Gumbo Festival

It was a very nice and enjoyable family fun day at this festival. The rides were fantastic, mainly for the children and there were lots of games to play for both children and adults also. Most rides required four tickets and tickets are $1 each. There were lots of children out gallivanting from ride to ride and those with the $25 unlimited ride wrist band was certainly living it up. The rain did muddy the lawn near the rides but it wasn't too bad. It was just so nice to see them having fun. There was definitely ample space for folks to roam about the festival without bumping elbows with one another and the music was pretty decent. Now for the star of the festival, the gumbo...or shall I shall fumbo (fumble). I'm not sure who calls this place "the world's best gumbo" but what they're selling for $8 is horrendous IMO. There was no flavor and it was way too watery. This bears no resemblance to traditional New Orleans style gumbo. I really hate to say this but they may want to reconsider a name change from "Gumbo Capital of the World" Festival to "Bridge City's Best-We-Can-Do Gumbo" Festival. You will need tickets to purchase food but the ticket line moves fast, which is a good thing. It was good to see lots of cops present but they really needed someone directing traffic. Other than the sacrilege gumbo, we really enjoyed ourselves and the hosts, staff and everyone working there were very friendly. They even gave out free pepper sauce upon leaving. TIP: Be sure to bring your own folding chairs!

This was without a doubt the lamest festival I have ever been to!As much as Bridge City,LA boasts about being the gumbo capital of the world they really fail to live up to their own expectations. I had seen several signs advertising about this gumbo festival. So I was pretty stoked about checking it out.I guess I had a totally different picture in my mind of what it really was. In my mind I thought it was going to be set up like a cook off with multiple chefs showing off their culinary skills. I also pictured people selling arts and crafts. I even pictured a real Zydeco band up on stage. But alas that is not the way it was.Here's what really happened at the Gumbo Fest. All the food was at one booth and the gumbo was mediocre. Yes you heard me the gumbo did not live up to the empty promises that they made. Plus it was $7.50 a bowl. I know of several restaurants that I can buy it cheaper. There were no arts and crafts. There were only crappy knick knacks. This stuff included the kind of crap that you would buy off of a street vendor at a Mardi Gras Parade, or the useless things that are typically on sale at a truck stop. The band they had on stage was a mediocre cover band. Neither me nor most of the other people at this event paid much attention to this band (maybe because they weren't that great). The only thing that could even remotely be entertaining here were the carnival rides. But alas I am NOT a 9 year old child so carnival rides are out of the question. I don't know if they had anything else because I didn't stick around very long.I really think that the people of Bridge City should have put way more thought into this before they decided have this little shindig. But rest assured I will not be returning to this festival.In short this festival might be entertaining.......If your a 7 year old!!!!

Such beautiful day for Gumbo Fest Sunshine, little warm but Ok..wrist band for Unlimited Rides $25.00 that's a little pricey to say there's not that many rides but at least the lines not long yet..not crowded at all today for food etc.. but I'm glad they had free parking..get out have fun with your Family !!!!

So, all of my life, I've passed the signs on Hwy 90 that proudly proclaim "Bridge City- Gumbo capital of the world," along with the dates of the annual Gumbo Festival. This year, I made an effort to go for the first time, and I've always wanted to try this mythical gumbo.To be fair, being a New Orleanian whose ancestry extends into both Cajun and Creole cultures, I've learned to make (and eat) a variety of gumbos. Therefore, like many natives, I can be a little on the hyper-critical side when it comes to gumbo.I went with a friend and we each sampled one another's gumbo- I had the chicken and sausage gumbo and he had the seafood gumbo. Of the two, the chicken and sausage gumbo was more palatable, but it wasn't very good- weak flavor and watered down. The seafood gumbo was terrible- it tasted like a box mix, was so watered down it was almost clear, and the shrimp (which was the only seafood in it- no crabmeat or gumbo crabs) were miniscule, like "bait-shrimp" tiny, and few. There was only the broth and the shrimp- no sausage or okra at all. Gross. I mean, I found myself feeling the same way I felt when I visited Boston for the first time, and got some coffee. I could see the bottom of the cup, and I was like "Is this for real?" That's how I felt when eating this so called gumbo.We walked around to look at the vendors, and it was mostly a bunch of junk from China- it was like a Harriet Carter catalog expo. No art or anything really local.I wonder if it's always been this way, or if it just declined over time. It's really sad- someone needs to overhaul this thing.So, as my friend and I left the festival, I said "At least I scratched that off my bucket list." All this time wondering if I'd been missing something, and I finally got my answer.

It took quite a bit of adventuring and travel time to find the location of this festival and I was really looking forward to attending it and putting down massive amounts of tasty gumbo as I do love some gumbo... Wow what an incredible disappointment as this is some of the worst gumbo I've ever had in my life! I couldn't believe I was still in Louisiana as the "gumbo" was such a bad watery thin flavorless concoction that it wasn't fit for consumption. I literally ate half of it and threw the rest away it was so bad (and I was starving). This event was one of the least favorite fests I've EVER been to. It was so sparsely attended and depressing that I was in and out of this festival in 20 minutes and I really don't think I would ever return to this event!

Under new management this festival is back in action! Gumbo is fantastic! There is a cover charge but pays for better bands. People are friendly and fun. My kids loved the rides. I felt safe to let the kids ride rides while enjoying the bands and crafts. Safe gated park grounds. Clean and great food. Fun for all ages!

The Gumbo Festival hit its 41 year and has returned to the Great Festival it once was. This past October they hired a new Gumbo Cook, a local guy from Bridge City who knows how to cook a mean bowl of Gumbo. They have also added a new person in charge of vendors. There were arts and crafts from Local vendors. It was by far the best Gumbo Festival ever. It may be because of the new head guy, A cajun man, but he sure did bring in a new team to bring it back to the glory days. If you can during the past and have not happy, go bad, ask for a taste and see the difference. Oh and the bands were really good, they also have a new entertainment director. Came back, see for yourself.