Julie Babineaux named new director of Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission

Julie Babineaux, a Vermilion Parish native, will assume the role of executive director of the Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission this summer after tourist commissioner Alison Miller retires.
Babineaux, a lifelong advocate for her culture, was born and raised in Cow Island. For 20 years, she and her sister have performed as The Babineaux Sisters, creating and sharing traditional Cajun music. Their performances across the South and abroad highlight the unique culture of Vermilion Parish.
Babineaux graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as one of the first students in Traditional Studies, Louisiana’s only program dedicated to preserving and performing vernacular music traditions.
While at UL, she collaborated with the Center for Louisiana
Studies to develop public broadcasting programs featuring archival recordings and historical content. Her favorite project focused on Catherine Blanchet, a pioneering folklorist who documented Vermilion Parish from the 1940s to the 1990s.
Babineaux has successfully created a flourishing Lache Pas curriculum in Vermilion Parish–teaching middle school students about their culture through the French Language, music, history and traditions, and even dance. Although it was a tough decision to leave the Lache Pas program.
Babineaux said, “ I will always be passionate about my culture and my home, and it is my calling to share that passion with the people of our community and strangers alike.”
Babineaux will work to promote Vermilion Parish in any way she can.
Currently, Babineaux hosts a program on KRVS 88.7 FM, UL Lafayette’s radio station, providing Vermilion residents a platform to share how they preserve and promote local culture. Featured guests include Gregg Griffin of the Vermilion Parish TAG music program, Layla Melancon of “Les Amis du Francais En Vermilion,” and Johnny and Kathy Richard of Richard’s Sale Barn. The next episode will highlight Women Songwriters of Vermilion.
Babineaux will assume the role of executive director of Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission on June 1, 2026.