



SHAKE YOUR TRAIL FEATHER FESTIVAL (OCTOBER 17, 2020)

Shake Your Trail Feather is an annual festival celebrating the 130-mile-long Bayou Teche National Paddle Trail. Our full-blown event will be canceled this year due to COVID-19, but we are still having the paddle boat parade from Poche’s Meat Market in Poche Bridge to Parc des Ponts in Breaux Bridge on October 17.

This year, the “Paddle to the Party” boat parade will become the “Paddle is the Party!” The floating paddle parade will start at 10 a.m. (check-in at Poche’s at 9:30 a.m.), and band Amis du Teche will escort via barge to set the mood as folks float for a 2-hour paddle parade down beautiful Bayou Teche. When the parade ends at the park in Breaux Bridge, there will be merchandise, food and non-alcoholic beverages available (due to COVID 19 restrictions we can’t have a bar, but bringing your own libations is acceptable). At 1 p.m. we will be raffling a $200 gift certificate from Pack and Paddle!

To keep the parade crowd limited to safe numbers, we are asking that folks register in advance on Eventbrite. The cost of registration is $10 and includes your ticket to the parade and our annual event pin that has this year’s theme bird wearing a mask to mark the times. For safety, we will be requiring masks when not paddling. We plan to have a Best Bird Mask Contest, so come with your beaks on! We also ask that the parade be limited to non-motorized watercraft.

We will provide a shuttle service to bring you to the paddle party! You can drop off your canoe/kayak at Poche Bridge (where it will be guarded), go park your vehicle at the festival grounds and take the 9 a.m. shuttle bus back to your boat. So, now when you paddle to the party, your vehicle will be there waiting for you. The shuttle will have a minimal fee of $5. Please plan to be at Poche’s by 9:30 a.m. for a safety briefing, and note that life vests will be required. If you are interested in renting a boat with a life vest for the Paddle to the Party, contact Cory Werk at Bayou Teche Experience, Pack and Paddle or The Backpacker.

This event is a fundraiser for The TECHE Project, and proceeds go toward building the Bayou Teche National Paddle Trail, which will provide access docks and other amenities for paddlers in the 13 towns along Bayou Teche. This fall, we will have 11 paddle trail docks and accompanying informational kiosks installed on the bayou.

If you have access to the Bayou Teche between Poche Bridge and Breaux Bridge, join us on the bank for parade viewing and a good time as we “Shake Our Trail Feathers” down the bayou!

Many thanks to our Festival Sponsors:

Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, Pack and Paddle, Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District, Courtesy Motors of Breaux Bridge, Russell’s Food Center, SLEMCO, Bayou Teche Brewery, Hub City Diner, Poche’s Meat Market, St. Martin Parish Tourist Commission, Breaux Bridge Chamber of Commerce, the City of Breaux Bridge and the St. Bernard School.