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For over 70 years, the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair has been a time for New Iberians to gather together as a community to celebrate sugar cane farming, but not this year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the festival’s board of directors decided to cancel the festival altogether this year.

The Decision

According to Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association Vice President Lisa Norris, the board considered holding the festival on a smaller scale, but they were concerned the festival, which is supposed to be a fundraiser for sugar cane farmers, wouldn’t be profitable in the limited capacity current coronavirus restrictions would require.

“This year we wouldn’t be able to make any money compared to previous years,” Norris said.

Kristie Blanchard, the association’s president, said the board also considered postponing their decision until July to see if Governor John Bel Edwards loosened regulations to allow the festival to operate at 75 percent capacity or higher by that point, but the board voted against this option.

The Fact

The Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association Board of Directors issued a press release stating health concerns were also a major contributing factor in the decision to cancel the festival this year.

“The hardships imposed upon our farmers and the many people involved from

around the State of Louisiana cannot be overlooked. Financial and health issues due to the Covid-19 virus must be considered in these unprecedented times,” the press release read.

The Reaction

Some citizens, who saw the news in a Facebook post, were upset to see the festival was canceled, but others said the board made the correct decision given the circumstances.

The History

According to the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association’s Facebook page, the last time the festival was canceled was during World War II when many locals were serving in the armed forces. The festival even took place in 2005 when both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita hit Louisiana, although the festival was delayed, Lisa Lourd, a public relations specialist for the festival, said.

The 2011 Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Guide, the festival started in 1937, at first only representing the sugar cane industry in Iberia Parish, but in 1940 the festival started representing other sugar cane producing parishes when the festival organizer became the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association. Since then the festival has grown from a one-day event after the annual sugar cane harvest to a four-day festival to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season.

The fair typically features parades, dance parties, carnival rides, art shows, photography shows, livestock shows, and more. The Children’s Parade, Royalty Parade, and the Fais Do Dos (cajun dance parties) are frequent crowd favorites, according to Blanchard. Last year, the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association brought back some older traditions, such as the Farmer’s Parade.

The Royalty

Each year a Queen Sugar and a King Sucrose are selected. The King is typically selected a couple of weeks before the fair and the Queen is selected the weekend of the fair, Blanchard said. According to the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association website, this will be the first time in 75 years that they won’t select a Queen Sugar and King Sucrose. Last year, Alton “Al” Landry was crowned King Sucrose, and Erin Blanchard was crowned Queen Sugar respectively.

The Best Part

Kristie Blanchard said the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival and Fair Association plans to take advantage of this unfortunate twist of fate by using this extra time to prepare for next year’s festival. “We’ll probably come back bigger and better next year,” she said.