Rayne is now a finalist in the America's Favorite Small Town competition.
To mark America 250 and Parade’s own 85th anniversary as a premium legacy media brand, they partnered with travel storytelling and planning app Stellar to search for America’s Favorite Small Town. Through hundreds of submissions and tens of thousands of votes, the field was narrowed to 40 finalists, and now to the list below—an amazing representation of the variety and diversity that make up the fabric of our country.
As of 1 p.m. on Friday, here are the standings:
If you want to help out the Acadia Parish town, you can vote for free here: https://parade.com/travel/americas-favorite-small-towns-2026-meet-the-regional-winners
Here's what the contest organizers have to say about Rayne:
Why it’s a winner: This town of 7,000 in Acadia Parish in southwestern Louisiana boasts not just one, but two nicknames. The unofficial Frog Capital of the World, Rayne hosts an annual Frog Festival each May to honor the enterprising three French brothers who did good business exporting frogs in the early 1900s to the restaurants of New Orleans (at one point, it is said that they exported 10,000 pounds of frog legs in a single week!). Rayne also holds the title of Louisiana’s official City of Murals, thanks to the 30 unique artworks commissioned by the town as part of a beautification project in the 1990s [parade.com]. This is a town that knows how to celebrate its heritage: The KBON Festival honors the region’s Acadian music [parade.com] each October [parade.com], while Acadian Day will return for the second year in August, spotlighting culture, food, and language. Rayne also raises a glass for Roberts Cove Germanfest to mark its German roots every October.
The overall winner will be named on June 16., organizers say.
