It began in 1984 as a two-day street festival in downtown Shreveport. Today, Mudbug Madness, which will be held May 26–29, 2011, brings south Louisiana-style fun to north Louisiana every spring. In fact, it has become one of Louisiana’s largest and most popular Cajun events.

Through the past few decades the festival has stuck with its original purpose: to provide an entertaining event that celebrates Louisiana’s rich Cajun heritage. Despite its name, Mudbug Madness is more than a big crawfish boil.

Revenue from the event funds downtown Shreveport initiatives and provides sponsorship dollars for projects and events including Let the Good Times Roll, Cinco de Mayo, Rockets Over the Red and the Shreveport Police Mounted Patrol Unit.

The best parts for visitors, of course, are the food and music. The festival features renowned Cajun, zydeco, blues and jazz artists, mouth-watering Cajun cuisine and activities for all ages. Having grown into a four-day festival held each Memorial Day weekend, Mudbug Madness is recognized as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events, drawing more than 50,000 people per day.

The 2011 event promises three stages of live entertainment, with performances by Louisiana favorites such as Wayne Toups & ZyDeCajun, Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin' Cajuns, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie and Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers. (Find a full list of festival entertainment here.)

Fuel up for a weekend's worth of dancing by feasting on the delicious festival fare. Boiled crawfish, etouffée, fried crawfish tails and crawfish poboys will all be available. For those who don't desire a mess of mudbugs, you can dine on a variety of other dishes, including red beans and rice, gumbo, roasted corn, Philly cheesesteaks, gyros and more. If, however, your appetite for crawfish is hearty, sign up for one of the crawfish-eating contests.

Full details of the 2011 event can be found at MudbugMadness.com. There's no better way to spend your Memorial Day weekend than enjoying great Louisiana food, a daily schedule of activities for kids and terrific musical performances by some of Louisiana's best Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop groups. We'll see you there!