Cabot Arts and the Cabot Community Association will fill the festivity gap between Christmas, Chanukah and New Year’s Eve with its second annual Cajun blow-out in the Willey Building Theatre, 3014 Main Street, on Sunday, December 28 from 3:00 PM until either the dancers drop or the band cries “Uncle!”

The band in this instance being the Green Mountain Playboys, featuring Cabot’s own Katie Trautz, fiddler and vocalist (and director of Montpelier’s Summit School), musician fatigue seems unlikely. The Vermont-based band also includes Alec Ellsworth (fiddle, vocals), Jay Ekis (Vocals, Guitar), Noah Hahn (Bass), and Lee Blackwell (Guitar, Drums). All four members are well-versed Cajun musicians and have traveled to Louisiana a number of times to learn and share this style of music.

“Cajun” and “Canada” are both derived from “Acadia,” the name bestowed on their American colony by the early French settlers. When the British wrested these territories from France, many of the original homesteaders were exiled to the southern French possessions around New Orleans, where a rich Francophone tradition has been preserved, the counterpart to the culture of its northern cousin in Quebec. Cajun music thrives today and mingles its soulful wail and throbbing rhythms in the jambalaya of American country music.

Traditional Cajun dancing will be taught at the Cabot event, though newcomers will find the steps easy to pick up. Refreshments will be available and contributions to the refreshment table are invited. This is a family event, suitable for all ages. Admission to Breaking Up Christmas is by donations at the door.

Feb 1, 2025, 12 to 4 PM

Feb 2, 2025, 4 to 6 PM

Feb 2, 2025, 4:30 to 6 PM