By Kane Webb
USA Rice
The 87th Annual International Rice Festival (IRF) took place this past weekend, bringing together an estimated 100,000 attendees to celebrate the state's deeply rooted connection to rice under the theme “Rice: a Louisiana Cuisine.”
The festival is Louisiana’s longest-running free agricultural event, as well as one of its largest; Festival President Joshua Spell, a Crowley native and executive chef at the popular local eatery Fezzo’s, emphasized the importance of keeping the festival free for the community.