Thibodaux, La.
NPS Website; Local Website
WHAT IS IT?One of six separate National Park Sites dedicated to preserving the “natural and cultural resources of the Mississippi Delta region”. This Site focuses on the Acadian (or Cajun) peoples’ unique methods of boat (or pirogue) building and local art.
BEAUTY (5/10)
The Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center shares a spacious brick building with the Thibodaux Library, a gallery and workspace for local boat builders. The workspace is open to the public and its doors open right out to Bayou Lafourche. Take a walk behind the center and there are several benches facing the beautiful Bayou.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (6/10)
The Acadian Cultural Center attempts to explain the Cajun culture and history. This is especially handy, since most visitors to Louisiana feel as if they stepped into another country. The Museum provides a terrific, easy to ingest immersion into a distinctly American way of life.
CROWDS (7/10)We were the only visitors to the Center but that doesn’t mean it was empty. Two Rangers, a few library-goers, construction workers of some sort and two men working on their hand-made boats passed us in the halls. Time spent talking with the boat builders gave us a recommendation for a must-see Acadian spot (Napoleonville, LA) and much-needed practice understanding the heavy Acadian accent.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
Thibodaux lies in the middle of sugar cane country in Southeast Louisiana. It is about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans. The roads will take a lot longer to drive on than expected. Inevitably, you will find you car behind sugar cane hauling trucks. It took us a while to realize what they were carting in their humongous grated bins. They just look like big sticks. Just north of Thibodaux is a string of sugar plantations. They are not really are thing, but if you are visiting these mansions, you might want to stop by the Wetlands Acadian Center to get a taste of present-day Bayou life.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
Bookstores at the Cultural Centers in Thibodaux, Eunice and Lafayette vary very little. All include a nice array of Cajun gifts – musical instruments, dolls and miniature pirogues, cookbooks and some spices. Like the other bookstores, we wish there were more books.
COSTS (4/5)
Entrance to the Center is free.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)Two Rangers decorating for Christmas; two of us. We swear we’ve seen the younger Ranger as an SCA volunteer at another site.
TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)
Exhibits in the museum were excellent – full of color and life. The children’s room was not just for children. The Ranger told us that adult visitors spent a lot of time in the interactive playroom. We certainly did. We pretended to dig for artifacts, listened to original and remade versions of some classic Cajun songs and watched a short film about sugar. The film discussed how sugar shapes the culture and development of Thibodaux and the surrounding area. After driving through numerous cane fields on the way to the Site, we were eager to learn. Both of the Rangers chuckled when they heard us loudly guffaw at the closing lines of the film, incidentally sponsored by the Sugar Cane League:
Sugar: It’s sweet. It’s healthy. It’s good!
FUN (6/10)
The mood was a little less lively at Thibodaux. We had seen most of the Acadian exhibits at the Cultural Centers in Eunice and Lafayette. New to the mix was a photographic exhibit by a local artist and the ability to spend time in the boat workshop. The gentlemen were proud to show us the work they had done on their boats, explain to us how they were made and the differences between a wooden boat and “those plastic ones” we were familiar with. They also welcomed us to Acadiana and told us not to miss Napoleonville – a small town down the road where everyone went to fish and boat and just relax.
“At sunset, this is the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen. You’ve never seen anything like it. You have to go,” the master boat smith urged. So we did. And we hadn’t. And it was.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (5/10)
What makes all of the Cultural Centers in the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park great is their everyday use as community space. The Wetlands Acadian Center sits smack in the middle of Thibodaux and opens its doors to visitors and Acadians alike. If you can time your visit to coincide with a netting or boating demonstration, or the opening of a new exhibit, your visit to the Cultural Center and appreciation of Acadiana will be enhanced.
TOTAL 50/80
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