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Alison Miller, is moving the tourist commission office to downtown Abbeville, in the cultural center.

Vermilion Parish Tourism Commission moving from the Bypass to downtown

The Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission is in the process of moving from the Highway 14 By-pass location to downtown Abbeville and will reside in the Abbeville Cultural and Historical Alliance located at 200 N. Magadalen Square.
The idea of moving downtown was suggested late last year by the City of Abbeville and members of the Abbeville Cultural and Historical Alliance. After several months of information gathering, the Tourist Commission decided it would be a wise move.
Alison Miller, the Executive Director of the Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission, will still be the tourism director but will take on the additional duties of running the Abbeville Cultural and Historical Alliance. Former curator, Tony Mayard, is retiring and will be handing over the job to Miller.
“I’m excited about this new venture. I’ve always been fascinated with history and our culture,” said Miller. “I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, so working in a building that houses exhibits on art, culture and history makes perfect sense.”
The Cultural Center houses rotating art exhibits through the Vermilion Arts Council, information and artifacts on Abbeville’s Giant Omelette Celebration, artifacts from the Vermilion Historical Society and information on the Acadian Genealogy Center.
The tourist information portion of the Center will now include information on the parish, as well as the entire state.
When asked about the number of tourist that come to the downtown location as opposed to the by-pass, Miller stated “That was one of the things we looked into when deciding on whether we would move. At the by-pass location, we averaged about 800 visitors per year. The Cultural Center is open on Saturdays and because of its convenient location, over 1,000 visitors stopped by in a year. Now we will be able to inform even more people on what the parish has to offer.”
The Tourist Commission move is expected to be complete by the end of this week.
Once in place, the Abbeville Cultural and Historical Alliance will open at 9 a.m., an hour earlier, Monday to Friday to better serve the public.
The phone numbers and websites for each organization will remain the same. Beginning Monday, March 19, the new hours will be Monday to Friday from 9 am-5 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 5 pm.
Miller would like to invite the public to stop by and see the new art exhibit that is on display, “Talented Visual Arts 2” featuring the Vermilion Parish Talented Visual Arts Program. The exhibit will be on display for the next couple of months.

Vermilion Today

Abbeville Meridional

318 N. Main St.
Abbeville, LA 70510
Phone: 337-893-4223
Fax: 337-898-9022

The Kaplan Herald

219 North Cushing Avenue
Kaplan, LA 70548

The Gueydan Journal

311 Main Street
Gueydan, LA 70542