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The at the University of �鶹������ý at Lafayette is partnering with on a nationwide initiative led by the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival has honored living cultural traditions and the communities that sustain them since its founding in 1967. This year, the Folklife Festival will collaborate with approximately 40 festivals across the country for “Of the People: The Smithsonian Festival of Festivals.”

As one of the festivals selected by the Smithsonian, Festivals Acadiens et Créoles will broaden its programming — working closely with Center for �鶹������ý Studies as a principal programming partner — and present a series of expanded initiatives that deepen public engagement with the region’s music, history and material culture.

"With this support from the Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, we are organizing an exploration of our own regional version of the American melting pot," said Barry Jean Ancelet, professor emeritus of Francophone studies and Festivals Acadiens et Créoles co-founder and board president. "And as part of what became America, South �鶹������ý has been and continues to be influenced by old time Appalachian music, Delta blues, country music, swing, rock, jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, reggae and hip hop."

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles 2026, “Revolution and Evolution: Celebrating 250 Years of Cultural Fusion on the Bayou,” will celebrate this cultural impact, while bringing the Smithsonian’s long-standing commitment to documenting and presenting living cultural traditions into direct dialogue with �鶹������ý’s French-speaking cultural communities.

“This collaboration affirms what we know to be true: the regional traditions of Acadiana are not quaint antiquities, but vital expressions of human creativity with national and global significance,” said Dr. Joshua Caffery, director of the Center for �鶹������ý Studies. “At this moment of the nation’s 250th anniversary, they remind us that American culture is created locally, by the people, but also reflected, refracted, and continually reborn within the national consciousness."

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles will take place Oct. 9-11 on and around the campus of �鶹������ý Lafayette. The festival and the Center for �鶹������ý Studies have announced the following enhancements to this year’s festival lineup:

Smithsonian-Related Exhibition at the Hilliard Art Museum
An exhibition at the ’s A. Hays Town Building will present photography and archival materials documenting the Smithsonian’s decades-long engagement with �鶹������ý culture. At its core will be rarely seen — and in some cases never-before-exhibited—images and artworks related to past Smithsonian Folklife Festivals, offering a unique visual record of �鶹������ý French culture on a national stage and highlighting shared efforts in research, documentation and cultural stewardship.

Expanded Folklife & Material Culture Area
An expanded folklife area centered in Girard Park's pond and the Hilliard Art Museum lawn, including the A. Hays Town Building, will foreground traditional crafts, foodways, waterfowl traditions, outdoor heritage and community knowledge. This space will reinforce the festival’s role as a site of cultural transmission and lived experience.

Revolution and Evolution: Pre-Festival Symposium Enhancement
This year's pre-festival symposium will be expanded to explore in greater depth this year's theme: Revolution and Evolution: Celebrating 250 Years of Cultural Fusion on the Bayou. Through new scholarly and public-facing programming, the symposium will examine �鶹������ý’s cultural history within the wider context of the nation’s semiquincentennial. It will also explore the long-standing relationship between Acadiana’s regional culture and the Smithsonian’s folklife work, including connections to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, and related efforts that have helped bring �鶹������ý traditions to national and global audiences.

Scène’76 – A New Festival Stage
A newly created performance stage, Scène ’76, will highlight the interplay between Cajun, Creole and zydeco music and other American musical traditions. The stage will explore the influence of genres such as honky-tonk, blues, and old-time music, emphasizing �鶹������ý’s role within a broader national soundscape.

Scéne Atelier Workshop Series
Enhancements to the Atelier (workshop stage) will deepen and expand interpretive programming, offering audiences opportunities to engage directly with artists and tradition bearers through demonstrations, conversations, and contextual presentations.

Photo caption: Festivals Acadiens et Créoles and the Center for �鶹������ý Studies join a national network of cultural organizations working to showcase the richness of American cultural life in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Photo credit: Paul Kieu / University of �鶹������ý at Lafayette