From humble beginnings 26 years ago, Lafayette's Festival International de Louisiane has grown into one of the region's premiere events. Voted world's best free festival by About.com for the 2nd year in a row, Festival International brings the world to Acadiana, and in turn shows Acadiana to the world.

Lafayette City-Parish President Joey Durel stopped by “Mornings with Ken and Bernie” for his weekly “Lafayette Live” segment today to discuss the economic impact of the Festival on the Acadiana region, as well as to remind citizens that they have the opportunity to be ambassadors for South Louisiana.

Durel pointed out that Festival International weekend brings a population boom to the city, with hundreds of thousands of people descending upon downtown Lafayette to enjoy all the food, culture, and music Festival International has to offer. This influx of visitors gives every citizen the opportunity to become ambassadors for the area.

I had a mayor from New Brunswick, Canada one year, and he just raved about how friendly our policeman were. That's when you realize that we all are ambassadors, and when people come here from other parts of the world, if they have a good experience while they're here, they become ambassadors for us and they bring more people back next year. It's a great opportunity for Lafayette and Acadiana to put it's best foot forward and show people who we are and what we can do. - Joey Durel

 

Festival International 2013 will take place April 24-28 in downtown Lafayette.

For more info, check out Festival International's website by clicking here.

 

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