LOREAUVILLE

This small village located 20 miles inland on the banks of the Bayou Teche is world reknown for its boat building business.  In 1946, Roy Breaux Sr. took his blacksmith skills taught to him by his father and fabricated his first boat. Today, his company builds multi-million dollar vessels that are in service around the globe today. Ask any captain and he'll tell you that Breaux boats are known the world over as the Cadillac of crewboats because of a smooth riding hull design and superior craftsmanship.  Today there are several boat buidling business in Loreauville. 

Clifton Chenier (1925-1987) became the “King of Zydeco” and the first Creole to be presented a Grammy award on national television. Blending the French and Cajun two-steps and waltzes of southwest Louisiana with New Orleans R&B, Texas blues, and big-band jazz, he created the modern, dance-inspiring, sounds of zydeco. He founded the Clifton Chenier Club in Loreauville, now owned by his nephew who received the Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award on his behalf in 2014. Every June, the club (located at 2116 Fernand Crochet Lane) hosts the Clifton Chenier Celebration, a tribute to Chenier’s life and legacy.  

All Saints Cemetary is the final resting place of Clifton Chenier and the 2017 Cycle Zydeco route will pass by his former club, Clifton Chenier Club, then by the cemetery.  The following day, we will head to Opelousas, the birthplace of Clifton Chenier.