Shrimp and Petroleum Festival

Looking for Mardi Gras Parades? Click HERE for this years schedule!

• Date:
• Location:

Over 70 years ago, the port of Morgan City and Berwick received the first boatload of jumbo shrimp, right from the deepest waters a small boat had ever fished. There was a small celebration among members of the local Gulf Coast Seafood Producers and Trappers Association, and it just happened to fall on Labor Day. Since then, that celebration has been honored every Labor Day weekend, and eventually included the petroleum industry, which has worked closely with the shrimping industry to provide life to the area communities for decades.

And so goes the birth story of the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival- a small town, well known, weekend-long celebration with a unique name.

During this four day festival, Morgan City residents and visitors attend a water parade of shrimp boats, witness the Blessing of the Fleet, listen to free live music in the downtown area, and eat shrimp cooked in every imaginative way possible. In fact, Time Magazine once called it, "...one of the best, most unusual, the most down-home, the most moving and the most fun the Country has to offer..."

Over 100 artists will also showcase and sell their work, which includes candles, canvasses, jewelry and more. Children are encouraged to visit The Children’s Village, where no one leaves without a prize – guaranteed.

To learn about more events taking place in the area during September, visit our events page.