Our first stop today was the Acadian Cultural Center at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. The visitors center had great exhibits and a very long and depressing movie about the forced exile of the Acadians from Nova Scotia.
Down the street at Vermilionville the atmosphere was much more upbeat, celebrating the positive rather than the negative. Interpreters and craftsmen and women in period costume told the story very differently. Crafts included spinning, quilting and weaving, soap making, wood carving and blacksmithing.
At the school it was obvious that someone was caught speaking French instead of English. French was the norm until the 1950s and 1960s.
After visiting Maison Broussard, we crossed the Petit Bayou on a hand ferry. Wash your hands before heading to lunch!
To top off the afternoon we sat in on two hours of the weekly Cajun Music Jam at the Performance Center at Vermilionville, about 30 musicians, young and old. Included were Sheryl and Russell Cormier, Drew Simon and Kelli Jones-Savoy.