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LAFAYETTE INTERNATIONAL
CENTER CALENDAR |
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revised 11-28-2018 |
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december 2018 |
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Cognac & Christmas fundraiser to benefit CODOFIL and LPB
Wednesday, Dec. 12 | 6:30 PM | Acadiana Center for the Arts
The evening will feature progressive tastings of four varieties of Marquis de La Fayette Cognac, paired with an assortment of savory and sweet appetizers. Nicolas Arcade of H.Mounier in Cognac, France, will be your distinguished guide through each pairing. H. Mounier has bottled award-wining cognacs for over 150 years. Following the tasting, there will be a premier screening of a new production of The Three Musketeers.
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february 2019 |
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Delegation from Belgium – a possible mission to Louisiana to work out details concerning Louisiana’s role as Guest of Honor for the 2019 Fêtes de Wallonie.
TBC |
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march 2019 |
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South-by-Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals
Mar. 8-17 | Austin, Texas
The SXSW Festivals offer a unique opportunity to explore the worlds of the Interactive, Film, Music, and Comedy industries, with parties, awards, screenings, and showcases. The SXSW Conference provides an opportunity for global professionals at every level to participate, learn, and network. In addition to providing a platform for the most groundbreaking and diverse panels, sessions, and festivals, SXSW hosts many different world-class exhibitions.
SXSW goes even further with the SXSW Trade Show, Spotlights, and Gaming Expo. Exhibitions such as Job Market, Flatstock, SXSW Marketplace, SXSW Wellness Expo, and SouthBites are free and open to the public with a SXSW Guest Pass.
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2019 Robideaux Report
Thursday, Mar. 14 | Heymann Center for the Performing Arts, Lafayette, Louisiana
The Mayor-President's annual address highlighting his administration's work during the previous year, also speaking to the challenges and opportunities faced by Lafayette as a city and a parish. In previous reports, the Mayor-President shared his vision for accelerating the diversification of our economy by, in particular, leveraging our distinctive existing cultural and creative assets to attract visitors, businesses and capital from around the world.
The Annual Address is followed by a special “Showcase of Culture” featuring a rich sampling of our cultural and creative assets, showcasing great food and beverages, sights, sounds and ideas.
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Lafayette Holi Festival
Saturday, Mar. 30 | 11:00 AM Girard Park, Lafayette, Louisiana
In India, the Holi Festival is the festival of colors. For decades the members of the Acadiana Indian Association celebrated the festival in their backyards, but since 2011, they have brought it to the community. Hosted each year by the Association, the festival is held each year on the last Saturday in March. The celebration is held to signify the victory of good over evil and the arrival of spring.
The festival is free to attend and open to all ages, with bags of colors available for purchase. It features the iconic throw of color powders, live music, dance performances, water balloons, food, drinks, and more.
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La Boule Cadienne de Lafayette 11th Annual Pétanque tournament
Saturday & Sunday, Mar. 23-24 TBC | Girard Park, Lafayette
Pétanque is a French game with roots in ancient history. Similar to horseshoes and bocce ball, the game requires precision, finesse and a great deal of concentration that may not be apparent to the casual spectator. This popular lawn game is played throughout the world, both for fun and as serious competition.
The local pétanque club is a group of people who share a love of the outdoors, good conversation, and a healthy appetite for fun. They play on a regular monthly schedule, but also whenever the weather is nice and the mood strikes. They are affiliated with Alliance Française de Lafayette, whose mission it is to promote the French language, so they frequently do their socializing in French. They play as a club every fourth Sunday of the month from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, meeting at the public pétanque courts in Girard Park. The courts are located in the northeast corner of the park, across from the rear of the UL Alumni Center. Parking is conveniently located along the one-way street behind the center. Beginners are most welcome.
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Shallow and Deep Water Expo—possible trade show to Mexico
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Doing Business in UK
New date TBD |
Dr. Mark Priest is a specialist and advisor to the British Department for International Trade and Investment. He will be in Lafayette to meet with economic development officials and also plans to offer one-on-one meetings with interested companies. Mark has worked in corporate R&D and business development for over 25 years with companies such as BP, Boeing, Nike and BASF. During this time he has delivered around 100 innovation and growth programs leading to over £400m of new business in markets such as specialty chemicals, aerospace, automotive and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).
Mark founded Harrogate Partners Ltd in 2006 to build a network of like-minded people who value applying similar experience to today’s business challenges of growth and innovation.
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april 2019 |
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French Week in Arnaudville: “La Semaine de la Francophonie”
TBD | NuNu Arts and Culture Collective, 1510 Courtableu Highway, Arnaudville, Louisiana
A project that began in January, 2012, this is a social-and-culture-based strategy to stimulate economic development using artists and their innate creativity. The strategy has included cultural exchanges; the Arnaudville-St. Gravé collaborative brewing of a new beer; a traveling exhibition; a Creative Placemaking summit for project generation; and regional expansion that partners, unites, supports and celebrates Francophone authenticity while building on ongoing community projects
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Festival International de Louisiane
Apr. 24-28 | Downtown Lafayette, Louisiana
Festival International de Louisiane is the largest International music and arts festival in the United States with a special emphasis on the connection between Acadiana and the Francophone world, having an estimated economic impact of $49m annually. With over 300,000 festival-goers every year, this annual festival features musical artists from over 20 countries along with workshops, exhibits, visual art, theater and other forms of performance arts. The 5-day festival is held in April transforming downtown Lafayette, Louisiana into an entertainment mecca.
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International Achievement Award Ceremony
Apr. 25 | Jefferson Street Pub | Lafayette, Louisiana
Established in 1998, the Award is presented annually to honor an individual, organization or company that has significantly enhanced Acadiana’s international reputation. Primary consideration is accorded to individuals whose activities have helped draw economic benefits to the Lafayette area. By invitation.
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VERTECH Consortium Conference
TBD | TBD
The VERTECH network (formerly SESAME) is a group of medium-sized cities with novel initiatives in sustainable development (Poitiers, France; Lafayette, Louisiana, USA; Namur, Belgium; and Victoriaville, Québec, Canada). The network examines global and durable solutions and facilitates the development of collaborations.
VERTECH organizes activities for networking and exchanging ideas between delegations from each member city with municipal actors, local businesses, institutions and research centers. The network organizes the VERTECH symposium and the international student competition “VERTECH CITY” every one or two years, and also initiates international research and innovation projects.
Recently, the network launched an international summer school on environmental, socio-economic and socio-entrepreneurial issues related to sustainable urbanism. Green technologies, eco-industrial parks, smart cities, sustainable transport, urban agriculture, waste management, water treatment, and sustainable chemistry are among the themes discussed during the school.
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may 2019 |
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OTC (Offshore Technology Conference)
May 6-9 | NRG Park, Houston, Texas
Taking place annually since 1969, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) draws together energy professionals to exchange ideas and opinions to advance scientific and technical knowledge for offshore resources and environmental matters. OTC’s flagship conference is held annually at NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park) in Houston.
OTC has expanded technically and globally with the Arctic Technology Conference, OTC Brazil and OTC Asia. The conference features international pavilions, outdoor exhibits, technical presentations, topical breakfast and luncheons, and panel sessions. OTC is sponsored by 13 industry organizations and societies, who work cooperatively to develop the technical program.
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Farewell Reception for UL International Students
TBD | UL Alumni Center
Annual farewell given to graduating international students of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, co-hosted by UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie and City-Parish Mayor-President Joel Robideaux. Graduating students are invested as Goodwill Ambassadors representing Lafayette, and an Outstanding International Alumnus is recognized, followed by a reception. A joint project of the UL Office of International Affairs, the UL Alumni Association, the LCG Mayor-President’s Office, the Lafayette International Center, and the UL Lafayette President’s Office.
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june 2019 |
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Global Petroleum Show (GPS)
Jun. 11 – 13 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada
This three-day Canadian event is one of the largest oil and gas events in North America. Alberta is Canada’s largest oil and natural gas producer and is home to vast oil sands deposits. Calgary is the epicenter of the energy industry in Canada with head offices of every major company in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors located in the city. During these three days, over 100 experts will speak at various conference sessions during the week and more than 1000 companies are participating in the exhibition.
The U.S. Department of Commerce pavilion includes about two dozen booths, highlighted by booths from the states of West Virginia and Louisiana. Vanessa Paredes, of the Lafayette International Center, will be leading the Louisiana delegation, along with Louisiana Economic Development (LED). She will also be prospecting for trade leads and promoting LAGCOE.
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july 2019 |
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International Summer School Vertech City 2019 – on sustainable cities (ISS-VERTECH)
Jul. 13-20 | Namur, Belgium
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august 2019 |
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Acadian World Congress 2019 (Congrès Mondial Acadien 2019)
Aug. 10-29 | Prince Edward Island and southeast New Brunswick, Canada
The World Acadian Congress is a festival of Acadian and Cajun culture and history, held every five years. The sixth edition of Congrès Mondial Acadien will promote a contemporary Acadie in both its urban and rural life. It will allow its young people to express their Acadian pride through interactions with other generations and will continue to develop its sustainable links between southeastern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
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Reseau des Villes Francophones & Francophiles d’Amérique (RVFFA)
Aug.15-17 | Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
The Network of Francophone and Francophile Cities in America co-sponsored by founding member cities of Lafayette, Moncton and Québec gathers to discuss the development of tourist trails in North America and other issues.
The Network is generating excitement across the continent. It has more than 140 member cities, with this number growing, and brings together on a single platform the tourist, geographical and historical attractions of major cities in French-speaking North America. Eventually, the alliance of these cities will create tours for travelers from around the world.
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Welcome Reception for UL International Students
TBD | 4:30 PM | Lafayette City Hall Auditorium and Atrium
Annual welcome and orientation to Lafayette for arriving international students of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, co-hosted by City-Parish Mayor-President Joel Robideaux and UL Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie. Reception following. A joint project of the LCG Mayor-President’s Office, the Lafayette International Center, the UL Lafayette President’s Office; and the UL Office of International Affairs.
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september 2019 |
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Fêtes de Wallonie
Mid-Sept. | Namur, Belgium
Since 1923, these festivals have celebrated patriotism and pride in the French-speaking Walloon region of Belgium. While these celebrations take place in many areas in this southern region of the country, they are particularly successful in Lafayette’s sister city of Namur, where more than 250,000 people gravitate during the weekend. Several days of street performances, a battle of the famous “Echasseurs” stilt-walkers, performances of folklore singers and dancers, and programming aimed at visitors of all ages, with all of downtown Namur turned into a pedestrian fair.
Louisiana will be the Guest of Honor at the 2019 Fêtes de Wallonie, and large turnouts from Louisiana cities and towns twinned with those in Wallonia are expect.
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Acadiana Cup Golf Exchange 2019 The 21st annual tournament.
TBD | Namur, Belgium
The Acadiana Cup golf tournament was created in 1998, in Lafayette, Louisiana, in a spirit of friendly competition between Lafayette and her sister city of Poitiers, France. In the five years that followed, players were added from Namur (Belgium), Moncton (New Brunswick, Canada), Nîmes (France) and Prince Edward Island (Canada). Hosting the tournament rotates among the member cities, with the location alternating between North America and Europe.
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october 2019 |
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Festivals Acadiens et Créoles
Oct. 10-13 | Girard Park, Lafayette, Louisiana
The first Tribute to Cajun Music in 1974 took Cajun and Creole music out of the dancehalls and onto a concert stage at Blackham Coliseum. Forty-three years later, the tribute has grown into a three-day celebration of music, food, art, crafts, museum exhibits, symposiums, film screenings and more. The celebration is a giant among Lafayette’s festivals, attracting people of all ages, of many different nationalities from all over the world. Admission is free.
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LAGCOE 2019 (Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition) International Trade Center
Oct. 9-11 | Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
LAGCOE is a nonprofit energy industry organization focused on educational programs and a technical exposition & conference. LAGCOE’s mission is to cultivate economic growth of the energy industry by facilitating domestic & global business development and fostering the energy workforce pipeline. LAGCOE’s vision is to be a robust, sustainable community of energy companies and volunteers that promotes energy education and awareness; connects businesses with opportunities; and showcases the Gulf Coast’s technical innovations to the world.
Every two years, LAGCOE hosts an exposition featuring the latest in equipment and technology, welcoming to Lafayette thousands from the oil and gas industry, from dozens of countries.
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