Louisiana is often referred to as the “Festival Capital of the World,” earning this title because of the hundreds of festivals that take place annually throughout the state.

More than 400 festivals take place each year in Louisiana, ranging from cultural and food celebrations to music and seasonal events.

Three festivals, Rougarou Fest, Jazz Fest and Beignet Fest, were named among the top 10 festivals in various categories by USA Today.

Rougarou Fest in Houma named on USA Today’s 10Best Cultural Festivals

Rougarou Fest in Houma was named by USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards as the seventh best cultural festival.

Rougarou Fest is a free, family-friendly festival that celebrates the rich folklore of Southeast Louisiana. The Rougarou is a folklore creature that’s described as having the head of a wolf or dog and the body of a human, like a werewolf. Stories of the Rougarou have been used by Cajun parents for generations to get children to behave.

The event, which takes place at 86 Valhi Blvd. in Houma, showcases live music, cultural activities, children’s activities, Cajun food, the Krewe Ga Rou parade and more. This year, the festival will take place from Oct. 23 to Oct. 25.

Here are the 10 best cultural festivals in the U.S. according to USA Today:

1. Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
2. Black Wall Street Rally (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
3. Dublin Irish Festival (Dublin, Ohio)
4. Fyr Bal Festival (Ephraim, Wisconsin)
5. Anchorage Fur Rendezvous (Anchorage, Alaska)
6. Black Food Truck Festival (Charleston, South Carolina)
7. Rougarou Fest (Houma, Louisiana)
8. World Food & Music Festival (Des Moines, Iowa)
9. Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival (Nashville, Tennessee)
10. Celtic Music and Heritage Festival (St. Augustine, Florida)

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival named among 10 best music festivals by USA Today

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, also known as Jazz Fest, was named the seventh best music festival on USA Today’s 10Best Reader’s Choice Awards.

This festival is a legendary celebration of music, featuring some of the biggest names in music, with this year’s lineup featuring the Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Kings of Leon, Lorde, Tyler Childers and Earth, Wind and Fire, just to name a few.

The festival also puts the spotlight on local legends in the genres of jazz, blues, gospel, rock, R&B and Zydeco. This event is a great way for attendees to experience the rich musical heritage of New Orleans.

This year, the festival takes place on two separate weekends, from April 23 until May 3. In addition to music, there will also be authentic Louisiana cuisine, artisan crafts and cultural displays.

These are the 10 best music festivals in the U.S. according to USA Today:

1. Musikfest (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
2. Mile 0 Fest (Key West, Florida)
3. Joshua Tree Music Festival (Joshua Tree, California)
4. Festival Napa Valley (Napa, California)
5. Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion (Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia)
6. Summerfest (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
7. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (New Orleans, Louisiana)
8. Waterfront Blues Festival (Portland, Oregon)
9. Lollapalooza (Chicago, Illinois)
10. Ohana Festival (Dana Point, California)

• Louisiana lawmakers are considering a bill to create a recreational alligator hunting season.
• The proposed season would be open to 5,000 lottery-selected hunters annually, with a two-gator limit.
• Louisiana’s wild alligator population has grown to over 2 million, a significant conservation success.
• Recreational hunters would be limited to using a hook and line from land.

Louisiana may expand its wild alligator harvesting opportunities to recreational hunters if the Legislature passes a bill that secured unanimous approval in a committee hearing March 11.

Franklin state Sen. Robert Allain’s Senate Bill 244 would authorize the Louisiana Wildlife Commission to create a recreational season that would be open to 5,000 hunters annually, each with a two-gator limit.

The state already has a commercial hunting season for alligators, which is chronicled in the popular “Swamp People” TV reality series.

“We think the time is right,” Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Tyler Bosworth testified during the Senate Natural Resources Committee hearing. “We want to provide a recreational opportunity for the common folk of Louisiana.”

Louisiana’s alligator population has exploded in the past 50 years from fewer than 100,000 to more than 3 million today. Of those, about 2 million are wild with another 1 million farmed.

That’s at least twice the population in Florida, the state with the second most number of alligators.

And their Louisiana numbers have grown throughout the state where they can be commonly spotted from Lake Martin in Breaux Bridge to Caddo and Cross lakes in Shreveport to Caldwell Parish in northeastern Louisiana.

“This is a conservation success story on the highest level,” LDWF general counsel Garrett Cole said during the hearing. “This would create a true recreational opportunity outside our commercial season.”

Garrett said hunters would compete for hunting tags through a lottery will statewide opportunities. Recreational hunters would be limited to hook and line harvesting from land. No gators could be taken by boat as commercial hunters are allowed to do.

If approved, the first season could take place beginning Oct. 1.

Louisiana gator, frog delicacies: In Louisiana, frogs are delicacy on par with alligators, crawfish: What do they taste like?

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

While Louisiana’s largest lake, the Toledo Bend Reservoir, spans 1,200 miles of shoreline, the state’s deepest lake only spans 1,125 acres.

Lake Peigneur is the deepest lake in Louisiana, with a depth measuring approximately 200 feet.

Lake Peigneur is a brackish lake, meaning it contains saltwater but has less salinity than seawater, located in New Iberia Parish in South Louisiana.

How did Lake Peigneur become the deepest lake in Louisiana?

Lake Peigneur was not always considered the deepest lake in Louisiana, as it was only a 10-foot-deep freshwater lake 40 years ago.

On Nov. 20, 1980, an oil rig crew was attempting to free a 14-inch drill bit when they heard popping noises and the rig began to tilt. Shortly after the crew abandoned the rig and headed for shore, the crew watched the 150-foot oil rig disappear into the 10-foot-deep lake.

Soon, a whirlpool formed in place of the oil rig. The whirlpool grew rapidly until it was able to suck up nearby boats, barges, trees, a house and half an island.

At the same location of the oil drilling site, there was also a salt mine, and when the whirlpool formed after the oil rig collapsed, the mine began to fill with water. As the whirlpool grew, water was able to enter the mine at such a force that it caused a geyser to spew out of the mine’s opening for hours until the lake was drained.

After the lake was emptied, the Delcambre Canal began to flow backward, marking the only time in history that the Gulf of Mexico flowed into the continental U.S. This backflow continued until the entire mine and lake were filled with water, except now the lake was filled with saltwater, according to an article published on Louisiana Tech Digital Commons.

Can you swim in Lake Peigneur?

Before the oil rig and salt mine accident, Lake Peigneur was a popular spot for fishing and recreational activities. However, since the lake is almost entirely surrounded by private property, visitors will have to enter the nearby Rip Van Winkle Gardens in order to get a closer look, according to Atlas Obscura.

While there are no reports indicating the lake is unsafe, the lake is not exactly developed for public access. However, there are things to do around Lake Peigneur, like visiting Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island, or visiting Avery Island to tour the Tabasco Factory.

Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team for USA Today. Find her on X @PresleyTyler02 and email at PTyler@Gannett.com