Artisans and Interpretation at Vermilionville

FAIN: ZPP-284054-22

Vermilionville Living History Museum Foundation, Inc. (Lafayette, LA 70508-2028)
Mathew Brady McKellar (Project Director: May 2021 to May 2024)

The retention of five artisan interpreters to facilitate hands-on experiences at Vermilionville Living History Museum, including providing guests with information about the historical trades and crafts of the region and guiding guests through crafting activities such as quilting and weaving.

To engage guests with unique cultural and historical experiences through hands-on activities. Since its conception, one of the primary elements of Vermilionville's approach, and also what makes it distinctive in the region, is that it offers guests the opportunity to engage with history and culture through hands-on interactions with our artisans. Each of our artisans is trained in cultural craft and trade that would have been practiced by Acadians, Native Americans, and Creoles and people of African descent in our region during the period between 1760 and 1890. Not only do our interpreters demonstrate these crafts, but they create opportunities for guests to experience this history as well. Whether it's ginning and spinning cotton, feeding livestock, playing a 'tit fere with a Creole musician, or pulling a ferry across the bayou, our artisans' offerings of these unique experiences help to immerse each guest in the history and unique contemporary folklife of our region.