Lafayette: sample an intriguing culture in one of Louisiana's great Cajun strongholds - If You Only Have A Day In …

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Carolyn Thornton

For a hearty gumbo stew, first you make a roux--browning flour and oil as a flavorful base. Similarly, Lafayette offers visitors a hearty introduction to southern Louisiana's Cajun country. Stir in some music, museums, art, and attractions, and you're truly cooking in the capital of good times.

Lafayette was initially settled by exiled Acadians from Nova Scotia in 1763 on lands occupied by the Attakapas Indians. The story of the Acadians' displacement during the "Grand Derangement" is movingly explained through the cultural and lifestyle exhibits of the Jean Lafitte Acadian Cultural Center (free), a National Historical Park and Preserve.

It wasn't until 1821 that cotton planter Alexandre Mouton donated land for a church and courthouse, establishing a town named Vermillionville on the Vermillion River. His story and the town's early history ,are told through the furnishings of the Laffayette Museum. This was Mouton's "Sunday House," which offered convenience for his family to attend Mass eight miles from his country plantation.

That early church has been replaced by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. It towers over the original 1820 cemetery with above-ground tombs. A museum to the left documents parish history and has Italian Nativity on display. To the right of the cathedral, the Cathedral Oak has been thriving for centuries. It is the third oldest live oak recogthe the third oldest live oak recognized by the Live Oak Society.

Seventeen portraits by George Rodrigue depicting the Acadian exile are featured in one of the homes of the Acadian Village. (Rodrigue is known for his popular Blue Dog series.) The Village features authentic Acadian structures, which were relocated to the site, and is operated as a non-profit project for the Lafayette Association of Retarded Citizens. Area artists have created a miniature village also displayed here.

To immerse yourself in the Acadian culture and heritage, allow ample time to explore Vermilionville. This 23-acre folk-life museum dishes out a full schedule of music, cooking, and artisan demonstrations. The ring of iron against an anvil lures visitors to the blacksmith shop while nearby a boat builder fashions a pirogue canoe. Gertie Crafts serves samples of Andouille sausage and beans to guests who attend her cooking classes. Daphne Robinson chats while constructing miniature pine needle baskets the way her mother taught her. At the chapel Jeanette Neveu strings Job's Tears beads from the coix lacryma jobi plant into rosaries. If you time it right, you can ride the rope-pulled ferry boat. Vermilionville also has a cafe, bakery, gift shop, and art gallery.

Much of Lafayette's art is freely displayed thanks to mural artist Robert Dalford. He has transformed formerly blank walls downtown into grand scale murals--the Atchafalaya River Basin, tail fins of 1950s-era cars, and a Cajun French accordion, among other larger-than-life paintings. More art and handmade crafts by members of the Louisiana Crafts Guild can be seen and purchased in galleries such as San Souci Fine Crafts Gallery. This tiny building served as Lafayette's first post office and later as a library and is located on the corner of San Souci park.

The opposite corner of the park (recently landscaped with a new fountain) is anchored by a 9/11 memorial marked by two beams from the World Trade towers and a concrete block damaged when flight AA 77 plowed into the Pentagon.

On a lighter note, the Children's Museum of Acadiana is located next to the park. Kids can learn real-life lessons by playing in a full-size ambulance, TV studio, grocery store, and at ATM stations. Low-wailed play spaces con-al toddlers and their parents. The bubble factory lets kids stand inside a giant soap bubble. Next door the Natural History Museum and Planetarium, which opened last October, hosts changing exhibits, workshops, films, and hands-on science.

Although Lafayette sings with special food and music events year round, downtown rocks every Friday night when the streets are blocked and parking lots turn into music stages for Downtown Alive! dancing and socializing. Every second Saturday, downtown galleries stay open late for Art Walk. A rubber-tired trolley (free) runs between restaurants and art galleries. You might even hear Robert Dalford singing a capella in a barbershop quartet at Jefferson Street Market. And where there's music, there's food in Lafayette. Let those good times roll.

Contact: Lafayette Convention & Visitors Commission, (800) 346-1958; www.lafayettetravel.com.