Louisiana is known for its Cajun cuisine but in Sabine Parish this weekend they are cooking up a beloved Mexican food staple at the 46th Annual Zwolle Tamale Fiesta. It was almost five-decades ago when Festival President Chris Loupe’s father started the event after then-Governor Edwin Edwards offered matching funds for fall festivals.
“Someone said well Loupe why don’t you do something in Zwolle with Tamales? And so, it was going to be a one-time thing. We had it in November, it was cold, cold, cold. So, we moved it to the second week in October, we had so many people show up for that thing we said we need to do it again,” said Loupe.
The three-day event which kicked off Thursday has plenty of rides, music, arts and crafts, and a big parade on Saturday. And Loupe says this festival also has a few other things that aren’t your run-of-the-mill activities, like taking your truck for a spin in the mud bog…
“We have an arm-wrestling contest, we have a tamale eating contest, you want to come eat three dozen hot tamales and maybe win you a nice trophy, you can,” said Loupe.
The Tamale Fiesta can attract some 15,000 people and Loupe estimates around 5,000 dozen tamales will be consumed this weekend. And if for some reason you’re not a tamale connoisseur…
“You don’t like hot tamales? I’m looking at a homemade burger, I’m looking at a smoked turkey leg, I’m looking at BBQ, I’m looking at pig-on-a-stick, and other things to eat besides tamales. But you cannot leave Zwolle without a good tamale,” said Loupe.
As far as the tamales go, Loupe says they have mild, medium, hot, and extra hot but he warns to consume the latter with extreme caution.
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