July Festivals in Louisiana

From Bossier City to Grand Isle, Balloons to Pirates–and More. Your Guide to July Festivals in Louisiana

Louisiana is a state filled with many amazing things: music, food, diverse heritage, fishing, hunting, festivals and more. While there are many resources for most of the Louisiana treasures–food influencers, magazines like ours, cultural centers and museums, wildlife and fisheries–there is a lack of a more central resource for festivals across the entire state.

Since we realized this, we started the Louisiana Life Festival Guide, beginning in May. Now, each month we’ll bring you the most comprehensive list of festivals across the state we can find, updated for changes year-to-year.

And, we’ve made it easy to see this list before each month begins, with our Louisiana Life Festival Guide newsletter, delivered to your inbox when you sign up for the Louisiana Life newsletter.

From Bossier City to Grand Isle, balloons to pirates–and more, your guide to July festivals in Louisiana is listed below.

For July 4th events, check out our roundup, “July 4th Events in Louisiana.”

July Festivals in Louisiana (2026)

Bossier City 

Red River Balloon Rally 

• July 10-11
• Louisiana Downs (8000 E Texas St.)
• $10 tickets, free for ages 5 and under 
  • Tickets available at the gate
• Website

The Delta Utilities Red River Balloon Rally is a family-friendly event, bringing over 20 hot air balloons and featuring kid zones, tethered balloon rides, entertainment, food, retail vendors and more.

Franklin

Washington Parish Watermelon Festival

• July 10-11, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily
• Washington Parish Fairgrounds
• No admission cost listed
• Facebook Page

The Washington Parish Watermelon Festival celebrates farmers, families and, of course, watermelon, bringing live music, food, contests, crafts and more. 

Grand Cane

Balloons Over DeSoto

• July 12, 4 p.m. 
• C.E. “Rusty” Williams Airport (211 Independence Ave.)
• Free admission, parking and shuttle service
• Facebook Page

Experience a night of hot air balloons, food, live entertainment, fireworks, arts and craft vendors and a kids zone. 

Grand Isle

Island Strong Music Festival

• July 16-18
• 4500 Tarpon Dr. 
• Thursday $10, Friday and Saturday $20, $45 weekend, free for 12 and under
• Website

The fifth annual Island Strong Music Fest celebrates Grand Isle’s recovery with live music, food, craft booths and more. 

Lafayette

Acadiana Pirate Festival

• July 11-12
• 422 Refinery St.
• $50 VIP, $20 adult, $15 children 17 and under, free for children 3 and under
• Website

The second annual Acadiana Pirate Festival brings together live music, pirate crews, interactive shows, vendors, games, food, drinks and more for all ages. 

Lake Charles

Cajun Music and Food Festival

• July 18, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. 
• Burton Complex (7001 Gulf Hwy.)
• $10 admission, cash only. Free for ages 10 and under
• Facebook Event

The Cajun Music and Food Festival features food, music, raffle drawing, live auction, accordion contest and more. ATM on site. RV spots available through the Burton. 

Lebeau

Lebeau Zydeco Festival

• July 4, 1 – 10 p.m. 
• Lebeau Immaculate Conception Church (103 Lebeau Church Rd.)
• $20 for adults, $10 for kids
• Website

Lebeau’s 34th Annual Zydeco Fest on July 4 will feature Zydeco bands and food, like its famous pork backbone dinners. Geno Delafose, Rusty Metoyer, Step Rideau and J-Paul will be performing. No BBQ pits, ATVs, glass containers, or ice chests/coolers allowed.

Marksville

Avoyelles Arts & Music Festival

• July 4, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. 
• Paragon Casino Resort (711 Paragon Pl.)
• $10 general admission (4 and under free), online tickets
• Website

Hosted by the Arts Council of Avoyelles, the festival brings live bands, eating contests, food vendors, arts and crafts, car shows and more to Downtown Marksville every 4th of July. 

Natchitoches

NSU Folk Festival

• July 18
• Prather Coliseum (220 S Jefferson St.)
• No admission cost listed
• Website

Celebrating Louisiana traditions, this family-friendly festival features crafts, authentic folk foods, kids’ activities, live bluegrass and country open jams free Cajun and Zydeco dance lessons, a gumbo cookoff and more. 

New Orleans

Essence Festival

• July 3-5
• Caesar’s Superdome (1500 Sugar Bowl Dr.), Convention Center (900 Convention Center Blvd.)
• Prices vary, online tickets
• Website

Born from a celebration of Essence Magazine’s 25th anniversary, Essence Festival of Culture celebrates Black excellence with its evening concert series, culture, community and more.

San Fermín in Nueva Orleans

• July 10-12
• Gallier Hall (545 St. Charles Ave.)
• Online tickets, $41-120
• Website

The 20th Running of the Bulls in New Orleans offers a weekend of events with the running of the “bulls” and post-run fiesta kicking off at 6:30 a.m., on Saturday, July 11. The festival began in 2007 as a way to emulate the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain, but with roller derby skaters as the bulls. 

Bywater Creative Festival

• July 26-28
• Crescent Park south entrance (2830 Burgundy St.)
• Free
• Spot Reservation

The Bywater Creative Festival features a mix of vendors offering handmade crafts, fashion, art, home décor, specialty goods and food.

Port Fourchon

Golden Meadow Fourchon Tarpon Rodeo

• July 2-4
• 275 Floatation Canal Rd.
• $35 tournament admission, online tickets
• Website

The rodeo brings a fishing tournament, live music, cook-off and more to Port Fourchon.