The 44th Annual St. John Parish Andouille Festival presented by Marathon Petroleum Company, LP will feature music, rides, crafts and of course great food. Thousands of people merge upon the festival grounds each year for a fun-filled weekend and everyone is invited to join us again this year!

This year’s festival is scheduled for Oct. 13-15 at the Thomas F. Daley Memorial Park, located at 2900 U.S. 51 in LaPlace. Amusement rides, bands, games, arts and crafts, children’s activities and more will be featured, along with cooking contests, a Second Line Parade, an Andouille eating contest and “Football Zone” Tent.

A children’s art tent will be open throughout the weekend, featuring canvas art painting with Kid-friendly entertainment.

Vendors will have a wide range of dishes with andouille featured as the main ingredient including jambalaya, gumbo, egg rolls and corndogs. Other delectable food such as onion mums, fried and boiled seafood, cracklings, meat pies, crawfish pasta, boudin balls, desserts and more will also be available.

On Sunday/Oct. 15, the annual Andouille Run, a 5-mile run and 2-mile run/walk will begin at 8 a.m. at the festival grounds. Admission to the festival is $5 for adults and $2 for children ages 3-12.

The festival is open from 6 p.m. to midnight on Friday/ Oct. 13, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday/Oct. 14 and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday/Oct. 15.

Each year we strive to make the Andouille Festival poster better and more appealing to traditional festivalgoers. Parish officials will host a print unveiling to reveal the 2017 Official Andouille Poster on Thursday/Sept. 21. Posters will be sold beginning in October at the St. John Parish Economic Development Department, Matherne’s Supermarket in LaPlace, Don’s Supermarket and Greg’s Supermarket in Reserve.

As the festival approaches, so does the competition for the title of Miss and Teen Andouille Queen. The Annual Miss and Teen Andouille Pageants are scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday/Sept. 23 at the St. John Theatre. This year’s theme is “Planes, Trains, Automobiles & Heels.”

To be eligible for participation, contestants must be single, childless, a resident of St. John the Baptist Parish and between the ages of 13-16 for the Teen Division and 17-23 for the Miss Division on the date of the pageant. Registration forms can be turned into the Parish office.

This year’s Queen will visit Washington D.C. for the annual D.C. Mardi Gras Celebration.

As you can see, there is plenty to do in St. John as we begin festival season!

The Andouille Festival is rich with pride, culture and diversity and yields great family fun and an overall rewarding experience for all ages.

Come join us the weekend of October 13-15 for a Smokin’ good time! For more information, please visit www.andouillefestival.com for the band lineup, food vendor list and more in the upcoming weeks and remembers to sign up for Parish alerts.

Natalie Robottom is St. John the Baptist Parish President. She can be reached at communications@stjohn-la.gov.