Cajun, Latin festivals spice up weekend

For those uninterested in football, a pair of cultural festivals returns to Baton Rouge on back-to-back days this weekend. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Magnolia Mound Plantation will be taken over by Clarence’s Cajun Music Festival, which despite the name offers up more than just music by bands such as Coobie Joe and the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Cajun dance lessons, kids’ activities, cultural presentations and storytelling are also planned. Admission is $5. Click here for more information. On Sunday, Festival Latino returns for its 25th year. When the festival began modestly with just three booths, Latin American culture was still exotic in Baton Rouge. Today, tens of thousands of families with Latin heritage call the area home, and the festival attracts some 3,000 visitors each year. This year’s Festival Latino, held as usual at the Catholic Deaf Center on Brightside Drive, features a performance by Milly Quezada, the Dominican Republic’s “queen of the Merengue.” There will also be plenty of Latin food available, a performance by the Latin ballet “Verde,” the election of Miss Festival Latino and a karaoke contest. Click here for more information. To read this week’s entire 225 Select, click here.