What could be more fitting a cause for celebration than the tall, green, sweet sugar cane which has done so much for the economy of South Louisiana? And so it is, that the last full weekend of September, as the growth of the succulent sugar cane reaches its pinnacle, residents and visitors are exhilarated with a feeling of excitement, as New Iberia enthusiastically hosts the twenty-four sugar producing parishes of Louisiana.

The Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association, Inc. was formed and chartered in 1940. Other sugar cane parishes were invited to participate, and the Sugar Cane Festival entered another stage of development. The festival has been held every year since 1937 except during World War II, along with absence in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID Pandemic. Many changes have taken place throughout the years. Some of the events have been eliminated for practical purposes but other gala events with far reaching versatility have been substituted.

The festival opens in grand style with something for everyone! The festival kicks off with carnival rides, followed by the art and photography show and the livestock show on Thursday. Then comes the typical religious devotion of this area with the traditional Blessing of the Crops on Friday morning. Friday is the day of the Farmer’s Parade. Saturday morning kicks off with a 5k run and the Children’s Parade. The main event, the Fais Do-Do, where you can find food and entertainment, lights up downtown New Iberia on Friday and Saturday night.

Receptions in honor of King Sucrose and Festival Honorees continue throughout the weekend with choosing of the new Queen Sugar and the Coronation Ball on Saturday evening. The last day of the festival is indeed the sweetest, with the new Queen Sugar and King Sucrose reigning over Sugarland in the Royalty Parade on Sunday to give a final touch of pomp and ceremony to yet another Sugar Cane Festival.

The Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association is still proudly guided by its Officers and Directors, and the many long-faithful enthusiastic volunteers who promise that all upcoming festivals will surpass in splendor and excitement, any previous celebration.