LAFAYETTE, La. — Friday night "Le Festival de Mardi Gras a Lafayette" officially got underway. The Lafayette celebration attracts visitors from all over Acadiana and the United States, many of them setting up motor homes along the parade route through Cajun Field. "We've been doing this for the last three years, we love coming out here, it's a good family environment, you know? For the kids, everybody has a good time, everybody feels safe", explained Carencro resident Chad Veillonbrate the holiday.
Veillon and his family spent Friday morning setting up their Mardi Gras headquarters across from Russo Park. They're expecting at least 30 people to join them over the next five days and they're not the only ones from out-of-town who will call Cajunfield home this weekend. Opelousas resident Chip Privett described why he and his family come to the Hub City, "in Lafayette you get the real feel of even the New Orleans-style Mardi Gras, but you got a family atmosphere. There's just a good crowd, everybody's friendly, your kids can run around and everybody's safe, it's just a great place to be!"
For most campsites food is king with a menu of everything from gumbo, crawfish, BBQ, cracklins and even fried Oreos! While many campers plan to party straight through Wednesday morning, most agree that they'll take a break on Sunday.
