Events in Sunset Louisiana

Looking for top-notch, inexpensive family entertainment, great food, a beautiful outdoor experience and some of the best music in the world? Two words: Louisiana festivals.

More than 400 Louisiana festivals occur each year – which makes it easy to see why Louisiana is often called the Festival Capital of America. We celebrate just about every crop harvested, every indigenous dish, every type of music that's played here – ranging from Cajun and zydeco to Delta blues, New Orleans jazz, Louisiana's own swamp pop, country, salsa and more. Excellent Louisiana food is a given at any festival. And as always, Louisiana festivals offer abundant opportunities for meeting new friends.

Themed festivals range from a Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula and Tomato Festival in Chalmette to the great Festival International in Lafayette; from the big Contraband Days Pirate Festival in Lake Charles to the Holiday Festival of Lights in Natchitoches. From the Red River Revel in Shreveport to the Catfish Festival in Washington. Of course, you'll want to visit the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, or the big family-fun French Quarter Festival.

And for the biggest of them all? That's right, Louisiana is home to Mardi Gras! But that's another story – and a very large one across the state!

Sunset has always been known for its contributions to the agricultural industry as a leading producer of sweet potatoes. But today it is also known for a popular horticultural event, The Celebration of Herbs and Gardens. Held each May, the Sunset Garden Club hosts this daylong event. Seventy-five vendors display native plants, herbs, vegetable plants, yard art and herbal products. Another stop for plant lovers is La Caboose Bed & Breakfast, also home to La Caboose Jams and Jellies. Three acres surround the collection of restored train cars, now used as sleeping quarters and includes pecan trees, orchards, lush gardens of herbs and native flowers. Just on the outskirts of town and well worth the drive, is Chretien Point Plantation. Once the center of a 10,000 acre cotton plantation, this home’s history includes stories of the Civil War and a staircase that was replicated and used in Gone With the Wind!