Held annually in Crowley on the third weekend in October to celebrate Louisiana’s rice industry and farmers, the International Rice Festival is Louisiana’s oldest and largest agricultural festival. The inaugural event, held on October 5, 1937, was called the National Rice Festival. The festival took a hiatus from 1942-1945 during World War II and resumed in 1946 as the International Rice Festival. The festival has grown significantly since its debut, attracting over seven million visitors and now featuring multiple stages of live music, a Queen’s Contest, a rice eating contest, a fiddle and accordion contest, a Frog Derby, and a grand parade as well as a children’s parade. The eighty-ninth International Rice Festival will take place October 15-18, 2026 in Crowley.