Can Shrimp & Petro’s 75th year reboot tourism

Lee Delaune’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing.

Ask the director of Morgan City-based Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, and he’s happy to report busy phone lines are good headed into the start of this week’s 75th anniversary blowout.

Given the nation’s worst environmental disaster unfolded just miles off the Tri-parishes’ coastline this spring, selling a celebration for fish or oil has been a tall order. But the inquiries keep coming – from across the U.S., Japan and Germany. Visitors from France and England are also slated to visit after hearing Delaune’s sales pitches.

“I think we’ll end up having more people coming this year than in normal years,” he predicts.

On a good year – storm-free, rain-free weekends – the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival attracts upward of 75,000 visitors.

Carrie Stansbury, executive director of the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau, is among those hoping it stays that way.

“We really do think this is an opportunity to jump-start the area and try to get tourism back,” she said. “We’re hoping to capture some media and promote the message that people really need to come back and visit coastal Louisiana.”

Earlier this summer, shortly after BP awarded a $5 million grant to the state for marketing, Stansbury and nine other parish tourism agencies united to form the Louisiana Coastal Coalition. Together, the parishes – including Terrebonne and Lafourche – have been developing a cohesive plan to promote the region’s assets.

Convincing tourists that south Louisiana is no longer oil coated, however, is an arduous task.

“They think you can smell the oil … that you can still see it, or smell it or that it is going to affect their breathing,” Stansbury said. “And they think a lot of our seafood – in spite of the documentation that says otherwise – is not safe to eat.

“It’s not true, but how do you get that message out?”

Mixing Oil & Water

Following the April 20 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and subsequent moratorium on drilling, the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival’s two mainstays – the shrimping and oil industries – virtually came to a grinding halt in the Tri-parishes. With thousands of gallons of oil flowing unfettered into the Gulf of Mexico, rich fishing zones were declared off limits.

Many fishermen would find work with BP’s Vessels of Opportunities program, cleaning oil from the Gulf. And oilfield workers are equally in uncertain waters as the moratorium halting drilling remains in effect.

Despite the conflicts the disaster has created, Delaune said the festival remains problem-free and non-political.

“Certainly, BP has been the focus of a lot of concerns – both from the oilfield-related people and definitely from fishermen,” Morgan City Mayor Tim Matte agreed. “But that’s never flowed over to the people involved in those industries.

“You don’t see shrimpers getting mad at oilfield workers. Their focus may be at BP and this particular incident, but it never relates down to individuals,” he added.

There’s long been a kinship between the two industries, maybe because both work on the water, the mayor theorizes.

Besides, any longtime south Louisiana resident has come to enjoy life on the water, Matte says. “We probably all know a lot of people who work offshore but who also fish either recreationally or possibly even as a side job.”

Either way, south Louisiana understands that the shrimp and oil industries are the region’s economic lifeblood. And that’s the focus of the four-day festival, Delaune explained.

“People keep asking me, ‘How can you mix the two – shrimp and petroleum,'” he said. “Being from here and having grown up with you, you are kind of like, ‘Why would they even ask that question?’ Of course, we know they mix. We see it every day.”

Having heard from people across the nation, Stansbury said the oil-and-water-blend always gets a laugh. “But that’s one of the biggest misconceptions people have,” she said. “In reality, both jobs are inherently dangerous, and we want to give [workers] blessings as they do their job.

“You don’t have to choose one or the other,” she added. “In reality, the two industries work harmoniously together. We can do both and we have very well for 75 years.”

In addition to the event’s diamond anniversary, Morgan City is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the city.

Plans for a celebration were in the works … and then came the BP explosion.

Now, Matte says, the city is counting on the success of this weekend’s Labor Day festival to highlight the occasion.

“This is a celebration of these two industries, but the more lasting impact is to promote the industries and the community in a positive light,” he said. “There’s an extra challenge to that and we’re putting extra emphasis on it.”

That includes working with the state Office of Tourism to talk up the event … “not only to say Morgan City is a good place, but that the oil and fishing industries are fine,” Matte said. “These are good industries, industries that we are embracing – and particularly the people who work in them.”

It Could Have Been A Different Event

Just a month ago, before the Deepwater Horizon was capped and oil was still pouring into the Gulf, Stansbury and Matte both feared the Shrimp and Petroleum Festival would have found itself in the crosshairs of an anti-drilling fight.

And in June, when BP officials outlined the worst-case scenario – a Sept. 15 timeline for the relief well to be in place and the leak stopped – parish officials did put their heads together to brainstorm.

“My thought was it was a nightmare to hold this festival while we still had oil flowing into the Gulf,” the tourism director admitted. “There would have been a lot more outside people who would have been much more critical of the festival had that been the case.”

But with the cap continuing to do its job and the static kill getting high marks, Delaune said “all systems are go” for this year’s festival.

“All this one has left to do is happen,” he said. “I’ve done everything humanely possible. Our booths are lined up, the bands are booked and the fishermen assure me we are going to have plenty of shrimp.”

One Parting Message

The stage for a memorable 75th festival is set, Delaune adds.

Festival-goers will also notice a more prominent presence from the oil industry at this year’s event.

BP is contributing to make the Children’s Village a special spot for youngsters.

And Oceaneering is sponsoring a presentation featuring the $6 million ROV used to fit the Deepwater Horizon cap in place and transmit a video feed back to the BP’s Command Center in Houma.

Delaune said the company intends to have personnel on hand to answer questions, and is setting up a display with the photographs and bios of local staffers involved in helping with the crisis.

“I just think it is a step forward for the oil industry to play a significant role in this year’s festival,” he said.

Although the effort to stop the leak and subsequent cleanup has brought work to the community, Tri-parish leaders, including Matte, agree the moratorium is having an economic impact locally.

Because most fishermen have either been able to continue harvesting in open waters west of St. Mary Parish or find work with the VoO program, the seafood industry has, for the most part, remained strong, the mayor said. “Just as has been the case across the region, it’s hit or miss. One day, areas are open; the next, they’re closed.”

But with the VoO effort winding down, Matte said many vessel owners have been notified that their services will soon no longer be needed.

Likewise, Stansbury said a BP employee told her fewer people would be need in the area in the coming 30 to 60 days.

Gone will be the hotel occupants (BP’s accounted for a majority of hotel rooms across the Tri-parishes since the start of the disaster). And businesses already hurting from fewer customers – restaurants and the like – are bracing for another hit.

Matte said he’s also heard from local companies who’ve had to delay or cancel projects because of the moratorium.

“There’s definitely been some impact in the economy, but it has been softened by the spending that’s taken place in the spill response,” he said.

But how long that will last – or the moratorium will remain – is unknown.

“Bottom line, we all disagree with the moratorium,” Delaune said, suggesting the oil industry is the victim of bias. “We’ve had airline disasters, mining disasters and now we have an egg crisis. … Why not put a moratorium on eggs!”

With the slower summer months over her shoulder, Stansbury is holding out hope that people near and far will forget about the BP disaster and return to Morgan City for some fun.

“This festival is not about the disaster … it’s not even really about the industries,” she said. “It’s about people. It’s about our heritage. It’s a time for celebrating what’s unique about south Louisiana.”

With good music, good food and, hopefully, good weather, organizers of the 75th Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival are hoping to draw record crowds. COURTESY PHOTO