Terrebonne Parish Louisiana Cajun Fly-In Festival
On a clear November morning on the north side of Houma, small aeroplanes begin to arrive over the marsh and the bayou country, circling down toward a runway where families are already gathering beside the fence. The Cajun Fly-In Festival is a modest gathering built around a simple pleasure: watching aeroplanes built by hand, talking with the people who fly them, and spending a day outdoors with Cajun food, music and a car show. The sheet title is never printed as the event’s name in the layers read; the gathering is published as the Cajun Fly-In and as the Cajun Fly-In Festival, and this article uses those published names in the body while the sheet title stands on the title line and in the outlook below. Houma is the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, and the venue is the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, known by its code KHUM, on the north side of town. The organiser is Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 513, Houma’s Bill Fornof Memorial Experimental Aircraft Association chapter. The record is moderate in depth: dated editions are attested in 2013 and 2014, and a listing carries an edition for around the seventh of November 2026 whose date and programme the organiser had not yet confirmed when the listing was written, so that edition is recorded here as an unconfirmed listing and never as a held date.
About the Festival
The Cajun Fly-In Festival brings together two strands of south Louisiana life that rarely share a stage: homebuilt aviation and Cajun hospitality. A fly-in is a gathering at which pilots fly their own aeroplanes into an airfield and park them on display, so that visitors can walk the line, look closely at the machines, and ask the owners how each one was built. At Houma the aeroplanes are small and experimental, many of them homebuilt, and the layers describe antique and restored aeroplanes standing beside newer experimental designs. The public can meet the pilots, and that conversation is the heart of the day: a builder will explain a wing, an engine, or a cockpit panel to anyone curious enough to ask. Around the aeroplanes, the day fills out with Cajun food, live music and a car show, so that visitors who know nothing about aviation still find a full afternoon. The event is a family gathering in the plainest sense, and the 2013 newspaper layer called it a free family event with no charges for parking or entry. The Terrebonne Foundation for Academic Excellence Cajun Food Festival, also held in Houma, is a different event and has nothing to do with this fly-in. AI-generated listing layers carrying invented lineups and dates for this event are disowned wholesale in this article.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
| Published name | Cajun Fly-In, also printed as Cajun Fly-In Festival |
| Host town | Houma, parish seat of Terrebonne Parish |
| Venue | Houma-Terrebonne Airport, known as KHUM, north side of Houma |
| Organiser | Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 513, the Bill Fornof Memorial chapter |
| Dated editions | 2013, 2014, and a listing for around the seventh of November 2026 |
| Programme | Fly-in of small and experimental aircraft, Cajun food, live music, car show |
| Admission | Free at the 2013 edition; no current gate price documented |
| Season | Historically held in November |
| Audience | Families, pilots, builders, and visitors curious about homebuilt aviation |
| Sheet title | Terrebonne Parish Louisiana Cajun Fly-In Festival |
History
The fly-in has historically been held in November, and that seasonal habit is one of the few threads the record traces across the years. A local newspaper layer attested a 2013 edition under the headline about aeroplane buffs gathering on a Saturday in Houma, describing a free family event with homebuilt and restored aircraft on display. A second local newspaper layer attested a 2014 edition under a headline about the Experimental Aircraft Association hosting its annual fly-in, which suggests the gathering was already an established annual habit by then. No founding year is stated in any layer read, and this article does not derive one from the two attested editions; the gap between 2014 and the later listing is not filled in by the layers, and no claim is made about editions in the intervening years. The organiser is Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 513, and the chapter carries the memorial name of Bill Fornof, which ties the gathering to a local aviation figure whose name the chapter preserves. The festival-listing layer carries a 2026 edition for around the seventh of November 2026 at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, with the date and programme not yet confirmed by the organiser at the time the listing was written. That listing is recorded here exactly as it stands: a listing, not a confirmed edition. The gathering’s character, as the layers describe it, has stayed steady: small aeroplanes, their builders and pilots, Cajun food, music, and a car show on the airfield.
What to Expect
A day at the Cajun Fly-In Festival is spent mostly outdoors, walking a line of parked aeroplanes and stopping to talk. The fly-in itself is the centre of the day: small and experimental aircraft arrive through the morning and park on display, and visitors can look at homebuilt, antique and restored machines at close range. Pilots are present beside their aeroplanes, and the layers describe a gathering where the public can meet them and ask about the aircraft, which makes the day feel more like a workshop open house than a spectator event. Cajun food is part of the programme, served on the airfield, and live music plays through the day. A car show runs alongside the aeroplanes, so that the display line includes automobiles as well as aircraft, and families move between the two. Children are part of the audience the 2013 newspaper layer described, and the free family character of that edition is the clearest picture the record gives of the atmosphere: no charges for parking or entry, a relaxed pace, and plenty of room to wander. The 2026 listing does not confirm a programme, so the details above describe the documented pattern of the earlier editions rather than a promised schedule for a later one.
Planning Your Visit
Houma sits in the bayou country of Terrebonne Parish, and the airport lies on the north side of town, so a visit begins with a short drive from the town centre toward the airfield. Because the 2026 listing is unconfirmed, the first step in planning is to check the current listing before travelling, and to treat the date around the seventh of November 2026 as provisional until the organiser confirms it. The fly-in has historically been held in November, which in south Louisiana usually brings mild weather, though rain is always possible, and a light waterproof layer is a sensible precaution. The 2013 edition charged nothing for parking or entry, and the layers give no current gate price, so visitors should carry a small amount of cash for food and any purchases at the car show or among vendors, without assuming that entry itself will cost anything. The venue is an active airport, so visitors should expect fenced areas, marked walkways, and directions from volunteers or chapter members about where the public may stand. A morning arrival suits the flying best, while the afternoon suits the food, the music and the car show.
For a useful comparison, see the Terrebonne Parish Louisiana Houma Mac N’ Cheese Festival for another county festival.
A Sample Itinerary
Arrive at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport in the morning, while aeroplanes are still arriving and the display line is forming. Spend the first hour walking the aeroplane line, looking at the homebuilt and restored machines and talking with the pilots beside them. Pause for a mid-morning bite of Cajun food, then return to the field to see the aeroplanes that arrived after the first pass. Around midday, move to the car show and walk its line, comparing the automobiles with the aircraft for craft and care. Take the early afternoon for the live music, finding a spot to sit and listen while the field settles into its slower rhythm. Use the late afternoon for a second walk along the aeroplane line, when the light is softer and the pilots have time for longer conversations.
A Comparison
Compared with a large airshow, the Cajun Fly-In Festival is small, informal and close up. An airshow keeps the audience behind a line and the aeroplanes in the sky; a fly-in puts the audience beside the aeroplanes on the ground, with the builders and pilots within talking distance. Compared with a food festival, the fly-in is quieter and more focused, with Cajun food as one element of the day rather than its whole purpose, and with the aeroplanes giving the gathering a centre that a food festival does not have. Compared with a car show, the fly-in is broader, because the car show is only one part of the programme, and the aeroplanes bring a different kind of craft into view. The Cajun Fly-In Festival is best understood on its own terms: a chapter of experimental aircraft enthusiasts opening their airfield to neighbours for a day, with food, music and cars to round out the visit.
Checklist
- Check the current listing before travelling, and treat the 2026 date as unconfirmed until the organiser confirms it
- Arrive in the morning to watch aeroplanes arrive and to meet pilots beside their machines
- Wear comfortable shoes and sun protection for a day spent outdoors on foot
- Carry a light waterproof layer in case of November rain
- Bring cash for food and purchases, without assuming entry itself will cost anything
- Respect fenced areas and marked walkways on the active airfield
- Ask pilots about their aeroplanes, since conversation is the heart of the day
- Allow time for the car show as well as the aeroplane line
- Plan an evening meal in Houma after leaving the airfield
- Do not rely on AI-generated listing layers, which carry invented lineups and dates for this event
Beyond the Airfield
Houma is the parish seat and the largest town in Terrebonne Parish, and a visit to the fly-in leaves the rest of the town to explore. The bayou country around Houma is the setting for much of the parish’s life, and the town’s restaurants, shops and waterfront give a visitor a fuller sense of the place than the airfield alone. The Cajun Fly-In Festival is a one-day gathering, so an overnight stay in Houma turns the trip into a short break, with the fly-in as the centrepiece and the town as the frame. The South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center and the parish’s bayou landscapes are nearby, and they give context to the watery country the aeroplanes fly over. The Cajun Fly-In Festival is a small event in a working town, and its pleasure is inseparable from the place that hosts it.
Why It Matters
The Cajun Fly-In Festival matters because it keeps a craft visible. Homebuilt and experimental aviation is a pursuit carried on by individuals in workshops and hangars, and a fly-in is one of the few occasions when that work is shown in public, with the builders present to explain it. For a young visitor, seeing a homebuilt aeroplane up close and talking with its pilot can plant an interest that a textbook never would. For the chapter, the gathering is a way of opening the airfield to neighbours and of keeping the Experimental Aircraft Association’s local presence alive in Houma. The festival also matters as a record of continuity: two newspaper attestations a year apart, a November habit, and a forward listing all point to a gathering that has kept going in one form or another. The Cajun Fly-In Festival is modest in scale, and its significance lies in that modesty, in a community of builders sharing their work with anyone curious enough to walk out to the airfield and ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can visitors walk among the aeroplanes and talk with the pilots?
Visitors can. The fly-in is a gathering at which pilots bring their own aeroplanes and park them on display, and the public can meet the pilots and see homebuilt, antique and restored aircraft at close range.
Is the 2026 edition confirmed for the seventh of November?
No. A festival-listing layer carries an edition for around the seventh of November 2026 at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, with the date and programme not yet confirmed by the organiser at the time the listing was written, so it should be treated as an unconfirmed listing and checked before travelling.
Was there an entry charge at the earlier editions?
The 2013 edition was free, according to the local newspaper layer that described it as a free family event with no charges for parking or entry. No current gate price is documented in any layer read, so this article takes no position on what a later edition might charge.
How is this fly-in different from the Cajun food festival in Houma?
The Terrebonne Foundation for Academic Excellence Cajun Food Festival is a different event with a different purpose, and it has nothing to do with this fly-in. The Cajun Fly-In Festival is an aviation gathering at the airport, with Cajun food as one part of its programme.
What to Expect From the Next Terrebonne Parish Louisiana Cajun Fly-In Festival
How often is Terrebonne Parish Louisiana Cajun Fly-In Festival held?
The fly-in has historically been held in November, and the 2014 newspaper layer called it an annual fly-in, but the layers read do not give a complete roster of editions, so this article does not claim an unbroken yearly run.
When is the next Terrebonne Parish Louisiana Cajun Fly-In Festival?
A festival-listing layer carries an edition for around the seventh of November 2026 at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, but the date and programme had not been confirmed by the organiser when the listing was written, so the date should be treated as provisional and checked before travelling.
Will the dates change?
The only dated forward listing is the unconfirmed one for around the seventh of November 2026, and the November habit of the fly-in is the most consistent feature in the record, so a visitor should confirm the current listing rather than assume a fixed date.
The Cajun Fly-In Festival is a small November gathering at the Houma-Terrebonne Airport, where homebuilt and experimental aeroplanes stand on display, pilots talk with visitors, and Cajun food, live music and a car show fill out the day. Its record is modest, two newspaper attestations and a forward listing, but its character is clear: a chapter of enthusiasts opening an airfield to neighbours for a free family day. Check the current listing before travelling, and arrive in the morning.
