LAFAYETTE, La. — We're saying 'Goodbye' to summer with a parade on the water!
Dozens gathered together to celebrate the Bayou Vermilion at the 13th annual Bayou Vermilion District Boat Parade and Bayou Fest.
Wherever you are in Lafayette, you're bound to come into contact with the Vermilion.
"Whether you call it a bayou, a river or a title estuary— which is actually what it is—is life here in Lafayette," said Ellen Fucich with Vermilionville and the Bayou Vermilion District. "We would not have the culture that we have without the Vermilion."
September 28 was all about celebrating the Vermilion.
"We need to celebrate it because it is important to our heritage. It is important to our ecosystem," said Jenee Dansdill, the grand marshal of the boat parade.
Dozens lined up on the water.
"Lots of people in kayaks, canoes. We got a dinghy. We got a party barge. We've got a boat with a band on it," Fucich said.
All of them parading 10.5 miles down the water from Vermilionville to Southside Park for the 13th annual Bayou Fest.
"It's really exciting to be out here, and to quote the legendary Tina Turner, I'm ready to get rolling on the river!" Dansdill said.
