Rayne Named Regional Winner in National Contest
Plus, Rayne still has a chance for overall national winner with new voting
Last year, the Acadia Parish Tourism Office nominated the City of Rayne to participate in the nationwide contest, America’s Favorite Small Towns, presented by Parade magazine and travel platform Steller.
On March 1, the national finalists were announced, with Rayne making the selection. Before the announcement of Rayne as a national finalist, we tracked Rayne’s ranking compared to all other towns in the running:
- Early in the week of the Feb. 28 voting cutoff, Rayne ranked #4.
- Just before the cutoff, on the morning of Feb. 27, Rayne ranked #3 of all the nationwide entrants
- Chere Ledoux, communications specialist for the Acadia Parish Convention & Visitors Center, shared that Rayne, “had spent quite a bit of time at number 2.”
After just over three months of waiting, the contest announced the ten regional winners on June 5 at 2:31 p.m.
Explore the following below:
All Regional Winners
Rayne was selected as one of two Southeast regional winners, the other being Dunedin, Florida. All other regional winners are:
- Northeast
- East Aurora, New York
- Montpelier, Vermont
- Midwest
- Galena, Illinois
- LaCrosse, Wisconsin
- Southwest
- El Reno, Oklahoma
- Silver City, New Mexico
- West
- Bend, Oregon
- Lodi, California
Why Rayne?
Parade shared the following about why Rayne was selected in its online announcement:
This town of 7,000 in Acadia Parish in southwestern Louisiana boasts not just one, but two nicknames. The unofficial Frog Capital of the World, Rayne hosts an annual Frog Festival each May to honor the enterprising three French brothers who did good business exporting frogs in the early 1900s to the restaurants of New Orleans (at one point, it is said that they exported 10,000 pounds of frog legs in a single week!). Rayne also holds the title of Louisiana’s official City of Murals, thanks to the 30 unique artworks commissioned by the town as part of a beautification project in the 1990s. This is a town that knows how to celebrate its heritage: The KBON Festival honors the region’s Acadian music each October, while Acadian Day will return for the second year in August, spotlighting culture, food, and language. Rayne also raises a glass for Roberts Cove Germanfest to mark its German roots every October.
Overall Winner Announcement
In its online announcement, Parade also shared that the 10 regional winners are still in the running for the overall title, which will be announced on June 16.
While Parade doesn’t say if the voting is still officially open, it does have a voting poll in the online announcement, where you can select your overall favorite and see it in comparison to voting percentages on the other towns. See the image below when I voted nearly two hours after the post!
Screenshot of Rayne poll vote, parade.com
