For more than 25 years, Festival International de Louisiane has been celebrating south Louisiana’s French cultural heritage. Native musicians as well as performing artists from Europe, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean play on the festival’s stages — more than 20 different world nations are represented at the festival, making Festival International one of Louisiana’s premier multicultural events! More than 300,000 festival-goers will gather for the street musicians, arts and crafts boutiques, a world music store, cultural workshops and more.

The Independence Sicilian Heritage Festival celebrates the Italian, and more specifically, Sicilian heritage of the area during the second weekend of March. The town has been honoring its Italian culture since the ‘70s, and the festival features a spaghetti cook-off, spaghetti eating contest and meatball toss competition – along with a parade, fantastic food, rides and games, live music and arts & crafts.

For more than 40 years, the town of Zwolle has celebrated its Spanish and Native American heritage with the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta – a three-day event held the second weekend of October each year. Annually, more than 15,000 people gather in Sabine Parish to attend the celebration. The Zwolle Tamale Fiesta offers a heritage-rich, fun-filled weekend with plenty of delicious hot tamales, live entertainment, tamale-making demonstrations, a tamale-eating contest, arts and crafts, street dancing, parades and more.

And, of course, out of the over 400 festivals the state hosts each year, none tops Mardi Gras. For the entire Carnival season, visitors can enjoy spectacular parades, elaborate costumes, dance, food and drink. New Orleans is famous for Mardi Gras, but nearly every community has its own version of the celebrations, including everything from boat parades to family-friend experiences and concerts.

Find your festival and plan your trip at ExploreLouisiana.com