Howling with Heritage: Experience the Rougarou Festival

The legendary Rougarou roams the wetlands of Louisiana. A normal-looking person by day but by moonlight he becomes a terrifying werewolf. The ancient legend was brought to Louisiana by the French settlers and added to by the Acadian Canadians, today known as Cajuns, who were exiled from Canada in the 1750s.

According to the legend, a person becomes a Rougarou by not obeying the Catholic Lent traditions for seven years, by being cursed by a witch, or by being bitten by a Rougarou. If a Rougarou attacks another person and that person fights back and draws blood, the Rougarou is freed from the curse, and the other person becomes the Rougarou. You can protect yourself from a Rougarou by placing 13 pennies on your window or door. According to the legend, the Rougarou can only count to 12 and is a bit OCD, so he keeps trying to recount the pennies until daybreak.

The Rougarou Festival

More than a fun event, the Rougarou Festival in Houma, Louisiana, offers a window into the heart of Cajun culture. Jonathan Foret, executive director of the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center and chairman of the festival, said, “This is our 14th year of doing the Rougarou Fest. It first started out in the downtown area of Holma. We were looking to do a fundraiser for the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center.”

Explaining the origin of the festival name, Jonathan said, “When we visited the schools, we found the kids didn’t know who the Rougarou was. We had to fix that.” The name was a good fit for the festival, since the Rougarou lives in the Louisiana wetlands that the festival funds help preserve. It also keeps alive a part of traditional Cajun folklore that has been passed down for generations. As Jonathan says, “The Rougarou is sort of our Smokey the Bear. ‘Only you can save Louisiana’s wetlands.’”

Rougarou Festival Folklore

The festival’s folklore is equally intriguing. During my visit, the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program had a booth giving away native plant seeds. A local boat builder showed me a beautiful pirogue his grandfather had made. It looked brand new. A net maker was busy weaving a net. Local craftspeople were making baskets, wood carvings, and making Native American jewelry.

A Native American palmetto hut was being created from palmetto leaves. Shane Pierrron and Kandi Chauvin were demonstrating how to cook Fish Courtboullion at Taste of the Bayou by the back of the tent.

Angelica Chavarria, an artist from Mexico now based in New Orleans who is known as the Lamp Post Girl, showed me how she was creating skulls from recycled brown paper boxes.

Other folklore was remembered by the large group of pirates. Remember, Jean Lafitte roamed these waters in the early 1800s.

Contests and Entertainment

A varied musical range kept everyone entertained, from old-time Louisiana musicians like Fats Domino and Cajun classics to modern rock like “Ain’t It Fun.”

One of the most fun contests was the Wolf Howling. There was a kids’ class and an adult one. An older gentleman won the adults’ class, and a cute little girl won the kids’ class. Both would have made me get in my RV and lock the door if I heard them in the woods at night.

Cajun critter pardoning provided another imaginative event, in which a nutria and an alligator were pardoned and allowed to live. Mr. Tim Domang, who runs Greenwood Gator Farm, had an alligator that was pardoned as part of the ceremony. Nudie, the nutria, will continue to live as a pet with a local family.

Notably, nutria were introduced from South America when fur was popular. They eat the marsh, and they’re destroying the wetlands because as they eat the roots, the dirt washes away into the water. Odd fact about nutria: they have orange teeth because there’s iron in their enamel to make the teeth hard.

Festival Food Highlights

Food abounds here. I started at a building that serves daiquiris and sells T-shirts and other festival souvenirs. This building also featured many exhibits of spooky creatures and skeletons. Don’t miss the life-sized statue of a Rougarou.

Jonathan said, “We serve only Louisiana seafood at Rougarou Fest. And we know that because we source it ourselves. We have people who donated 14 sacks of crawfish in March that our volunteers get together, we boil it, peel it, and freeze it for this weekend. So, we know where it comes from.”

A Shrimp Boulette is a little ball of deliciousness made with fried chopped shrimp and bread batter. It’s similar to boudin balls. Of course, you’ll find them here too. Crawfish etouffee, fried seafood, fried oysters, fried shrimp, fried catfish, Po’ boys, and more adds to the festival food scene. One favorite is chicken and sausage jambalaya. Turtle soup, gumbo, white beans, hamburgers, and hot dogs are available for the less adventurous eaters.

Desserts are not overlooked. You’ll find kettle corn and beignets. The blackberry dumpling booth was one of my favorites. It’s a long-time favorite similar to a pound cake drenched in juicy blackberries. Jonathan told us, “Originally, Miss Pearl Boudreaux made the blackberry dumplings until she passed away. Now her daughter, Miss Maggie, who’s in her 70s, runs our booth with her daughter. It’s a family tradition.”

Arts, Crafts and Rides

The entertainment continues with art, crafts and rides. Paintings ranged from oils to acrylics, crafters made everything from Voo-Doo items to jewelry. Behind the local Civic Center, there were rides ranging from a Ferris wheel to a carousel.

The Krewe Ga Rou Parade

Krewe Ga Rou parade displayed a delightful mix of traditional floats, decorated cars and pickups, school bands, and various costumed participants. The last float featured this year’s Rougarou Queen, Shannon Bella. Two of my favorite groups marching in the parade were the witches and the zombies. The witches were quite lively, the zombies not so much. They just shuffled along as you expect the walking dead to do.

My favorite car featured colorful lights with a pile of human and animal bones arranged on top. One intriguing float displayed a swampy green color with a larger-than-life Rougarou holding a pumpkin.

Lodging

We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel. Besides being comfortable with all amenities, including a restaurant, it is adjacent to the festival grounds.

For my RVing friends, there is parking by the civic center, which is also touching the festival grounds.

The Rougarou Fest was ranked among the Top 10 Costume Parties in the United States by USA Today.

 

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