in Francophone Studies and Linguistics, along with a minor in Germanic Studies, he was recently awarded a doctorate from the University of Sussex in England. His thesis is entitled, A Creole melting pot: the politics of language, race, and identity in southwest Louisiana, 1918-45.
The 3rd Annual Tour du Teche is a multi-leveled canoe/kayak/pirogue race down the Bayou Teche. Participants choose between several races of different lengths from Oct 5-7, 2018. The Tour du Teche in its entirety covers 135 miles.
The 1st stage of the Tour, along with the Acadian leg (49 miles), ends in St. Martinville on Oct. 5 between 2pm and 10pm. The second stage, along with the Hot Sauce leg (24 miles), the Sugar (59 miles), and the Black Bear (35 miles) leave St. Martinville at 8am on Sat., Oct. 6.
The Tour du Teche covers St. Landry, St. Martin, Iberia and St. Mary Parishes. For more information on the Tour, visit their web site at https://tourduteche.com.
For more information on the Cook-Off and the exhibit, contact Danielle Fontenette at 337-394-2230 or at stmchc@bellsouth.net
Okra Cook-Off Schedule – Oct 5, 2018
6pm Okra Cook-Off kick off
DJ by Nedie Musical Productions till 11pm
7pm Opening exhibit
8pm Cook-Off Judging
9pm Awards
2pm –10pm Arrival of Tour du Teche participants on Bayou Teche
11pm Cook-Off ends
