Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival

The Louisiana Fur & Wildlife Festival fills the Festival Fairgrounds at 122 Recreation Center Drive in Cameron and honors a different local industry each year, with crabbing in the spotlight this time. Friday brings a trap shooting competition, duck and goose calling and the Johnson Brothers Band. Saturday starts with a 5K run and 1-mile walk, then a gumbo cook-off in seafood, poultry and wild game divisions with a public tasting, oyster shucking, a kids' oyster race, a nutria skinning demonstration, an antique vehicle showcase, a parade through downtown Cameron and bands into the night. Children 12 and under get in free. The first festival was held in December 1955.

Our take: Get to the parade route early: traffic is blocked at 1 p.m. ahead of the 1:30 start, and families line the streets cooking and tailgating while they wait.