You must be an active DL Member to submit an event for consideration on the Downtown Event Calendar.
When a massive mural goes up, it does more than simply fill space on a wall. It changes how a place feels and what people believe can happen there.
The new mural at the Children’s Museum of Acadiana, led by artist Dirk Guidry and brought to life alongside a team of local artists, is a powerful reminder that creativity does not happen in isolation. It happens when vision meets collaboration, when an idea is shared, supported, and trusted to grow.
Public art plays a unique role in placemaking because it belongs to everyone. You do not need a ticket or an invitation to experience it. You simply arrive, and suddenly a building becomes a landmark, a sidewalk becomes a gallery, and a routine walk becomes a moment of wonder.
What makes this mural especially meaningful is where it lives. It sits in the heart of downtown, serving as the background of a park with an inclusive playground, and in a space that already exists to spark imagination. Children visiting the museum will see more than paint on brick. They will see proof that big ideas can take shape, that art can live outdoors, that creativity has scale, and that people in their own community make beautiful things together.
There is something so powerful about watching a massive wall be transformed by art. It shows us what is possible when organizations align, when artists are trusted, and when a city chooses to invest in beauty alongside function. These projects are not just decoration. They are signals. They tell residents and visitors alike that this is a place where imagination is welcomed and where initiative is visible.
Placemaking is often discussed in terms of infrastructure and programming, but inspiration is just as essential. Spaces become destinations not only because of what happens there, but because of how they make us feel. Art invites us to linger. It invites conversation. It invites pride.
If you can envision it, you can build it. If you can dream it, you can paint it. And when that dream is shared between artists, institutions, and the public, it becomes part of the city’s story.
This mural is more than a backdrop. It is a message to every child, every passerby, and every future creator. Look what can be made here.
JoElle Judice
Downtown Lafayette
Walkability is a term often coined like an achievement, something a city either has or does not. In reality, it is a process. And when done well, it requires patience, listening, and thoughtful design.
.jpg)
Improvements are underway at downtown Lafayette's Parc International, which serves as a main venue for Festival International, the city's largest festival that draws thousands every April.
Downtown Lafayette looked — and smelled — a little fresher Saturday morning as volunteers gathered for 'Downtown in Bloom,' a local beautification event.
The Children's Museum of Acadiana in downtown Lafayette will get a major facelift from muralist Dirk Guidry.
Since the park opened in 2024, residents who use it have been out of luck for a bathroom if surrounding businesses are closed.
New Downtown Ambassador Program by Block By Block begins their work the week of Festival International, helping to keep Downtown Clean, Fun, and Vibrant.
.webp)
Drainage construction will begin in downtown Lafayette at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Lee Avenue in front of the old city hall building, according to a spokesperson Lafayette Consolidated Government’s (LCG) Public Works Department.
Read Clair Taylor’s article for The Acadiana Advocate here.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricanes Laura and Delta impacted the construction, the developers behind the old federal courthouse redevelopment in Downtown Lafayette knew the project would take a lot of work. J. Dyke Nelson, the architect behind the project, said he had to wear a hazmat suit the first time he came out and saw the property.