The Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, held on Labor Day weekend in late August or early September, is one of the oldest festivals in Louisiana. It began in 1936 as a celebration of the shrimping industry and later expanded to include the offshore oil industry that came to define the town in the late 20th century. The combination of the two industries in a single festival name is a fair description of Morgan City's economy.
The festival features Cajun and zydeco music, seafood cooking competitions, a blessing of the shrimping fleet on the Atchafalaya River, carnival rides, and quantities of boiled shrimp, crawfish, and other Gulf seafood. The street parade through downtown Morgan City is the centrepiece event. If you are travelling through southern Louisiana on Labor Day weekend and want to see a genuine local festival rather than a tourist showcase, this is a good option.