ST. LANDRY PARISH — The Juneteenth Folklife Celebration returns to Opelousas Friday and Saturday, highlighting the folk art, heritage and traditions of African American culture in St. Landry Parish.
Visitors can enjoy live music, traditional dancing, original folk art and cultural demonstrations celebrating the region's rich history.
Rebecca Henry, event organizer, said the celebration honors a tradition passed down through generations.
"It is very important because when I was growing up as a sharecropper's daughter, we knew about Juneteenth, we did not go into the fields on that day," Henry said. "The Texans would come here to get okra, watermelon and you know, everything, the harvest time, you know, it was harvesting different things. I take it seriously because we need to know, and we need to teach our next generation because we don't want to leave them in a terrible mess."
The celebration kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday at the Evangeline Down Events Center. Saturday's event starts at 1 p.m. under the Farmers Market Pavilion in Opelousas.
