Is It Time to Rethink Contraband Days? [VIDEO]

For the 58th year, Pirate Jean Lafitte and his band of Buccaneers have taken over the grounds of the Lake Charles Civic Center until May 10. Gator Country knows this two week festival as Contraband Days. But has it run its course?

Here's some Gator Country Feedback:

Greg...  I brought my 5 year old there yesterday and he enjoyed. It wasn't crowded and they had some cool little bands playing by the water. This was before the sun went down so I don't know how the people were after that.

Heather...  Needs to be revamped. Major changes needed to make it more of a clean, classy & family appropriate event. It can be done.

Kristen...  I remember when I was a child it took up the entire civic center and now it has turned into a small little carnival with barely any attractions and an overly extreme amount of trashy nasty people dressed in barely any clothes getting drunk and starting fights!

Christy...  I'm sorry, when the idea of family friendly means throwing out a couple of carnival rides for kids and the rest of it is just another excuse for idiots to get publicly drunk and act like a**holes...who needs it?!?! Either make serious changes or do away with it!

Christian... Railroad Days Festival is alcohol free, has a gospel night, and main entertainer on Saturday night, pageant etc. We attended it in the rain! Lol I would never go to Contraband Days because it is TRASHY. Make changes or do away with it because it is a waste of money.

Justin... No it's not time to do away with Contraband Days. It's WAY PAST time to do away with Contraband Days. The problem with Contraband Days isn't that they sell and serve alcohol. There are plenty of festivals that sell and serve beer that are still a great family experience. The problem with Contraband Days is that it has always lacked the strong connection to the culture that you see at great festivals like Festival International, Festivals Acadian, Crawfish Festival, etc. These festivals are fantastic because they are based on celebrating the cultures of and connected to Louisiana. Everything about them has a cultural basis. The amount and quality of entertainment at these festivals far exceeds what you see at Contraband Days and all of it is connected to our culture. By the way, Festival International and Festival Acadian have always offered FREE ADMISSION, they don't have carnies and the don't have people selling Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirts and vapes. The booths that are selling merchandise are generally Louisiana craftsmen and artisans. Does an MMA fight, arm wrestling competition, and Lazer Tag really have a cultural connection to Louisiana? At Contraband Days the only real attraction IS the drinking and that's going to attract a certain crowd. It's a shame that Contraband Days has never taken a lesson from the many great festivals in cities and towns surrounding Lake Charles to learn how to put on a festival that is an enriching experience. Lake Charles could certainly support it if they did.