Chauvin: Game for a picnic?

GUMBO STAFF REPORT

Following the Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet Sunday, April 18, the Chauvin Sculpture Garden is inviting locals to enjoy the day picnicking.

The garden is located at 5337 Bayouside Drive in Chauvin.

“It’s a bring-your-own picnic,” said Gary LaFleur, a member of the Friends of the Chauvin Sculpture Garden. “This is a great place to see the Blessing of the Fleet, sit on the banks of Bayou Petite Caillou and watch the boats pass by.”

A special showing of “God’s Architects,” a documentary by Zack Godshall, rolls after the blessing around 2 or 3 p.m.

Godshall’s film features the sculpture garden, which includes the works of artist Kenny Hill.

An untrained artist, Hill spent nearly a decade building more than 100 concrete angels, statues and structures – including a 45-foot lighthouse. Some call the garden “the story of salvation.”

Hill left the property in the late 1990s, never to be heard from again.

Today, Nicholls State University owns and maintains the sculpture garden. However, it was Hill’s former neighbor and confidant, the late Julius Neil, who served as an expert on the sculptures and the enigmatic symbols.

“What’s special about Godshall’s film is that it features Neil talking about the garden,” LaFleur said. “Julius passed away in May 2009. Most knew him as a long-lived shrimper and neighbor of the garden. He knew Kenny and sort of protected the garden.”

Admission to the film is free.