UPDATED WITH STORY ON THE POSTER ARTIST: Tasting the barbecue, unveiling the poster

The annual kickoff event for the Bayou BBQ Bash was underway Thursday evening at Morgan City's Holiday Inn Express. It offered a chance to sample some barbecue, prepared by the Sewart Supply team, and to get a first look at the 2025 Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival's official poster. The festival is Labor Day weekend. The BBQ Bash will be Friday and Saturday under the bridge.

The Review/Bill Decker

LOUIS DUPUY

A familiar name returns as the artist for the official Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival poster, but with a fresh look.
The poster by Louis Dupuy was unveiled Thursday at the Bayou BBQ Bash kickoff at Holiday Inn Express in Morgan City.
It features rich colors and a tight focus on a shrimp boat and an oil platform, all in honor of the festival’s 90th anniversary. The poster was unveiled by 2024 festival Queen Natalie Sloane.
Dupuy is a Morgan City native, born in 1969. He spent the first four years of his life living along the Atchafalaya River, on the grounds of Conrad Shipyard, until the flood of 1973.
His father, Louis Dupuy Sr., was a crane operator at the company for many years and was the operator who lowered the Spirit of Morgan City shrimp boat into place, where it sits today.
“I’m very proud of that little piece of Morgan City history,” Dupuy said. “Because of that, I always felt a connection to it.”
He spent the rest of his childhood and teenage years in Stephensville. During this time, he became a self-taught artist, continually honing his talent. While attending Morgan City High School, Dupuy landed his first graphic design job as a t-shirt designer for Bosco’s, marking the beginning of his career.
Upon graduation, he left home to receive formal training at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and the Art Institute of Houston. While attending school in South Florida at age 18, he was recruited by Broward Marine, a luxury yacht company, to create visuals for their marketing materials.
Upon his return to Louisiana, Dupuy lived and worked in Lafayette as a graphic designer and later as a technical college graphic design instructor. It’s in Lafayette where he designed his first Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival poster in 1991.
“The company I worked for had me design it, but didn’t tell me that they were submitting it for the poster,” Dupuy said.
In 1993, he married his long-time girlfriend, Jennifer Grant, and moved back to Morgan City. Poster No. 2 in 1994 was submitted on the same day he started his new job with Skipper’s for Sports.
This poster win started a 20-year working relationship between Dupuy and the festival.
During this time, he would go on to design eight more posters, countless souvenir items, and the festival’s mascot, “Petro the Party Shrimp.”
The 2025 poster is the 11th one created by Dupuy: 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2025. His work had also won the festival multiple awards and recognitions from the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals.
“I grew up going to this festival and had so many fond memories attending with my siblings, cousins, and friends,” Dupuy said.
“It is an honor to have created a lasting impression on this festival. After all these years later, it’s still an honor.”
Currently, Dupuy is the owner of RumbleBrand Marketing and Design, based in Las Vegas.