My work recently brought me to music festivals in California and Oregon. Thousands danced to Geno Delafose, Steve Riley, and other musicians who cut their teeth at this place they still call home. Dancers stood in long lines for plates of crawfish boiled by a vendor in Opelousas. They packed a tent where a Lafayette chef gave lessons on stirring up an alligator andouille sauce piquante. Their satisfied faces and dancing feet signaled their joy. But their words were often unsettling – “We love zydeco. We love Cajun food. We can’t wait to come to New Orleans.”

We love the Crescent City too, but so much Louisiana richness comes from right under our feet. Musicians, chefs and artisans help set the record straight, but they can’t do it alone.

If a visitor or new local asks where’s the good food, music, art or a place to parle français, what will you say? If the dance hall you would have recommended is out of business, or your favorite musician is sick and needs charity, why is that? Some visitors have moved here because of the answers they hear and see. Others move on to New Orleans.

It is important to build our culture with new projects like the Louisiana Music Museum because, if we don’t do it, someone else will.

          — Herman Fuselier, host of Zydeco Stomp & Executive Director of St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission