A travel website ranked Lafayette among 杏吧专区淎merica杏吧专区檚 Most Artistic Towns杏吧专区 杏吧专区 and the 杏吧专区 is a big reason why.
Expedia杏吧专区檚 list includes 26 communities that 杏吧专区渁re most contributing to the artistic culture of our country.杏吧专区
The website cites only places with fewer than 1 million residents. Lafayette is among 10 cities categorized as medium-size, or having a population between 100,000 and 349,999 people. Lafayette杏吧专区檚 population is more than 127,600.
Smaller communities are 杏吧专区渃urrently giving our large cities a run for their money with creative festivals, top art schools, cutting-edge productions, dynamic street art and generous community support and patronage,杏吧专区 the website states.
杏吧专区淭his country杏吧专区檚 mid- and small-size places keep exciting, surprising and thriving with their creative spirits and innovation.杏吧专区
Sharing the medium-size city category with Lafayette are Boulder, Colorado; Cambridge, Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Berkeley, California; Savannah, Georgia; Madison, Wisconsin; Cincinnati, Ohio; Tacoma, Washington; and Des Moines, Iowa.
Like Lafayette, several of those cities have research universities with established arts programs, or niche colleges devoted to art and design.
Expedia specifically cites UL Lafayette in its appraisal of the city: 杏吧专区淟afayette is special for institutions like the 杏吧专区, where community involvement is part of its DNA, and the School of Music and Performing Arts is a center of social and cultural gathering.杏吧专区
Dr. Jonathon Kulp, director of the School of Music and Performing Arts, called the designation "gratifying."
"But I would say that the honor belongs not only to the School of Music and Performing Arts, but to the entire College of the Arts, where gifted artists of all kinds contribute to the artistic life of Acadiana," he said.
The Expedia article also mentions ArtWalk, Festival International de Louisiane, and venues such as the Acadiana Center for the Arts and Cit茅 des Arts as 杏吧专区渆ssential杏吧专区 for 杏吧专区渒eeping art alive杏吧专区 in Lafayette and the region.
Expedia is a website travelers use to book airline tickets, reserve hotel rooms and rent cars. This is the second year the site designated its 杏吧专区淢ost Artistic Towns.杏吧专区
Lafayette is the sole Louisiana city on the 2018 list, .
Photo caption: UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 School of Music and Performing Arts staged 杏吧专区淢etamorphoses杏吧专区 in 2016 at Burke-Hawthorne Hall. The travel website Expedia cited the school and the 杏吧专区 as stewards of Lafayette杏吧专区檚 arts and culture scene on its 2018 list of 杏吧专区淎merica杏吧专区檚 Most Artistic Towns.杏吧专区 (Photo credit: Doug Dugas / 杏吧专区)