WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The taste of Louisiana is coming to Wichita Falls for the 15th annual Cajun Fest.

Jeanette Charos with Downtown Development joined our noon show to talk about the event coming up on Saturday, April 22.

Carney Porter: Oh, the taste of Louisiana is coming to Wichita Falls for the 15th annual Cajun Fest. And here to tell us all about it is Jana Schmader and, of course, Andre the Alligator. Thank you all so much for being here today.

Jana Schmader: Yeah, thanks for having us.

Carney Porter: All right. So what can people look forward to? It’s going to be some good food coming up. We’re excited for it.

Jana Schmader: Yeah, it’s a huge food fest. So we bring in vendors from all over the state of Texas, as well as Louisiana. All of your Louisiana favorites, crawfish, boil, étouffée, red beans and rice – anything Cajun, you name it.

Carney Porter: Andre’s like, ‘Yes, I’m hungry. Let’s go grub.’ Yeah, that’s what a lot of people are going to be doing right there. But there’s probably a lot more to do, too, than just, you know, eating and enjoying a good meal. What else can people enjoy?

Jana Schmader: Absolutely. So we have live music that day as well. We have Isaac Sloan and the Sound Brigade and then Poisson Rouge that’s coming all the way from Louisiana. And then we end the day with Seth James, and then we have a free kids area and adult games area. So just a little bit for everybody, shopping vendors.

Carney Porter: I know, I was about to say, do we have any good shopping coming too? You know, talking about shopping, special place in my heart, I’m sure, as other people are, too. So you’re going to spend some money, Andre? Yeah. Support local businesses. Give us the money. All right, perfect. So people want to come out and enjoy the day, it’s happening in two days. We’re coming up on it real close.

Jana Schmader: Getting close, yeah. This Saturday, April 22nd. Gates open at 11, and we end at 7 p.m.

Carney Porter: All right. What are you looking forward to? What’s the part of it that you like the most?

Jana Schmader: My favorite part of any festival or event we do is just the people – getting so many people down there, maybe people that haven’t experienced downtown for the first time just coming out to support, not only our nonprofit, but just the district itself. So always a fun day.

Carney Porter: I feel like this one right here, you know, with respect to all the other entertainment, you know.

Jana Schmader: Andre will be around all day.

Carney Porter: Okay, So we can find – if only we had like a ‘Where’s Andre the Alligator?’ map for Cajun Fest.

Jana Schmader: Andre’s kind of hard to miss.

Carney Porter: You’re not wrong. You’re not wrong. The green really spots him out. And I’m sure the moves, the dance moves. You read it. Oh, she knows- he has a better running man than me. Yeah. You would take me in a in a in a dance battle for sure.

Now it’s happening, like we said, this Saturday, it’s from 11 to 7, right? It’s going to be downtown: $7 in advance to get your ticket, $10 at the gate. And if you bring your kiddos, they get a perk, they come in free if they’re 12 and under, so don’t miss out. Thank you all so much for being here today. You can dance us to break. Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be right back.