More than 100 classic wooden boats will crowd the banks of the Tchefuncte River next month as Madisonville’s Wooden Boat Festival marks its 35th year on October 17 and 18. The two-day event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days, mixing live music, food, local vendors and a Children’s Village alongside the classic boats.
A Milestone Year on the Tchefuncte
The festival, presented by Maritime Museum Louisiana, has grown into an event that draws over one hundred classic boats and hundreds of spectator boats to the water each fall, according to the museum’s event page. The festival returns to Madisonville for its 35th run on October 17 and 18. Admission is $15 per person, per day, for festivalgoers 13 and older, with the museum also offering a $20 weekend pass, per a listing from aprsttammany.com.
The event bills itself as a family gathering, and the museum’s page confirms there will also be a Children’s Village on site. Food and drink vendors will be set up throughout the grounds, though the museum’s listing makes clear that no outside food or drink will be allowed in. Local vendors and live music round out the weekend’s offerings, the event description notes.
Royal Treatment for the Lieutenant Governor
This year’s festival carries a bit of extra local flavor: Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and his wife, Cher, have been named the 2026 king and queen of the Wooden Boat Festival. The honor was announced in coverage from nola.com, which reported that the museum officially named and welcomed the couple to the ceremonial roles. The outlet also framed the festival as part of a broader tradition tied to the state’s waterways, noting that the museum and the festival celebrate the state’s maritime history and the communities that keep it anchored to its waterways.
Beyond the royal court, the weekend’s draw remains the boats themselves. Quick-and-dirty boat-building is among the festival’s attractions, according to a listing from festivalnet.com. The night before the festival opens, the museum hosts its Maritime Mania gala, a pre-festival event held at the museum itself on the Friday evening ahead of the main event.
Planning a Weekend on the Water
With the festival still weeks away, organizers have laid out the basics for anyone plotting a visit: two full days along the Tchefuncte River, a lineup of more than one hundred classic boats plus hundreds more on the water as spectators, and a $15 daily ticket or $20 weekend option for those 13 and up. For Northshore residents and visitors alike, it is shaping up to be a milestone 35th edition of the Wooden Boat Festival.
