St. Mary Parish Louisiana Soul Food Festival
Franklin, the seat of Saint Mary Parish, spends the Juneteenth weekend each June in a celebration of food, music and community that has grown from a single day into a three-day gathering. The Soul Food Festival, held at Parc Su La Tech, brings live music, food vendors, a five-kilometre race and free health screenings together under one umbrella, and it does so as a Juneteenth celebration first and a food festival second. First held on 19 June 2021, the edition dated 19–21 June 2026 is billed as the sixth annual, and the festival already stands among Franklin’s annual events in the city’s own listing. The organiser is the 100 Black Men of Saint Mary Parish, and the weekend spreads across three days and more than one location in town.
About
The Soul Food Festival is Franklin’s Juneteenth weekend gathering, and its published name is exactly that: the Soul Food Festival. The name appears in the parish tourism layer, in government heritage-area minutes and in a local-news layer, and the same sources present the weekend as a celebration held on the Juneteenth weekend rather than a single afternoon of food stalls. Three days, more than one location and a programme mixing music, food, running and health screenings give the event the shape of a community weekend rather than a street fair.
Parc Su La Tech in Franklin is the venue named for the 2025 edition, and the festival’s home is the parish seat itself. The organiser, the 100 Black Men of Saint Mary Parish, is a community organisation, and a corporate community page also names the group as sponsor of the third annual festival, which places the group at the centre of the event from its early years onward.
What a visitor meets is a Juneteenth celebration built around soul food. Live music runs through the weekend, food vendors serve the dishes the festival is named for, a five-kilometre race brings runners into the programme, and free health screenings add a practical community service. The combination is unusual among food festivals, and it is the combination the layers read keep returning to: music and food alongside running and health, all inside a Juneteenth weekend in the parish seat.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
| Event | Soul Food Festival |
| Host town | Franklin |
| Parish | Saint Mary Parish |
| Parish seat | Franklin |
| Venue | Parc Su La Tech, Franklin |
| Organiser | 100 Black Men of Saint Mary Parish |
| First held | 19 June 2021 |
| Fourth annual edition | 14–15 June 2024 |
| Most recent dated edition | 20–22 June 2025, the fifth year |
| Next edition | 19–21 June 2026, billed the sixth annual |
History
The Soul Food Festival began on 19 June 2021, and the date matters because the first festival was held as a Juneteenth celebration. Government heritage-area minutes record that first gathering, and the same minutes record the fourth annual edition on 14–15 June 2024. A corporate community page adds a further thread by naming the 100 Black Men of Saint Mary Parish as sponsor of the third annual festival, so the organising group is tied to the event by its third year as well as by its first.
For a useful comparison, see the St. Mary Parish Louisiana Berwick Lighthouse Festival for another county festival.
The fifth year followed on 20–22 June 2025, documented in a local-news layer, and the sixth annual edition is listed for 19–21 June 2026 in the parish tourism layer. Each billing is recorded exactly as the layers print it: first festival in 2021, fourth annual in 2024, fifth year in 2025, sixth annual in 2026. No founding year beyond the documented first edition is stated anywhere in the layers read, and none is derived here from the billings.
Growth is the clearest theme in the short history. A single day in 2021 became a two-day fourth annual edition in 2024, and then a three-day gathering in 2025 that the layers describe as spanning three days and multiple locations. The city’s own site layer lists the festival among Franklin’s annual events, which is a further sign of how firmly the gathering has settled into the town’s calendar in only a few years.
The record also shows what the festival is not. It is not the Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival in East Baton Rouge Parish, and it is not the Louisiana Soul Food Fall Festival. The Fountain Inn Juneteenth Soul Food Festival in South Carolina is a different event in a different state. A low-quality aggregator layer that scrapes Louisiana food-festival text is disowned wholesale, and the history above rests only on the parish tourism layer, the government heritage-area minutes and local news.
What to Expect
Live music is the backbone of the weekend. The layers read name live music as part of the programme without naming individual acts, so the music is best understood as a running thread through the three days rather than a bill of named performers. Food vendors work alongside the music, serving the soul food dishes that give the festival its name.
A five-kilometre race is part of the programme, and it gives the weekend a sporting edge that many food festivals do not have. Free health screenings are offered as well, adding a quieter, practical note: visitors can look after their health while they enjoy the festival, and the screenings show the organising group’s community purpose in action.
The Juneteenth weekend shape is the third thing to expect. The celebration spans three days and multiple locations, so the festival is not confined to a single afternoon in a single park. The 2025 edition ran 20–22 June, and the 2026 edition is listed for 19–21 June, which means a visitor should think in terms of a whole weekend rather than a single visit.
Planning Your Visit
Franklin is the parish seat of Saint Mary Parish, and Parc Su La Tech is the venue named for the 2025 edition, so the festival sits in the middle of the town it belongs to. Arriving with the three-day shape in mind helps, because the celebration spreads across the weekend and across more than one location, and a single afternoon will only show part of it.
June in Louisiana is hot and humid, and the festival is an outdoor weekend, so light clothing, water and sun protection are the sensible basics. The five-kilometre race is part of the programme for those who run, and the free health screenings are open to visitors who want them. No admission price or free status is stated in any layer read, so no position on entry is taken here, and a visitor should not assume a figure either way.
The best approach is to treat the weekend as a whole. The first festival was a single day, but the recent editions run for three days, and the 2026 edition is listed for 19–21 June, so a visitor with a free weekend can take the gathering at a relaxed pace.
Sample Itinerary
A visitor with the whole weekend free can take the festival in three easy movements. The first day is for arrival and orientation: reach Franklin, find Parc Su La Tech, walk the food vendors and listen to the live music, and get a sense of how the weekend is laid out across its locations.
The middle day is the fullest. This is the day to settle in at the park, eat well from the food vendors, catch the live music as it runs, and join the five-kilometre race if running is part of the plan. The free health screenings fit naturally into the same day, and a visitor can move between the music, the food and the screenings without leaving the celebration.
The last day is for a slower return. Come back to the park, revisit the vendors and the music, and let the weekend close at its own pace. A three-day festival does not need to be hurried, and the final day is the right time to enjoy the parts that were missed on the first pass.
How It Compares
Soul food festivals are held in more than one place, and the Franklin weekend is best understood against the other events that share its name. The Baton Rouge Soul Food Festival in East Baton Rouge Parish is a different event, and the Louisiana Soul Food Fall Festival is a different event as well. The Fountain Inn Juneteenth Soul Food Festival in South Carolina is a different event in a different state.
What sets the Franklin festival apart is its Juneteenth character and its shape. It began on 19 June 2021 as a Juneteenth celebration, and it is still held on the Juneteenth weekend, which ties the food and music to a commemoration rather than to a harvest or a season. Its three-day, multi-location shape is another mark of difference. The five-kilometre race and the free health screenings add a further distinction..
The scale is a difference too. Franklin is a small parish seat, and the festival is a community gathering organised by a local community group, the 100 Black Men of Saint Mary Parish. That gives the weekend a local character that a larger city festival cannot copy: the organiser, the venue and the audience all belong to the same parish, and the festival’s listing among Franklin’s annual events shows how closely the town has taken it up.
Checklist
- Plan for a three-day weekend, not a single afternoon, since the celebration spans three days and multiple locations.
- Make Parc Su La Tech in Franklin the first stop, as the venue named for the 2025 edition.
- Dress for June heat and humidity, with light clothing, water and sun protection for an outdoor weekend.
- Try the food vendors first, since the soul food dishes are what the festival is named for.
- Join the five-kilometre race if running is part of the plan.
- Use the free health screenings while at the festival, since they are part of the programme.
- Remember that no admission price or free status is stated in the layers read, so do not assume a figure either way.
Beyond the Festival
Franklin itself rewards a visitor who stays past the festival hours. The town is the seat of Saint Mary Parish, and the festival’s place in the city’s own listing of annual events shows a town that treats its gatherings as part of its identity.
The parish around Franklin is worth the same slow attention. Saint Mary Parish holds the festival’s home town, its organiser and its audience, and the weekend is a parish event in the fullest sense: organised locally, held in the parish seat, and listed among the town’s annual events. A visitor who comes for the food and music will find that the festival opens a window onto the parish as a whole, and the three-day shape of the weekend leaves room to look beyond the park.
Significance
The Soul Food Festival matters to Franklin because it is a Juneteenth celebration that the town has made its own. It began on 19 June 2021 as a Juneteenth celebration, and its growth from a single day to a three-day, multi-location weekend shows a community choosing to mark the occasion more fully each year.
The organiser’s role is part of the significance. The 100 Black Men of Saint Mary Parish organise the festival and sponsored its third annual edition, so the event is a community group’s work rather than a commercial venture. The free health screenings carry the same meaning: the festival serves the community’s health as well as its appetite, and the race adds a public, participatory element that invites visitors to take part rather than only to watch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What gives the Franklin weekend its Juneteenth character?
The festival was first held on 19 June 2021 as a Juneteenth celebration, and it is still held on the Juneteenth weekend. The date is part of the event’s identity rather than a coincidence of the calendar, and the weekend’s shape — three days, multiple locations, music, food, a race and health screenings — is built around that commemoration.
Why does the festival use more than one location?
The layers read describe the celebration as spanning three days and multiple locations, so the festival is not confined to a single park for a single afternoon. Parc Su La Tech in Franklin is the venue named for the 2025 edition, and the multi-location shape means different parts of the programme may sit in different places around town.
What does the five-kilometre race add to a food festival?
The race gives the weekend a sporting and participatory side that sits alongside the food and music. Runners join a celebration otherwise built around eating and listening, and the race shares the weekend with the free health screenings, so movement and health are part of the programme rather than an afterthought.
How has the festival changed since its first year?
It has grown from a single day on 19 June 2021 into a three-day, multi-location weekend. The fourth annual edition ran 14–15 June 2024, the fifth year ran 20–22 June 2025, and the sixth annual edition is listed for 19–21 June 2026.
What to Expect From the Next St. Mary Parish Louisiana Soul Food Festival
How often is St. Mary Parish Louisiana Soul Food Festival held?
The festival is held each June on the Juneteenth weekend. The first festival was held on 19 June 2021, the fourth annual edition ran in June 2024, the fifth year ran in June 2025, and the sixth annual edition is listed for 19–21 June 2026..
When is the next St. Mary Parish Louisiana Soul Food Festival?
The next edition is listed for 19–21 June 2026, billed as the sixth annual, at Parc Su La Tech in Franklin.
Will the dates change?
The festival sits on the Juneteenth weekend each June, so the exact days move with the calendar from year to year. The 2025 edition ran 20–22 June and the 2026 edition is listed for 19–21 June.. A visitor planning ahead should look for the announced dates for the year in question rather than assuming the previous year’s days will repeat.
The Soul Food Festival in Franklin is a young gathering with a clear identity: a Juneteenth celebration in the seat of Saint Mary Parish, organised by a community group, built around soul food and live music, and widened by a five-kilometre race and free health screenings into a three-day weekend. From a single day on 19 June 2021 to a sixth annual edition listed for 19–21 June 2026, it has grown steadily without losing the character it began with, and its place among Franklin’s annual events shows a town that has taken the weekend as its own.
