Home to 400 festivals, Louisiana hosts events that celebrate everything except divorces and pregnancy tests. Just wait a minute — that’ll change.
Yet for every successful good time, there’s a First Annual “Fill in the Blank” Festival that never reached the second year. That reality is not lost on Dustin Cravins of Zydeco Extravaganza, which celebrates 38 years Sunday in Lafayette.
Cravins is the second-generation organizer of this family-run music festival that has drawn thousands to Blackham Coliseum, a 75-year-old arena that’s been a stage for James Brown, The Supremes and the then-USL Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team.
He gets emotional about Zydeco Extravaganza’s long life.
Dustin Cravins, left, and Jessica Cravins, of Cravin’ Boudin, portion servings of their traditional boudin during the Boudin Cook-off and Acadiana Bacon Fest on Saturday, October 16, 2021, at Parc International in downtown Lafayette.
“I know how humble the beginnings were and how much of a lift it is for a small family to put this on each and every year, said Cravins, 44. “Every year, the people keep coming. That touches me deeply.
“Every year, I get a (hotel) room close by because I’m too tired to go home. I’ll sit down and have a moment with (wife) Jessica and go, ‘Wow. What a thing to be a part of.’
“Nowhere else in the world are people doing what we’re doing today. Just talking about it fills me.”
Always held the Sunday before Memorial Day, Zydeco Extravaganza 2025 marks year 38 with a star-studded lineup: Keith Frank, Nathan Williams, Lil Nate, Geno Delafose, Rusty Metoyer, Jeffery Broussard, Step Rideau, Leon Chavis, Southern soul icon Tucka and DJ Troy D perform.
Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band perform in St. Landry Parish at the BBQ Festival in Yambilee ag-arena in Opelousas, June 9, 2024.
‘It’s a part of who I am’
The Cravins family of St. Landry Parish has a long history of promoting native Creole music and culture. Dustin’s father, former state senator and Opelousas mayor Don Cravins, and his uncle Charles, now a 27th Judicial District Court judge, created a popular radio show and trail ride in the 1980s.
By the 1990s, their popularity grew into “Zydeco Extravaganza,” a Sunday morning TV show prerecorded at dancehalls throughout the region. The show was monumental for the Creole community, putting zydeco on the same TV channel as “American Bandstand” and other renowned entertainment.
The “Extravaganza” festival at Blackham soon followed. Family involvement remained key, with a young Dustin and his cousin Patrick serving soft drinks. Their grandmother and aunt cooked food nearby.
Since becoming the main organizer in 2007, Dustin has faced the challenges of rising band fees, venue rental, security, advertising and more expenses.
“It’s all that, and you still try to keep the tickets at a price where the native people can come and participate,” added Cravins. “The community knows us well enough now to know this is not our bread and butter. This is not how we make a living. If it was, we would have been out of business a long time ago.
“But the reality is, it’s important to us. We invest our own money into it each and every year so that our children and the generation after them have a culture to experience in a real way and not in a museum.”
Cravins advises others looking to follow in their festival footsteps to be true to the culture.
“Learn about what you’re trying to present to the world. The festival we put on is an extension of our lives,” Cravins said. “It’s nothing different from what we’re doing today or any other day. I’m headed home to cook a gravy for my family. I’m making boudin for Zydeco Extravaganza, but I’m making boudin every week. I’m listening to that music every day because it’s a part of who I am. I live it. When people do real things, they get real results.”
Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.