ACADIA PARISH — For Janice Cart, the Rice Festival is more than just a celebration — it’s a way of life. After more than three decades in the rice industry, she’s seen how the event brings farmers, families, and generations together through a shared appreciation of Louisiana’s most iconic crop.

“I have been in the rice industry for 32 years now, I work for Supreme Rice,” Cart said. “Next year they’ll be celebrating 90 years of existence in Crowley.”

“It brings everyone, including the farmers together and celebrates them,” she added.

Cart’s connection to rice runs deep — it’s even how she met her husband, Fred.

“Actually, we met through a farmer — a rice farmer,” she said.

The couple shared nearly twenty years of marriage before Fred passed away from prostate cancer five years ago. Thi

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