The Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, an annual celebration of the music, food traditions and cultures of Acadiana held in Lafayette, Louisiana, has been postponed until 2022.

In a press release issued today, festival organizers said,  “After careful discussion concerning the current Delta variant-related surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the Acadiana area and the overall health care crisis happening throughout Louisiana, the organizers of Festivals Acadiens et Créoles have decided that the 2021 festival, scheduled to take place October 8-10, will be postponed to March 18-20, 2022.

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles can trace its roots back to the first Tribute to Cajun Music Festival organized by the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) in 1974. Festivals Acadiens et Créoles was officially established in 1977 with components of music, food and crafts. Since then, the event has grown into a multi-day affair taking place during the second full weekend of October each year in Lafayette. Festivals operates as a nonprofit corporation and is run by a community board and volunteers.

“This decision was not made lightly,” added the organizes. “Our festival fans seemed genuinely excited that planning and programming for a 2021 edition of the festival was underway. However, festival organizers have decided that we cannot with a clear conscience put our festival fans and our beloved musicians, restaurant workers, crafts persons, volunteers and staffers at risk by having a live event in Girard Park this fall. We cannot take the chance of them contracting this highly contagious and potentially deadly disease. We wish for our festival fans and our cultural community to stay safe, and we encourage everyone to follow the guidelines established by health care officials and do your part to combat COVID-19 so that we can once again celebrate our culture and heritage among ourselves and with others.”

The cancellation is one of many that have affected mass gatherings scheduled for the fall in metro New Orleans, including the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, White Linen Night, the Red Dress Run, and the Gretna Heritage Festival.

For more information on Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, visit here.