10 Things To Do In Acadiana This Memorial Day Weekend

Go, go! Fun, fun! The Cajun Heartland State Fair! (You just sang that in your head, didn't you?)

The 29th Annual Cajun Heartland State Fair began this week at the Cajundome, and runs through June 4th. Great fun for the whole family, with rides, food, music and other activities. Check the link below for ticket information (several ways to save money for your family, including advanced discount ticket sales, pay-one-price ride night, and more.

Entertainment from Roddie Romero and the Hub City All Stars, Blaine Roy and Second Wind, Louisiana Red and Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin' Cajuns.

For all of the details, visit the Cajun Heartland State Fair website.

The Bayou Country Superfest makes its move to the Superdome this year, with several national and local acts to take the stage.

Rascal Flats, Miranda Lambert, Brooks & Dunn (what? I thought they broke up!?), Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett, Dustin Sonnier, Roddie Romero & The Hub City All Stars, Jaryd Lane & The Parish - a great lineup of country music.

Bayou Country Superfest runs Saturday and Sunday.

With an admission price of only 3 dollars (kids 5 and under get in free!), this event is a great idea for a family night. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs. Bring your refreshments (if you'd like. If you don't want that hassle, you can buy snacks there.) If it's a date night, bring your own picnic setup and go all out!

Gates open at 6:30 Saturday, showtime at dusk (7:55-ish).

Click here for the details.

A drive-in showing of Steven Spielberg's E. T. , The Extra-Terrestrial, will be shown at Moncus Park at the Horse Farm on Johnston Street Saturday evening.

The event begins at 6 PM with food, drinks and fun. The movie will be shown beginning at 8pm. According to the Moncus Park Facebook Page:

This will be an authentic drive-in movie experience, complete with jumbo screen and tune-in car radio audio. There will also be outdoor speakers for those of you who would rather walk-in and sit at the front of the screen on the lawn. Bring your picnic blankets and lawn chairs, but please leave your pets and ice chests at home...

Admission price: $20 per vehicle, $5 per walk-in.

Food trucks scheduled to be on site:

• The  Bus Stop
• Olympic Grove
• Taco Sisters

Proceeds will benefit Southern Screen!
For more information, visit Southern Screen

(Amazon)

The Highway 90 Band performs at Sugar Mill Pond on Saturday. Music starts at 6 PM. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.

For details, visit the Sugar Mill Pond Facebook page.

The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dream Home will be open for tours every weekend through June 18.

The home was built as a raffle home, with all proceeds benefiting the hospital. Tickets are $100, and can be purchased online.

On Saturdays the house will be open from 9 am – 5 pm and Sundays from noon – 5 pm.

Your tour of the home could garner you a win in an auxiliary drawing worth $5,000!

The Dream Home will be given away on Sunday, June 25, 2016 on a live broadcast on KATC TV-3.

Click here for the location and more information about the 2017 St. Jude Dream Home.

The Lafayette Concert Band presents: "Songs of Remembrance", in observation of Memorial Day, 2017.

The concert will be held at the Bayou Church, Sunday, May 28 at 3:30. Admission is $10; uniformed or DD214 military personnel get in free.

For more information, call 337-704-0547 or Lafayette Concert Band.

The 31st Annual Zydeco Extravaganza will take place at Blackham Coliseum on Sunday.

Touted to feature "The Biggest Names In Zydeco", this year's even will include Keith Frank, Chris Ardoin, Cupid, Geno Delafose, Leon Chavis, Koray Broussard and more.

Doors will open at noon, TICKETS ARE PRE-SALE ONLY! For ticket information, visit the Zydeco Extravaganza website or call 337-234-9695.

Fountain Memorial Funeral Home & Cemetery hosts its annual Memorial Day program to observe the sacrifices made in defense of our country.

The program will begin at 9 am and is to feature honor guards, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hanes as a guest speaker, a motorcycle procession by the Patriot Guard Riders and patriotic musical selection.

The event, Monday, May 29, is free and open to the public (you are encouraged to bring a lawn chair).

Fountain Memorial is at 1010 Pandora Street in Lafayette, behind Adrien's Supermarket on Congress Street.

The event is expected to last approximately one hour, and there will be a reception following the service.

For details, visit the Fountain Memorial Facebook page or call 337-981-7098

For many, Memorial Day has become more about sales, barbecues and beer than about its original purpose: to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of the United States of America.

Enjoy your day, but please remember to take a moment, with your family, to talk about the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, and about the role that our military veterans played in securing those freedoms.

Though it is just outside of Acadiana, a great place to learn more about the souls this holiday was created to honor, you and your family can visit the National  WWII Museum in New Orleans. Some of the Memorial Day Weekend events include:

• SATURDAY MAY 27
  1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  Pensacola Civic Band
  Featuring Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Emond
  US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
• SUNDAY, MAY 28
  1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  USMC Band New Orleans
  US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center
• MONDAY, MAY 29
  11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  Commemoration Ceremony
  US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center3:00 p.m. – 3:05 p.m.
  National moment of silence and bell-ringing
  US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center

For more information and to plan your visit, go to the National WWII Museum's website.