GONZALES — Get those paddles ready and that wood fire stoked, the 58th Annual Gonzales Jambalaya Festival is happening this weekend, and there are a few changes in store.
After more than 20 years on South Irma Boulevard, organizers have moved this year’s festivities to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center. The festival runs from Thursday, May 22, through Sunday, May 25. Admission is free on Thursday. Entry is $5 on Friday and Sunday and $10 on Saturday. Weekend passes are also available for $15.
Festival Association President Mike Gonzales said the new location should ease parking concerns and provide a more comfortable experience for guests, thanks to the air-conditioned facilities. Plus, the venue offers significantly more space.
“It gives us room to grow,” Gonzales said. “This is a huge place, and the parking is better here. When we had it in the city, people were parking in people’s yards, parking at Rouses or Walmart, and had to walk to the festival.”
The new site also means more room for live music, including this year’s headliner: country music star and radio staple Easton Corbin.
Last year’s festival had just one band playing on a concrete stage outdoors, a setup Gonzales said left some guests uncomfortable.
“It was hot on that concrete! Over here, our bands are going to be in air-conditioned buildings, and that’s a big plus,” Gonzales said.
Of course, the biggest draw remains the Jambalaya cooking competition. Gonzales said that part of the festival remains unchanged.
“(Competitors have) to cook three pots of Jambalaya, and they’re all different sizes. It’ll be 10 pounds of rice for the first heat, 15 pounds of rice for the second, and 20 pounds of rice for the finals,” Gonzales explained.
For the first time, the festival will also include outside food vendors. Nine vendors will each serve up four different menu items, including fried fish, quesadillas, ribs, and more, offering a wider variety of food options beyond jambalaya.
Other festival events include:
- A car show on Saturday
- Carnival rides
- A 5K and 1-mile run on Saturday
- Miss 2025 Gonzales Jambalaya Pageant Saturday night
- Main event stage for music and a Swamp Pop stage.
The festival has become a beloved tradition since it began in 1967. It was the brainchild of Steve Juneau, who envisioned it as a way to promote the City of Gonzales. Originally from Avoyelles Parish, Juneau was impressed by the jambalaya cooked by local chefs in Ascension Parish and pitched the idea to the Gonzales Lions Club.
Over the past five decades, the event has grown dramatically, now drawing more than 40,000 visitors each year. But back in 1978, it was still a relatively modest affair when then-association president M. Paul LeBlanc worked with local leaders to secure an invitation to serve jambalaya at the White House for President Jimmy Carter.
The event, covered by the New York Times and Washington Post, took place on June 18th and was marked as a 25th anniversary celebration of the New Port Jazz Festival with a catered Jambalaya buffet, “prepared on the grounds by award-winning cooks of the Jambalaya Festival Association of Gonzales, La,” the New York Times wrote.
For Gonzales, no matter how the festival evolves, whether through a new venue or expanded offerings, jambalaya will always remain the heart of it all. He described what makes a winning dish.
“It tastes good, that’s the main thing,” Gonzales said. “The rice has got to be cooked, and it’s got to be clean. You don’t want a lot of debris in the Jambalaya — scorched onions and stuff like that. Good Jambalaya tastes good, but it’s also appealing to the eyes.”
Visit the association’s website ahead of the festival for more information.
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