Let the good times flow during the Bayou Vermilion Boat Parade! This annual celebration of the Bayou Vermilion begins at Vermilionville and continues downriver for about ten miles to Southside Park!

The Bayou Vermilion District hosts this party every year to increase awareness of the river as a great source of recreation and exploration for Lafayette Parish citizens and visitors from around the world. In addition, we celebrate the year-long efforts of the Bayou Vermilion District to conserve and preserve sites along the river, trash/debris clean up, and water quality management.

Paraders (paradeers) can join in with their own kayak, canoe, pirogue, bass boat, barge, paddle board, dragon-boat, inflatable unicorn, or any other (decorated!) watercraft that their heart desires. And if you’d like to put in, but don’t have a boat of your own, don’t worry!  The BVD has a number of canoes and kayaks that you can rent to get out and on the water.

This year’s parade “sets sail” at 11:30 a.m. from Vermilionville with a celebratory toast by this year’s Grand Marshal, Jenee Dansdil -the President of the Bayou Vermilion Preservation Association!  The New Natives Brass Band will start us off right with some perfect marching (paddling) music.  From there, the celebration will meander 10.6 miles down the bayou to BVD’s Southside Park on Robley Dr. If you’d like a shorter trip, you can join in with the parade at the Camellia Boulevard Canoe and Kayak Launch under the Camellia Bridge and end with us at Southside Park, a paddle of about 5 miles.

The Bayou Vermilion Mini-Fest at Southside Park begins around 3 PM, with music from Ask for Ashley PLUS games, jumphouses, food by La Cuisine de Maman, beverages, and beer from the Vermilonville BrewHouse!

Contests:

- Costumes, costumes, costumes This one is about costumes!  Dress your best, or your absolute worst, for a chance to win this highly coveted award!  This could be you or your whole crew
- Make your boat your float In our parade, the boat is it.  Bring the party to your pirogue, and maybe your bateaux is the best-dressed this year!
- House Par-tay The Boat Parade is a great day for a yard party, and the BVD is ready to reward you for your efforts!  Decorate as you like, make sure that your address is visible from the bayou, and as our team of highly-trained outside decoration experts travel down the bayou, we’ll have our eyes on your space.

Boat Parade Timeline:

8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. - Drop off your paddle craft or claim your rented vessel at Vermilionville’s boat corral (300 Fisher Road, Lafayette, LA 70508) then park your car at Southside Park on 2201 Robley Drive. As we are not allowed to provide shuttles, we suggest using the buddy system: leave one vehicle at Southside Park, drive one to the start at Vermilionville.
10:45 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. - We’ll begin loading your crafts into the water
11:30 a.m. - Parade departs Vermilionville led by Grand Marshal Jenee Dansdil!
11:45 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. - Drop-off your vessels at Camellia Canoe & Kayak Launch for half parade option
2:15 p.m. - Parade departs Camellia Canoe & Kayak Launch led by Grand Marshal for Southside Park
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. - Bayou Vermilion Mini-Festival at Southside Park| Music by Ask for Ashley, food by La Cuisine de Maman, beverages, beers from the Vermilionville BrewHouse, games, and more!
6:00 - BayouFest ends for 2024.

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