Contraband Days
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contraband Days is a 12-day festival/carnival extravaganza filled with cajun food, family fun and festivities, and is attended by more than 200,000 people. Occurring annually in Lake Charles, it is among the larger celebrations in Louisiana. The Festival was first held in 1957. [1]
Held during the first two weeks of May, Contraband Days is the city's official celebration of the legend of the pirate Jean Lafitte. History tells that Lafitte and his band of pirates frequented the area's waterways; they are said to have buried Lafitte's contraband somewhere in the city's vicinity.
The Contraband Days festivities kick off every year with a pirate ship bombardment to "take control of the city" at the seawall of the Lake Charles Civic Center. A gang of rowdy and unruly buccaneers, played by actors and led by an actor playing Jean Lafitte, overruns the blazing cannons of the local militia. They then raise their "Jolly Roger" flag and capture the mayor by force with swords drawn - to walk the plank into the swirling waters of the lake.
Thus begins the two-weeks of pageantry and festivities, which include:
- Evening parade
- Fireworks shows
- Carnival midway
- Entertainment on three stages
- Sailing regatta
- Cajun cuisine
- Contests
- Beach games
- Thrill attractions
- Many fun-packed competitions, including bed races, bathtub races, and crawfish races
- Nationally-sanctioned speedboat races
- Family night
The celebration has a reputation for its celebrators. Alcohol is sold at the event.
