Eleven days of live music, food and family fun is in the near future for Acadiana.
After taking a year off due to COVID, the Cajun Heartland State Fair is back from May 27 through June 6, 2021 at the Cajundome.
"We're back in the saddle, we're running at full blast and it feels so good to be back onstage meeting people and entertaining!" says Tommy Breen, a performer at this year's event.
Breen and his performing troupe have waited for this day for more than a year.
The group is made up of a sword swallower, a fire eater, a strong woman and more. They are in town from Florida, setting up one of the free attractions at this year's fair.
"It's a lot of work to get ready. We have to get parked on location, make sure it's nice and square. We have to put up the big banner line where you see all of the pictures of sword swallowers and fire eaters. We want to give it that old time feel even though it's a modern show for today's audience," says Breen.
"There's a lot of pieces that have to come together to produce a great fair," says Cajundome marketing director Casey White.
The fair has several new attractions organizers are excited to debut and COVID-19 policies have been updated to follow the new CDC guidelines.
"We're not requiring face masks to be worn since it's an outdoor event, but we strongly encourage it if you're not vaccinated yet," says White.
Half-priced ride ticket sheets can be purchased now through May 26 for $12.50/sheet at the CAJUNDOME Box Office, open daily from 10 AM – 4 PM. Ride sheets will also be available on-site during the fair at the regular price of $25 and includes 20 ride tickets per sheet. The 50-ticket sheet Family Pack will also be on sale at the farigrounds for $50/sheet.
Ride wristbands will be available nightly and will be valid on the day of purchase from open to close.Wristbands can be purchased on the fairgrounds for $25 each, with the exception of opening night when they are only $20 each.
Guests can purchase a Memorial Day ride wristband for only $20 each at the CAJUNDOME Box Office, now through Sunday, May 30th. Mega Passes are also available for $85 through May 26, which includes four ride wristband vouchers and admission for 4 that you can redeem on the day of your choice to help your family ride for less.
Guests can also join the CAJUNDOME Insiders on cajundome.com for exclusive offers and discounts.
Lagniappe Lane will include some returning free on-site entertainment from the World of Wonders big top show featuring 10 unusual side show acts and Texas Tommy's Wild West Review. New this year, Prehistoric Dinosaur Adventures will include free admission into the Dinosaur Mobile Museum, daily baby dinosaur shows and T-Rex encounters.
Crazy Bout Crawfish restaurant from Breaux Bridge will be on-site daily selling boiled crawfish in the Crawfish Village area along with other local food and merchandise vendors. New to Crawfish Village is the outdoor music stage featuring live local entertainment each night.