GUEYDAN, L.a. — The Gueydan Duck Festival is back for its 46th year — and organizers say nothing will rain on their parade.
"If a duck can stand this kind of weather, come on out, we're gonna show you what it's like over here," said Duck Festival Vice President, Julian LeBlanc.
The festival board told KATC that since 1977, the festival has been a staple of the town of Gueydan, otherwise known as the official duck capital of the United States.
"That's whenever it started to be a big thing over in Gueydan, you know," festival president, Jerrod Broussard, said. "Your duck calling contests, your duck trials, your skeet shooting, all the things that have to do with some sort of duck-hunting is what brought about the events that conspired into a festival. It means everything to this community."
Those events, taking place this weekend among others.
For 2021 Duck Festival Queen Jordan Fuqua, however, the festival hits closer to home. A fourth-generation duck hunter and the first female to do so in her family, she told KATC heading out on the hunt brought her a lot of memories — some now more special than ever.
"It goes back to the late 1800s. My great-grandfather took my grandpa, my grandpa took my dad, and my dad took me," Fuqua said. "But my grandfather and I were really close. Unfortunately, my grandpa and I both had COVID when he passed on at 95 years old and on his very last day that I got to spend with him, we were still talking about duck hunting so I know whenever the crowd landed on me he was looking down on me and so proud."
Fuqua, along with 2022 Duck Festival Teen Queen, Hali Dumatrait, both shared that the hunt is more than what you come home with.
"A bad day of duck hunting is better than a good day at work, at least that's what my dad always said," Dumatrait noted. "But it's a really great opportunity for family bonding, so if you've never tried it or thought it was too messy, you should just give it a shot."
At the end of the day, those with the Duck Festival told KATC that's what it's all about: recognizing your roots, planting new ones, and visiting with one another.
"This festival is gonna fly rain or shine," Leblanc said.
Admission is $10 Friday and Saturday but free on Sunday. For everything you need to know before you go and for more on how you can get involved with the festival, you can visit its official website here.
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