About

Bayou Arts Fest & the Bayou Regional Arts Council

Bayou Arts Fest is Downtown Houma’s free, family-friendly celebration of South Louisiana art, music, food, and culture, presented by the Bayou Regional Arts Council (BRAC). One day, three stages, an art market, and a full street festival built for the bayou.

What is Bayou Arts Fest?

On Saturday, October 10, 2026, Bayou Arts Fest takes over Downtown Houma from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Expect Main Stage music, Culture Collective heritage performances, Bayou Players sets, juried art vendors, kids activities, local food, and a street full of free experiences for all ages.

Admission is free. Named Bayou Country Festival of the Year by Explore Houma, the 2024 festival drew more than 25,000 guests and generated nearly half a million dollars in local economic impact, while raising funds that stay in the community.

Whether you come for the headliners, the art market, or a day with the kids, the festival is built as an open door to the creative life of Terrebonne and the surrounding bayou parishes.

Who puts it on

Bayou Arts Fest is organized by the Bayou Regional Arts Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in August 2015 and based in Houma.

BRAC serves six South Louisiana parishes, Terrebonne, Lafourche, Assumption, St. James, St. John the Baptist, and St. Charles, through workshops, artist networking, youth arts access, and year-round community programs.

The festival is BRAC’s biggest public celebration each year: a free downtown gathering that showcases local and regional talent and channels festival energy back into the Council’s ongoing work with artists, schools, and families.

Mission & vision

Our Mission

To improve the accessibility and quality of the arts in our region.

Our Vision

A community that works together in support of the Arts, where opportunities to participate are available to all, and individual artists are valued.

BRAC believes arts opportunities should be open to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, or physical or mental ability.

Who the festival helps

Proceeds from Bayou Arts Fest support BRAC’s year-round work, putting instruments in students’ hands, funding youth classes, art camps, senior citizen classes, and special-needs adult classes, and keeping creative opportunities open across the bayou region. The festival is free to attend; sponsorships, vendors, and community partners make that possible.

Notes for Kids

Provides band instruments to students who might not otherwise join school music programs, launched with $25,000 from 2024 festival proceeds, plus $9,000 raised in 2025 Parade of Flags sponsorships.

Youth, senior & special-needs classes

Funds youth art classes and camps, classes for senior citizens, and art classes for special-needs adults, expanding creative access year-round for kids, seniors, and adults across the community.

Workshops & artist support

Keeps workshops, artist networking, and community arts programs going across six parishes, connecting makers, musicians, and audiences beyond festival day.

The festival in action

Main Stage headliners and Louisiana roots music · Culture Collective heritage performances and demos · Bayou Players sets downtown · juried art vendors, kids activities, and local food.

A look at what Bayou Arts Fest brings to Downtown Houma, a full day of free arts access for families, artists, and visitors.

Recent festivals have also featured live mural painting in Downtown Houma, public art that stays with the community long after the last set.

Be part of it

Join us October 10, 2026 in Downtown Houma, or partner as a sponsor, vendor, or volunteer to grow free arts access across the bayou. Come for the music; stay for the community.