Bayouland Activities
May 31, 2013
Luke lands at Riverside
June 4, 2013
Before the calendar turns to July, Houma’s annual Independence Day Celebration recognizes the nation’s birthday in grand style with 13 hours of festivities.
The Fourth falls on a Thursday this year, so organizers have penciled in Saturday, June 29, for the fourth-annual celebration presented by the non-profit Terrebonne Patriots. It’s a day of competition, live music, fireworks, parachutists and the customary military-centric parade.
“Everybody in the community is involved in this,” said Terrebonne Patriots President Danny Picou. “It’s an honor to be involved. … It’s not only (for) Houma, it’s Thibodaux, it’s Lafourche Parish. It’s all of our surrounding area.”
Officially, the celebration begins with a road bicycle race at 8:30 a.m. Various runs and a bicycle criterium are scheduled throughout the day.
For the general public, however, the festivities begin at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial on La. Highway 311. “We’re honoring, this year, Desert Storm,” Picou said, referencing a Houma native who served in the conflict as the event’s special guest. A retired colonel, as well as Gens. Sam deGeneres and Hunt Downer speak at the event.
Replete with dune buggies, dance troupes, military vehicles and veteran-bearing floats, a parade begins at 1 p.m. on Stadium Drive before turning onto Main Street and following the traditional west Houma parade route.
Festival grounds, at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd., open at 3 p.m. Throughout the day, bands perform while children’s activities are presented and parachutists descend from the skies.
The Houma-Terrebonne Community Band performs at 3 p.m., followed by children’s entertainer Papillion at 4 p.m. and Bandit from 5-8 p.m. Comedian Steve Shaw and radio host Ken Friedlander emcee the celebration.
An awards ceremony at 8 p.m. recognizes race winners and crown recipients from a beauty pageant held one week earlier at Courtyard Marriott of Houma (tickets to that event, hosted by Donald Trump Productions as part of the Miss America pageant, are $10 for children 10 and younger and $20 for people 11 and older). Winners of essay and T-shirt contests are also crowned.
Navy Band New Orleans bookends the 9 p.m. fireworks show and concludes the day of celebration with an hour-long performance beginning at 8:30.
Picou said he is proud of the burgeoning festival because it transcends one day of celebration.
“I look at my dad who went to war, and I say ‘I’m here for my dad,’” Picou said. “We honor these people without even blinking our eyes, we honor these people for keeping us here on the ground.”
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., June 29 at the Veterans’ Memorial on La. Highway 311 and Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, 346 Civic Center Blvd. Admission is free. For more information, call (985) 637-0156 or visit www.houmaindependencecelebration.com.
The Houma Independence Celebration is held June 29. One week earlier, at Courtyard Marriott of Houma, is the beauty pageant closely linked with the Fourth of July celebration.
