Festival Season returns with full slate

Donna Ruth Duggan Lile
October 2, 2012
Chabert hit with added cuts and job losses
October 5, 2012
Donna Ruth Duggan Lile
October 2, 2012
Chabert hit with added cuts and job losses
October 5, 2012

Rotary Bayou Music Festival


Oct 6-7; Golden Meadow

Fifteen local bands take the stage in Golden Meadow for the third annual Rotary Bayou Music Festival, a family friendly event that benefits the club and entertains festivalgoers with hours of music.


Nonc Nu and da Wild Matous, Vin Bruce, Gary T, Summer Breeze, Party of Two, Jasmine and The Hurricane Levee Band are among those scheduled to perform.


Revelers can dance under a covered pavilion, watch the music from lawn chairs and participate in a live auction throughout the weekend.

“We are going to have all sorts of foods,” Rotarian and festival organizer Mike Collins says. “We have, I guess you can say Cajun flavors – jambalaya, white beans, shrimp boulettes, that type of thing – or you can get hamburgers and hot dogs.”


Organizers are anticipating an attendance of roughly 1,000 people from a handful a states across the Gulf Coast.


“It’s a venue for all ages, and we’re going to try to get all ages,” Collins says.

A monitored Kids’ Zone, separated into two age groups, beckons with bounce houses. Face painting is also available.


In addition to the live auction, door prizes are given out, and between 30 and 40 arts and crafts booths are anticipated.


“Every penny of every dollar will be kept in this area by the Rotary Club to do projects that will benefit the people,” Collins says. “I think (the festival) is going to get bigger and better because we’re not trying to make it commercial, so to speak. We just want people to have fun.”

Admission costs $10 per adult per day, and children 12 and younger get in the festival free. Kids’ Zone bracelets cost $5 per day. The festival opens at 11 a.m. each day and closes at 1 a.m. Sunday morning and 7 p.m. Sunday evening.


The festival is staged at Oakridge Park, La. Highway 3235, Golden Meadow. For more information, call (985) 632-4247.


Voice of the Wetlands Festival

Oct. 12-14; Houma


Through the searing rifts on Friday night and the cache of regional and national talent on stage for three days in a small Louisiana city, passion for the wetlands oozes in Houma.


Music is the force behind this Houma festival, a binding thread sewn by local Tab Benoit that attracts common interests and lends the stage to coastal advocacy.

Voice of the Wetlands returns for its ninth year, and now that awareness is no longer lacking, the focus has been shifted to preservation of created lands by means of freshwater diversion.


“If we build wetlands and we don’t flow freshwater through our canals, bayous and estuaries, it’s millions of dollars that are going to be wasted,” festival spokesman Rueben Williams says.


Williams says he expects up to 15,000 festivalgoers this year. Attendees can peruse dozens of “top-notch” crafts booths – including one by a Maine man who molds forks into the likenesses of famous musicians – and sample area cuisine, such as alligator dishes and cane-syrup po-boys.

Dash Rip Rock, Ben Labat and the Happy Devil, Mike Zito, Louisiana LeRoux, Elvin Bishop, Tommy G and Stormy Weather, and Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band are among those scheduled to perform.


There’s also the Friday Night Guitar Fights featuring Benoit, Bishop, Zito, Bill Davis and a special guest.


The Voice of the Wetlands Allstars (Benoit, Cyril Neville, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Waylon Thibodeaux, Johnny Sansone, Johnny Vidacovich and Corey Duplechin) close the festival with a set from 7:50 to 9 p.m. Sunday night.

John Swenson, who recently released “New Atlantis: Musicians Battle for the Survival of New Orleans,” reads excerpts from and signs copies of his book throughout the weekend.


Despite the musicians’ talent, they play for limited money. They share an interest in restoration urgency and a love for the region that breeds such a variety of music, Williams says.


The music starts at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, 12:10 p.m. on Saturday and noon on Sunday.

Admission is free. Voice of the Wetlands is held at the Southdown Museum Grounds, 1208 Museum Drive, Houma.


For more information and the complete schedule, visit www.voiceofthewetlandsfestival.org.


Cajun Heritage Festival

Oct. 12-14; Larose


The realm of duck decoys is broader than in-field utility.


A group in south Lafourche for the 36th year aims to prove that with the artistic-minded Cajun Heritage Festival.

“We celebrate our Cajun culture through our art of duck decoy carving, for the most part,” said Roddy Matherne, festival chairman since 2000. “Decoy carving began down here in south Louisiana, and it’s a part of our heritage that we want to keep alive. To us, it’s no different than our music or our food.”


The festival is structured around judged competitions broken down into dozens of divisions. Cash prizes are awarded for the various categories, which include wildfowl, marsh ducks, fish, feather carving and interpretive sculptures, among many others.


Vendors sell decoys and carving materials throughout the weekend.

A live auction on Sunday showcases decoys, but it also includes paintings and other miscellaneous items. Occasionally, there’s even a pirogue. The number of available items is usually around 200. “It’s all related to hunting and Cajun culture,” Matherne says.


Some of the items have the potential to garner large sums.


“There’s been a few Louisiana decoys at some national auctions fetch a $20-or-30,000 price tag,” Matherne says. Rarity, condition and carver reputation influence decoy prices.

The auction begins at 1 p.m. on Sunday, also the conclusion of a duck-head whittling contest.


A wine and cheese dedication social kicks off the three-day festival at 7 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.


Festival admission is free for members, and there is no gate fee for the auction. Non-member adults pay $5 for festival tickets.

The festival is held at the Larose Civic Center’s gymnasium, 307 E. Fifth St.. For more information, visit www.cajunheritagefestival.com.


La. Gumbo Festival of Chackbay


Oct. 12-14; Chackbay

It’s all about the gumbo, even when it’s not.


Both popular varieties – seafood and chicken and sausage – are served in mass quantities, but as its popularity attests, the Louisiana Gumbo Festival of Chackbay has more substance in its roux.


“We offer live entertainment, amusement rides, an auction, parade and then a host of food,” festival spokesman Josh Falgoust says.

In addition to gumbo, other local cuisine such as sauce picante, beignets, fried fish, crawfish balls and typical fair food are served.


Celebrating its 41st year, the festival for its third nonconsecutive year garnered the Southeast Tourism Society’s top-20 event designation for October 2012. STS is comprised of 12 member states.


The festival averages 16-18,000 guests, according to Falgoust, and is one of two Louisiana festivals (French Quarter Fest) to earn the American Bus Association’s 2013 top-100 event in North America designation.

What started as a one-day fair and blossomed into a three-day festival continues to expand its offerings: The New Orleans Hornets’ Honeybees are on hand to speak with fans, take pictures and sign autographs Friday night.


This is in addition to the 5K race, amusement rides, live auction and firemen’s parade that have become the festival’s mainstays.


Don Rich, Bandit and Top Cats headline the list of nine bands scheduled to perform.

The festival is open from 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, noon to midnight Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.


The Chackbay Volunteer Fire Department sponsors the event and collects all proceeds. For more information, email info@lagumbofest.com.


Chauvin Culture & Heritage Festival

Oct. 20-21; Chauvin


A Chauvin festival concentrated on celebrating local culture in order to preserve it returns for its third consecutive year.

Sponsored by Terrebonne Advocates for Possibility, the two-day event features music, food, cultural demonstrations, contests and arts and crafts.


“We’ve chosen this particular time because it’s cool and it reminds us of festivals in a day gone by,” foundation president Kurt Lirette says.

Waylon Thibodeaux, Voodoo Bayou, LA 56 and Autumn High are among 14 bands scheduled to perform. Drum lines from Lacache Middle and South Terrebonne High schools are also expected to entertain.

The weekend features a jambalaya cook-off, and a 5K fun run is set for 8 a.m. Saturday.

Children and teens can also participate in activities, including essay contests, performances and a dance.

Arts vendors are invited to set up booths and hock their wares, though they are required to have at least 80 percent original material, Lirette says.

“We’re trying to make sure we don’t have anyone reclaiming something and bringing it to the festival and selling it,” Lirette says.

The foundation expects roughly 3,000 people to attend this year, which would be an increase from the 1,500 who showed up last year.

All proceeds stay with the non-profit foundation, which hopes to one day open Chauvin Culture and Heritage museum. The group has a location but needs the money to repair the building.

“Once it’s established, we’ll try to promote our culture not only in the past, but also in the present – where we’ll have living exhibits.”

Admission is free. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, visit www.terrebonneadvocatesforpossibility.org.

Laurel Valley Fall Festival

Oct. 21; Thibodaux

Laurel Valley, the nation’s largest surviving sugar plantation complex from the 19th and 20th centuries hosts its 27th annual fall festival Oct. 21.

Located on the banks of Bayou Lafourche off La. Highway 308 just south of Thibodaux, festival organizers anticipate 35 booths to be set up. Booth spaces are free, and anyone with arts and crafts to sell can reserve a spot.

Area cuisine, music and arts and crafts are available to festivalgoers. Customary antique motors and engines are also on display.

“It is just a big family environment that we have,” Laurel Valley Village Store Executive Director Paul Leslie says via email. “People walk around, look at things, talk to the goats and chickens, eat their meal, and go home knowing that they have visited one of America’s truly great historical sites run by volunteers.”

The highlight of the free six-hour festival may be the cane syrup demonstration. Revelers can purchase the syrup as brewed and poured into mason jars by a skilled professional.

Leslie anticipates a crowd of roughly 5,000 to attend the festival.

Admission is free. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the village, 595 La. Highway 308, Thibodaux. For more information, call (985) 446-7456.

French Food Festival

Oct. 26-28; Larose

The engine of an organization that shelters and entertains a south Lafourche community, French Food Festival volunteers are as indispensible as petroleum.

The festival’s helping hands replace vendors as the weekend’s food merchants and thus divert all proceeds to the Larose Civic Center, but they also deal with the logistics of keeping a festival that draws 30-40,000 people humming along.

“This year we’re actually going to have around 200 volunteers,” says Randi Lowe, assistant director of Larose Regional Park and Civic Center. “Usually over the course of a three-day weekend, we have a little over 100, and that’s people who dedicate an entire weekend to the Larose Civic Center. … Because I work here, the most special part about this festival (to me) are our volunteers.”

That’s not lip service.

“We have some families that grew up behind a food booth, and now their children are behind a food booth. I have one, she told me she has pictures of herself in a playpen and she puts her babies in a playpen behind (a booth) now. That’s community.”

The festival sees similar reverence from the people it entertains. Returning for its 39th year, the food festival features more than 40 food booths with cultural cuisine, particularly specialized seafood dishes, alligator sauce picante, funnel cakes and more.

The sound and sights of live auctions (including the popular pageantry crowns) and live music (Dream Junkies, Category 6, Amanda Shaw, Hurricane Levee Band and more) reverberate throughout the pavilion while revelers eat and socialize.

Outside the pavilion, which made its French Food debut last year, the younger crowd frequents a carnival mid-way with pay-one-price rides. Folklife demonstrations further cultural traditions for those interested in learning

And for the first time, the festival has added a fourth day replete with rock stars. Fran Cosmo, former lead singer of Boston, and Brian Howe, former lead singer of Bad Company, take an outdoor stage on Thursday to jump-start the weekend.

“We were at a turning point with the festival; we were either going to keep it the same or we wanted to make it even bigger, so we added the fourth day,” Lowe says.

The “French Food Festival Rocks” party begins with Dream Junkies at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, which cost $20, can be purchased on www.fffrocks.thundertix.com.

There’s also the 5K Bridge Run, which takes participants across the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge on La. Highway 308. Registration is $25.

Festival admission is free. The gates open at 5 p.m. on Friday, 11:30 on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

“The fair is a big deal to all of us, because that’s what funds us for the next six months,” Lowe says. “We’re ready to go.”

Rougarou Fest

Oct. 26; Houma

Downtown Houma’s annual Halloween parade and its monthly Downtown Live After Five concert are incorporated into an inaugural festival highlighting the holiday and local folklore.

The Rougarou Fest, organized by the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center, features cartoons, a Tag-oriented race, thematic cuisine (Rougarou Stew, for example) and a costume contest in addition to the regular festivities.

“We want to bring an awareness to coastal land loss while also celebrating a bit of who we are in a fun, light-hearted away,” SLWDC development coordinator Jonathan Foret says.

The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with food and music. Show Down headlines the concert. Available treats also include Roug-a-rouge ice cream (strawberry soda), jambalaya and cracklin.

The Rougarou Run follows from 6-7 p.m. Participants wear a belt with three flags as they try to complete the course from Town Hall on Barrow Street to the courthouse on Main while avoiding Cajun Rollergirls and zombies who try to de-flag the runners.

The parade, returning for its seventh year, begins at 7 p.m. and features a coordinated “Thriller” dance in addition to candy throws.

Cartoons begin at 8 p.m. in Memorial Park near the Waterlife Museum, and the costume contest begins at 9 p.m. at the courthouse.

“It’s a small event, but I think it’s really got a grassroots feel to it, which is fun,” Foret says. “It’s about us as a community…. It’s like throwing a Halloween party for Houma.”

Admission is free. For more information, call (985) 580-7289.

Franklin Harvest Moon Festival

Oct. 27; Franklin

What started as somewhat of an arts fair has blossomed into a 12-hour festival that ushers in the fall season for the City of Franklin.

The Franklin Harvest Moon Festival, celebrating its 13th year, is expected to draw roughly 3,500 attendees. Artisans, expected to exceed 40 this year, sell crochet, woodwork, paintings and more.

“It started out to be the opening of the holiday season, in October, for our merchants in Franklin,” says festival co-chair Debbie Von Werter. “It has evolved, and it has gotten a lot bigger, and we have a lot more activities going on.”

A chili cook-off begins at 10 a.m., and the winners are announced by 2 p.m. The chef who sells the most chili receives the $200 prize associated with the people’s choice award.

There’s also an automobile show – well, an automobile show that is also open to golf carts and lawn tractors. Awards are given to the top-25 as judged, and the vehicle that comes in from the farthest distance is also awarded.

Admission is free. The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.franklinharvestmoonfest.com.

The Rougarou Fest, which fuses Halloween with local folklore, debuts Oct. 26 in downtown Houma.

Courtesy Rachel Kreamer

Tab Benoit returns home with the ninth annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival in Houma from Oct. 12-14.

Courtesy Jerry Moran