> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.redeyebr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# An old migration, a new feast
- URL: https://www.redeyebr.com/an-old-migration-a-new-feast/
- Published: 2026-10-16T01:03:34.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-16T15:55:40.000Z
- Description: More than 2,000 people are expected for falafel, saj, music and a Baton Rouge story nearly a century in the making.
- Author: Mukul Verma
- Tags: Last Call

Long before falafel showed up on Baton Rouge menus, the Lebanese were already here—peddling along rail lines, settling into Catholic parishes, sending word home that Louisiana might be a place to settle down.

Next week, the city gets a chance to see how deep those roots run.

More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the 2026 Lebanese Festival, an all-day affair hosted by the [St. Sharbel Maronite Catholic Church](https://www.sharbel.org/?ref=redeyebr.com). Father Alex Harb calls it a celebration of Lebanon's history and culture. And, naturally, its food.

Baton Rouge already knows its way around a Mediterranean menu. This is something more personal: homemade falafel and saj, the Lebanese flatbread dressed a dozen different ways. Add music, performances, art and gifts, and your lunch may stretch into the evening, when attendees will get to taste Lebanese beer and wine.

## Sign up for RedEye

Our free daily newsletter

Subscribe 

Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. 

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

The story of [Lebanese immigration to Louisiana](https://www.redeyebr.com/from-the-levant-to-louisiana/) dates back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They came for the reasons people always come: opportunity. Some landed in New York and moved south along the rail lines, selling goods as they went. New Orleans, a port city, opened its own door to them. And for Maronite Catholics, French and Catholic Louisiana didn't feel as foreign.

A few found their footing. Relatives followed. A community took root.

It's still growing. Harb's church is nearing half a century old and counts 300 members, a third of whom are either recent arrivals or people who can trace their families back to Lebanon.

Next Saturday, go say hello.

🇱🇧

****2026 Lebanese Festival | Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 | East Baton Rouge Public Libray Main Branch | 11 a.m.-8 p.m.**