Pelican Park in Carencro is spending Halloween weekend smelling like spice and sizzling chili dogs as the third annual C'est Bon Seasoning Festival takes over the grounds through Sunday. The event mixes carnival rides, live music, arts and crafts vendors and a signature seasoning showdown with holiday touches like trick-or-treating and a haunted house.
The festival kicked off Friday, October 30, and runs through Sunday, November 1, according to the City of Carencro, which describes the weekend as returning to Pelican Park for its third year. The festival’s own website confirms the same October 30 through November 1 window, calling Pelican Park in Carencro, Louisiana, home base for the event once again.
Saturday’s schedule stretches from 10 a.m. all the way to midnight, while Sunday wraps up earlier, running from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., per hours posted by the city. Organizers also noted an outdoor Catholic Mass at 9 a.m. Sunday, folded into the festival weekend's broader lineup of family activities.
Chili Dogs, Zydeco and a Showdown of Seasonings
Chili dogs were served up as part of an eating contest at the third annual festival, according to NOLA.com, with staff photographer Brad Kemp capturing scenes from the grounds. Visitors could also take in carnival rides, music and arts and crafts vendors, along with the seasoning showdown that gives the festival its name.
The city's own rundown of festival programming lists live musical performances, a carnival, local arts and crafts vendors and the signature seasoning showdown as centerpieces of the weekend. Beyond the main draws, organizers built out a packed slate of niche attractions: hot-air balloon rides, a Cajun Music Jam Session, the Chili Dog Eating Contest, and a hands-on station called Spice It Your Way where attendees could blend their own seasonings.
On the music side, the entertainment lineup included Rockin' Dopsie Jr. & The Zydeco Twisters, according to Talk Radio 960. Sunday's schedule also featured an Anything Goes Cook-Off alongside another round of the Cajun Music Jam Session, per the festival's about page.
Halloween Extras and a Growing Hometown Feel
Festival planners brought back trick-or-treating and a haunted house for this year's run, timing the celebration to overlap with Halloween weekend. That seasonal twist sits alongside the food and music lineup, giving families another reason to post up at Pelican Park for the full three days.
Attendees told Acadiana's News First that the festival shows the growth the city has had, framing the event as something of a mirror for Carencro's expansion in recent years. The city, meanwhile, flagged a more practical consequence of that growth: large events at Pelican Park mean changes to regular traffic patterns and parking, a reminder for anyone planning a last-minute trip out for Sunday's closing hours.
