The South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center has announced a new event that will showcase the Cajun folklore of the bayous of Terrebonne Parish.

The first Rougarou Fest is set for Friday, October 26 in Downtown Houma, with an evening of entertainment and activities for the whole family.

Endangered Gulf wetlands. (USGS)

The Wetlands Discovery Center has partnered with several organizations, including the Houma Downtown Development Corporation, to produce the event, which will feature live music, food and drink, a costume contest, challenge course with zombies and Cajun rollergirls (!) and a Krewe Ga Rou Halloween parade.

Proceeds from the inaugural event, running 5-10 p.m., will benefit the Wetlands Discovery Center’s efforts to restore and conserve the Rougarou habitat.

OffBeat’s John Swenson considered the plight of the region’s wetlands – amplified in Isaac’s wake, and by the popularity of films like Beasts of the Southern Wild and TV shows Cajun Justice and Swamp People – in a recent blog post. Pick up the October issue for more on the subject with Tab Benoit and the Ninth Annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival, running October 12-14 on the Southdown Museum grounds, also in Houma.

In other festival – not to mention conservation – news, the Southern Food and Beverage museum kicks off its own inaugural event Thursday, September 13 with a screening of the documentary Shellshocked: Saving Oysters to Save Ourselves. The presentation, hosted by Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center (1618 Oretha C. Haley Blvd.), is part of SoFAB’s weekend-long “Hungry in the South” lineup of food-centric films. Thursday’s opening night festivities begin with a 7 p.m. reception followed by the Gulf Coast premiere at 8. Click here for tickets and more information about the weekend-long “Film Feast.”