Gheens cooks up ‘Good Eats’

Good times, good friends and good food. That’s the idea behind Gheens Bon Mange’ Festival.

Set for June 2-3, the event has been drawing people to the Vacherie-Gheens area for over 30 years. This year’s festival will be held at the area’s community center.

A big neighborhood block party, the festival is the biggest annual event people in Gheens and the surrounding area hold. “Our festival is unique because it’s in a small area in Central Lafourche,” said Carlotta Toups, a festival board member. “We have excellent food, great entertainment and a lot of family fun.”

The French phrase “bon mange” translates to “good eats.” Toward that end, Toups said the community festival strives to deliver.

“People come from all around for our bon mange fest,” she said. “Every year, we can expect a crowd to come eat and listen to some good music.

The menu includes a variety of delectable plate lunches featuring seasoned chicken and sausage gumbo, seafood gumbo, white rice and beans, fried fish, rice dressing, potato salad and baked chicken.

The traditional festival fare n hamburgers and hot dogs n will also be sold.

Best of all, this free festival benefits Vacherie-Gheens’ residents. One-hundred percent of the proceeds will be used for the upkeep of the community center, Toups said.

The good times begin Saturday at 10 a.m., just in time for lunch. Swing Arm will perform.

The good eating and entertainment continue on Sunday. Local musicians Treater, along with Charles Mann, will perform their Swamp Pop/Zydeco sound. A perennial favorite in South Louisiana, the band plays Cajun and New Orleans classics.

“It’s an annual thing for Treater to play on Sunday because they attract such a large crowd when they perform,” Toups said.

A family-oriented event, youngsters will spend their days in the sun playing basketball or at the center’s playground. Toups said their will also be various activities for children to enjoy.

Before the event adopted the name “Good Eats” Festival, it was known as the Gheens Day fest. It got its start in a pasture, the very land that the community center now resides on. Then a one-day affair, the celebration united families for a day of food and fun. By 1973, the community had raised enough money to build the center, Toups explained.

In 1975, when construction on the site was completed, the festival moved indoors.

It was the board’s acclaim for the home-cooked dishes offered at Gheens Day that led the directors to rename the event the Gheens Bon Mange’ Festival.

For more information on the fest, contact the Vacherie-Gheens Community Center at (985) 532-5740.

Gheens cooks up ‘Good Eats’