Elderly people, young children and everyone in-between braved the heat for some Louisiana spice on Thursday night.
Hundreds gathered in North Boulevard Town Square for great food, live music and cold drinks at the 29th annual Jambalaya Jam. The area was scattered with families, couples and groups of friends in lawn chairs. Some even opted to bring their dogs along for the fun.
The event officially kicked off at 5 p.m., with over 41 types of jambalaya for guests to taste and a live band performance.
The event also offered to-go plates, consisting of pastalaya, a dinner roll and dessert during lunchtime. Those plates went for $7 each.
Various types of ticket options were available to guests, including the jam to-go, jam sampler and jam V.I.P. At $7. The jam to-go was picked up from the ticket booth and included some of South Louisiana’s best jambalaya.
The jam to-go was a good option for those who couldn’t stay for the event or for a guest looking for leftovers. The $10 jam sampler allowed guests to sample as much jambalaya as they could eat from over 41 competing teams.
The jam V.I.P. ticket gave guests exclusive benefits, including catered food and drinks from Lava Cantina, swag bags and access to the V.I.P. tent with amenities like a caricature artist.
The Louisiana-themed bags contained a large wooden cooking spoon, potholder, cooling towel and a cup within the clear bag, which is a nod to the newly enacted LSU gameday rule.
Throughout the years, the Jambalaya Jam has evolved into a street party. In the past, it was held during the day but was pushed back to allow families to attend and to accommodate bands for the guests’ enjoyment, Marketing and Events Manager Ashley Montagnino said.
Bag of Donuts, a New Orleans party band, took the stage at this year’s Jambalaya Jam. The four New Orleans natives cover songs in their own style called Superpop, which encompasses any popular song from any era.
“You do something for three decades, you’re doing something right,” Bag of Donuts lead vocalist Bobby Hoerner said of Jambalaya Jam.
At the event, awards were given to the first, second and third place jambalaya recipe winners for their take on the Louisiana staple. Winners in the People’s Choice, Best Appetizer and Community Games categories were also presented with an award.
Montagnino said that, with the recent flooding, she was skeptical that this year’s Jambalaya Jam would come to fruition as she was unsure if they would have enough teams participating.
“We are only down a few teams this year, but the ones participating are very excited to have an event where their employees and families can enjoy themselves and take their minds off the aftermath of our area floods,” Montagnino said.
Each team was stationed at their own booth, with many taking it upon themselves to decorate. Some booths were decked out in Halloween decorations, one donned a fiesta theme and another was covered in pink for breast cancer awareness.
In the spirit of Halloween, several booths gave out candy and one even had jack-o-lanterns on display. Along with the jambalaya, most booths had other trinkets up for grabs, like a cup, koozie, fan or even a frisbee.
Some team members acted as salesmen, doing their best to “sell” their product and attract guests to their booth, jokingly steering them away from the competition.
As Capital Area United Way’s signature fundraising event, Jambalaya Jam aides in raising money for education, income stability and healthy living in the 10-parish area.
“At its core, Capital Area United Way is about putting people in a position to recognize and achieve their full potential,” Montagnino said.
To better the community, CAUW invests donated resources in partnerships and programs that will leave a significant impact.
“Our goal is to move the needle by creating a ripple of real change that not only affects lives today, but impacts the future of our community for generations to come,” Montagnino said.
Montagnino said she loves working for a non-profit because she feels like her work is making a difference in our community.
The funds raised through the Jambalaya Jam go towards CAUW’s overall end of the year campaign total and will eventually benefit causes like Families Helping Families, Louisiana Resource Center for Educators, Boys & Girls Club and the St. James Council on Aging.

Gallery • 26 Photos

Michael Palmer

People enjoying their Thursday afternoon at the 29th anual Jambalaya Jam on Thursday, Oct. 13 at North Blvd Town Square in downtown Baton Rouge.