The Eunice Depot Museum is located in a former railroad station in downtown Eunice. It is also situated on the site where founder C.C. Duson named the city in honor of his wife in 1894. Transformed into a Cajun history museum in 1984, it includes both permanent and traveling exhibits of Cajun arts, music and crafts as well as a collection of historic toys, antique tools and Mardi Gras costumes. The museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays and admission is free. For those wishing to have a picnic before exploring the rest of the city, the museum's covered picnic table is available anytime.
The Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located in a former country store adjacent to the Eunice Depot Museum. After the Louisiana State Legislature announced that the city would become the official location for this unique museum, it was transformed by volunteers and opened in 1997 after five years of construction. Managed by the Cajun Music Association, the museum honors musicians who have made substantial contributions toward Cajun music and culture and it houses a collection of musical instruments and recordings as well as photographs and articles of each inductee. On average, the museum inducts two new musicians per year. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday and admission is free.
Located one block from the Cajun Music Hall of Fame is the historic Liberty Center for the Performing Arts. Built in 1924, it once served as a movie theater and a venue for vaudeville shows with appearances from legendary performers such as Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter and The Bowery Boys. After years of neglect, the theater was renovated by a community restoration project and reopened in 1987. Every Saturday evening, it offers a family-oriented, one and a half hour live radio and television show performance that features Cajun and Zydeco music, as well as Cajun stories, humor and local recipes. The majority of each show is in Cajun French, but there is enough English for non-French speakers to follow along. Tickets are sold two hours before each performance and seating is general admission.
The World Championship Crawfish Etouffee Cook-Off is an annual festival held under the pavilion at the Northwest Community Center, just northwest of downtown Eunice. Held on the last Sunday in March -- with an exception if Easter falls on the last Sunday -- the family-oriented festival centers around this smothered crawfish dish served over rice where approximately 100 teams compete for the title of "World Champion Crawfish Etouffee Cook." The competition is divided into three categories -- amateur, professional and club or organization. After the celebrity judges award the prizes, the etouffee is sold to the public and the rest of the day is spent listening and dancing to popular Cajun and Zydeco bands and other festival activities. Admission to the cook-off is free and samples are sold for a reasonably low price per serving.
