Actress, author keynote at NAACP banquet
October 1, 2009Oct. 5
October 5, 2009
The hurricane season may have been quiet – so far – this year, but that won’t stop Houma blues guitarist Tab Benoit from raising some noise about the vulnerability of Louisiana’s coastline to the storm’s destructive power.
One year after hurricanes Gustav and Ike took a heavy toll on southern Terrebonne Parish, the Grammy-nominated artist said his fight to save the wetlands is more urgent than ever
“I don’t think enough people see what’s south of us – or what’s not south of us, actually,” he said. “I’ve been doing a lot of flying over the area since the last storms. We’re losing land faster and faster.”
Two hundred and fifty days a year, Benoit preaches about the plight of south Louisiana’s wetlands as he performs on the road. But for three days in October, he brings his fight home to the delta’s doorsteps.
Benoit returns to Southdown Plantation for the 6th annual Voice of the Wetlands Festival from Oct. 9-11.
A combination of art exhibits, Cajun cuisine and all-star music, the three-day free festival sheds light on the disappearance of Louisiana’s coast and the loss of the unique culture, heritage, wildlife and people associated with it.
The goal of the VOW Festival is to unite local supporters with those from around the country for the cause, Benoit said.
He recently took a camera crew to Falgout Canal in Theriot to show the dying cypress swamps. Just from south winds blowing, water was coming from the canal and over the road.
“It’s not about storms anymore. It’s not going to take a storm to flood us pretty soon,” Benoit said. “We get a few days of south winds and the area starts getting water. Every day, our urgency level should go up.”
Benoit hopes festival visitors take advantage of the “Discovery Flights” over the wetlands offered through Hammonds Air Service in Houma. Two planes carrying groups of three will give half-hour tours over the disappearing coastline for $40 per person.
“That’s the best way for everybody to see how much the delta is changing, how close the Gulf is to us and how little protection we have left,” Benoit said.
Benoit isn’t afraid to take his message to the decision makers who can bring relief to the depleting Louisiana coastline.
Last month, Benoit performed for world dignitaries at the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh. Several environmental groups organized the gala event, which was hosted by U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and wife Teresa Heinz.
But just as last year when Benoit spoke with members of Congress in their Capitol Hill offices and played at both major political parties’ national conventions, he said the audiences did not grasp the significance of the problem.
“From what I’m seeing and hearing, they’re more concerned with the economics than the environmental impact,” he explained. “I feel if we fix the environmental problem, we’re going to be creating jobs. People would have to do the work, which creates a new job market and new industries. They’re looking at this from the opposite perspective.
“(The G20 dignitaries) had no idea we’re losing an acre of land an hour and that we’ve already lost over 2,000 square miles of land since the late 1920s,” Benoit continued. “When I talked about that, they looked at me like I’m a crazy person and there’s no way that can be true. And if it is, how come they didn’t here about it?”
Benoit favors using fresh water and sediment diversion projects to restore the wetlands. He cites the Atchafalaya River 30 miles west of Houma as an example of how nature can quickly rebuild land.
“You see brand new trees growing on brand new land that is less than 15 years old,” he said. “It works faster than people think. The Atchafalaya is the schooling on how to fix the Mississippi River Delta.”
Benoit would be happy if VOW Festival attendees listened to what he has to say, but he does not want his words to live and die on the Southdown Plantation grounds.
“Having a good time is the most important thing to making this festival successful,” he said. “But if everybody that came out took the message to heart and decides to take action to help save our wetlands, then that’s the real success.”
In conjunction with the three-day festival, Cycle World of Houma and Mike Bruno’s Bayou Country Harley-Davidson are jointly hosting a Voice of the Wetlands Benefit Poker Run and, for the first time, Voice of the Wetlands will host Race for the Wetlands, a 5K/10K race going through the heart of Houma, beginning and ending at the festival. [See Family Fun, page 16 for more information.]
U2 guitarist The Edge donated a special edition Music Rising Epiphone Les Paul guitar to be auctioned at the VOW Festival.
Louisiana musicians including Benoit, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas, Troy “Trombone” Shorty and Marva Wright among others autographed the exclusively-designed guitar.
For more information on the Discovery Flights over the wetlands, call (985) 876-0584.
VOW Festival hours are Friday, Oct. 10, from 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 11, from noon-10 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 12, from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
For more information, contact Reuben Williams at (985) 789-5665 or visit http://www.voiceofthewetlands.org.
Houma Grammy-award nominee Tab Benoit plays the Voice of the Wetlands Festival Oct. 9-11.
