Franklin’s 14th Annual Harvest Moon Festival

The Franklin Merchants Association presents the 14th Annual Harvest Moon Festival. The festival will be held Saturday, October 5, 2013, from 9 am to 6 pm and will be complimented by the 4th Annual Tour du Teche.

Festivities will take place along Franklin’s Main Street and the Bayou Teche, which runs parallel to Main Street in the downtown historic district. There is no admission fee. The Harvest Moon Festival is a community-based downtown street festival celebrating the sugar cane harvest and the return of fall. Event’s for this year’s celebration include live entertainment, children’s activities, arts & crafts, a 5K run/walk, a classic car show and a BBQ cook-off.

The Miss Harvest Moon Festival Pageant will begin at 6:30 pm at the Teche Theatre for the Performing Arts, 501 Main Street, on Saturday, September 28th. Admission will be $5.00 per person. The pageant is sponsored by the City of Franklin, the Franklin Merchants Association and the St. Mary Parish Lions Club. For more information contact Pageant Director, Susan K. Thibodaux at 337-578-7854.

As part of the festival, Franklin’s downtown retail merchants will provide special sales and promotions to open the Christmas shopping season. Concession booths with local foods and arts & crafts will line the downtown area around the music stage. Vendor applications are due September 16, 2013. Contact Joan Adams at 337-578-1505 for additional information and/or an application.

Live entertainment, on the stage in the center of Main Street, will include 5 O’clock Shadeaux beginning at 10 am, followed by Steven Breaux and Friends at 1 pm and then the Mike Dean Band at 4 pm. After the bands from the Harvest Moon Festival end, Johnny Chauvin and Mojo will begin performing behind the Blevins building from 6 to 9 pm, for the Tour du Teche paddlers that will overnight in Franklin.

Children’s games and activities will be open to children age 12 and under and will include a spacewalk, bean bag tossing and pick a duck.

Teche Action Clinic will host its Adeline Guienze Breast Cancer Memorial Fund 5K Run/Walk. The 5K will begin at 8 am on Saturday, October 5th at the Courthouse Square. Contact Alfreida Edwards at 985-397-1096, Florence Beverly at 337-828-2550 ext. 2145 or Paulette Lofton at 337-828-2550 ext. 2104 for more information on the 5K.

The Classic Car and Motorcycle Show will take place on Main Street. Registration is $25.00 for those who register before September 25th. Late registration (September 26th to the day of the show) will be $30.00. The show will begin at 9 am and awards will be presented at 3 pm. There will also be a BBQ Cook-off. The entry fee is $100.00 for this Tasters’ Choice Competition. All competitors will need to attend a mandatory set-up and cooks’ rules meeting on October 4th for the competition to be held on October 5th. For more information contact Chief Chuck Bourgeois at 337-828-6328, 337-828-6329 or firechief821@franklin-la.com.

The St. Mary Chamber of Commerce will host the 2013 Harvest Moon Lamppost Decorating Contest. There is no entry fee, decorating begins on September 14th and judging will take place on October 1st. To register, contact the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce at 337-828-5608.

For more information about the Harvest Moon Festival, contact Joan Adams at 337-578-1505 or visit www.facebook.com/franklinharvestmoonfest.

Tour du Teche Slated October 4-6th, 2013

Tour du Teche is a 135 mile canoe/kayak/pirogue race through the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun Country and will take place this weekend on October 4th, 5th, and 6th. This race is entering its fourth year and is now organized by Executive Director Nicole Patin and Directors General Ray Pellerin and Ken Grissom. Partners include Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau, St. Mary Parish, St. Landry Tourist Commission, St. Martin Tourist Commission, and Iberia Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Paddlers for this race will pass through four parishes, woods, swamps, cane fields, and a dozen of the friendliest communities around. The race will begin in Port Barre, Louisiana at the Port Barre Boat Launch and travel 135 miles down Bayou Teche where it will end in Berwick, Louisiana at the Southwest Reef Lighthouse on the Atchafalaya River.

Tour du Teche will have three racing stages: Stage 1: Gabriel, Port Barre to St. Martinville, 49 miles; Stage 2: Chitimacha, St. Martinville to Franklin, 59 miles; Stage 3: Roughneck, Franklin to Berwick, 27 miles. There will be shorter race routes, Voyageur divisions, open for participants such as: Crawfish, Port Barre to Breaux Bridge, 34 miles; Acadian, Port Barre to St. Martinville, 49 miles; Hot Sauce, St. Martinville to New Iberia; 24 miles; Sugar, St. Martinville to Franklin, 59 miles; and Oil & Gas, Franklin to Berwick, 27 miles.

Tour du Teche will overnight in St. Martinville on Friday, October 4th and in Franklin on Saturday, October 5th. Paddlers will be greeted at their stop in Franklin on October 5th with Franklin’s Annual Harvest Moon Festival featuring live music; a children’s carnival; teen activities; an antique, hot rod, classic car and motorcycle show, concessions and special retail promotions. The finish line, located in Berwick, will also have events awaiting paddlers on October 6th. Arts and Crafts vendors will open their booths at 11 am, along with jambalaya dinners. Musical entertainment will be by DJ Jason Rulf from 11 am to 2 pm and Gone Pecan from 2 to 5 pm. New additions to this year’s event will be a car show, a 50/50 raffle, door prizes, petting zoo and carnival style games. The arts and crafts show and the car show will have no booth or entry fee. Contact Misty Pillaro, at the Town of Berwick, at (985) 384-8858 for additional information on the arts and crafts show and car show.

Awards will take place at 1 pm and at 4 pm. The public is encouraged to come out to all the activities taking place in Franklin and in Berwick, to welcome paddlers and join in on the fun!For additional information contact Nicole Patin at (337) 394-6232, visit www.tourduteche.com for a registration packet, or email info@tourduteche.com. You can also contact the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau at (800) 256-2931, visit their website at www.cajuncoast.com, or email info@cajuncoast.com for extra information.

Fourth Annual Promenade d’art de Franklin – Slated September 28, 2013

Fourth Annual Franklin Art Walk (Promenade d'art de Franklin)

The Franklin Art Walk is a Main Street Program event. The City of Franklin and its Main Street Board invite art connoisseurs to take a stroll along Franklin’s Main Street to explore Franklin’s creative culture by visiting with store merchants and the artists they host. You can speak with the artists and browse through their merchandise, which are both unique to south Louisiana. Purchase beautiful art from talented artists and take home souvenirs from your time in Franklin.

Musical entertainment for the Art Walk will be by Alfred Hill, Ted Foulcard and Jada Hawkins beginning at 3:30 pm and ending at 5:30 pm at the Hanagriff’s lot on Main Street.

A new addition to the Art Walk this year will include novelists Rhonda Dennis and Lynn Shurr. Rhonda Dennis is the author of the Green Bayou Novel Series, and Lynn Shurr is the author of the Mardi Gras and Sinners Series. Bring your books and get them signed, or you can purchase them the day of the event and get them signed.

There will be a few new attractions to the Art Walk this year, also. The Techeland Arts Council will host Une Assemblee de Connaisseurs d’Art (A Gathering of Art Connoisseurs) from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at The Lamp Post, which is on the corner of Jackson and Main Streets. The Techeland Arts Council will share its purpose, people, pictures and pieces of its production No Hitchin’.

Shadowlawn will host Parker Felterman who is the 14-year-old author of The Revolver. There will be music by the Bayou Saxophone Ensemble, which is an eight-piece saxophone group from Thibodaux. Additionally, St. Mary Landmarks Society will display political posters of past Franklin elections at Teche Ridge Office Supply, which will showcase Franklin’s contribution to Louisiana politics.

Franklin is slowly becoming a place where the arts thrive. I’m looking forward to this year’s Art Walk, and I think we have a little something for everyone to experience and enjoy!

Mark your calendar for the Fourth Annual Franklin Art Walk, September 28, 2013, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. You can experience culture, history and hospitality all in one town—all of the things that make Franklin a special place. For more information contact Arlana Shields at (337) 828-6345, or by email at ashields@franklin-la.com.

 

78th Annual Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival

The 78th Annual Shrimp and Petroleum Festival Slated for Labor Day Weekend

Louisiana’s oldest chartered harvest festival is scheduled to celebrate 78 years of tradition and family fun, this upcoming Labor Day Weekend, August 29th – September 2nd, 2013.

The Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival will be held in Morgan City, only 90 miles from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Most festivities are held within the beautiful Downtown Historic District and are free to the general public. Great food, continuous free live music, traditional events, children’s activities and new events will highlight this five-day extravaganza.

The 50th Labor Day Art Show & Sale will start on Wednesday, August 28th and continue through Thursday, September 19th, located downtown at the Everett Street Gallery. Hours to view the exhibit will be daily during the festival from 11 am to 5 pm.

Thursday, August 29th; the official ribbon cutting will open the festival at 5:00 pm on Second Street under the US Highway 90 Bridge. Also, on Thursday, The Mitchell Brothers Carnival rides and games will begin at 5 pm and continue through Monday at 9 pm. Bracelets will be offered Thursday, August 29th from 5 to 9 pm, and Monday, September 2nd from 12 noon to 4 pm and 5 to 9 pm. Bracelets are $20.00 each.

Indulge your taste buds and satisfy your appetite at the 25th annual Cajun Culinary Classic, a showcase of local “home style” cooking featuring delicious Cajun & Creole dishes, as well as a variety of desserts and other cuisines. The Cajun Culinary Classic is open 5 pm to 11 pm Friday, 12 noon to 11 pm Saturday & Sunday, and 12 noon to 9 pm Monday. Local non-profit groups and civic organizations benefit from the proceeds.

The 36th Traditional Arts & Crafts Show & Sale will open on Friday, August 30th at 5 pm under the US Highway 90 Bridge and continue through Monday, September 2nd at 9 pm. The event features over 100 artists and crafters from south Louisiana with unique merchandise and artistic masterpieces.

Children’s Day activities will begin with children’s field & game events Saturday, August 31st at 9 am. Children of all ages can participate in sack races, three legged races and more. Professional storytellers will entertain kids as well as their parents with their wonderful stories after the field and games events. The Children’s Day Mini Street Parade will begin at 11 am also on Saturday. Decorated bicycles, wagons, strollers and four wheelers are welcome to participate. The Children’s Day King and Queen will officially open the Children’s Village with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, August 31st at 11:30 am. The Children’s Village is a magical play land featuring games, prizes, face-painting, and more. The Children’s Village will be open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 11:30 am.

Downtown comes alive with continuous free live music performed at the Heritage Music Stage. The festival will feature bright, upcoming artists from the area, as well as hometown legends. The music line up for this year will include: Friday, August 30th, 5:00 pm – Crossroads, 7:00 pm – Cayenne, 9:00 pm – Bag of Donuts; Saturday, August 31st, 1:00 pm – Blue Eyed Soul Revue, 3:30 pm – Voodoo Bayou Band, 6:00 pm – Six Gun Rail, & 9:00 pm TBA; Sunday, September 1st, 1:00 pm – Driftwood, 3:30 pm – 90 Degrees West, 6:00 pm – Supercharger, & 9:00 pm – Mojeaux; Monday, September 2nd, 1:00 pm – Louisiana Roadhouse Band, 3:00 pm – Déjà vu, 5:00 pm – South 70, & 7:00 pm – Chubby Carrier with Amanda Shaw.

There will be many special events throughout the weekend. A Cultural & Heritage Expo will be on display next to the festival office from Friday through Monday 11 am to 5pm. There will be a NSA Softball Tournament at Kemper Williams Park starting Friday at 6:30 pm, and continuing Saturday morning at 8 am. Cypress Corvette Club Open Car Show will take place on Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm at M.D. Shannon Elementary. Also, Saturday, Doiron’s Bass Tournament will begin at daylight. A 5K Fun Run/Walk and LA High School Swim Relays will begin 8 am on Saturday. The Gospel Stage will also open on Saturday at Joy Fellowship Ministries of Morgan City, 712 Third Street, at 12 noon, and again on Sunday at 1 pm.

Traditional activities on Sunday will take place starting with Mass in the Park. The community will give thanks for its blessings at Mass in the Park at 8:30 am Sunday, September 1st, and will be celebrated under the oaks in Lawrence Park. Everyone is invited to attend. The Historic Blessing of the Fleet will begin at 10 am on the Atchafalaya River, followed by the water parade, which features decorated shrimp boats, pleasure craft, offshore supply boats and some of the biggest “muscle” boats of the offshore industry including supply boats, crew boats and tugboats. The Street Parade will begin at the corner of Second & Onstead Streets at 3 pm featuring past and present royalty along with this year’s maids and their pages, and visiting queens from various festivals throughout the state. Fireworks on the River will begin at 9 pm Sunday evening. Grab a spot in Lawrence Park, along the seawall or old Morgan City/Berwick Bridge and enjoy the firework spectacular.

The festival began in 1936 when the placid port of Morgan City and Berwick received the first boatload of jumbo shrimp, fresh from the deepest Gulf waters. The festival became the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in 1967, when the oil industry was firmly implanted into the local economy.

The festival has grown to become one of the state’s premiere festivals. The festival was voted Festival of the Year in Division III for the past nine years and by the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals, a top 100 American Bus Association event, and a top 20 Southeast Tourism Society event. In July of 1991 Time magazine described the festival as “...the best, the most unusual, the most down-home, the most moving and the most fun that the country has to offer.”

Festival organizers invite you to bring your family to Morgan City for Labor Day weekend to enjoy 78 years of tradition and family fun. For more information, contact the festival office at (985) 385-0703, or visit the festival’s web site at www.shrimp-petrofest.org. For a festival schedule, contact the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau at (800) 256-2931 or the festival office at the above number.

The Last Moments of the Gunboat Diana, and

Her Almost Final Resting Place

On Sunday, July 8th, Horace Beach, Ph.D., will present a PowerPoint presentation about his research, The Last Moments of the Gunboat Diana, and Her Almost Final Resting Place at the Young Sanders Center for the Study of the War Between the States at 1:30 pm.  Dr. Beach will explain how a psychologist in California became a gunboat Diana researcher. He will share his interest in the Diana and her last hours, and present some of his research findings and conclusions. New information will be presented, as well as speculation requiring future research and exploration.

On the morning of 14 April 1863 the citizens of a small town named Franklin in St. Mary Parish Louisiana were introduced to the sounds of war. On this morning the Battle of Irish Bend also known as the Battle of Nersons’ Woods began with the frightening sound of hundreds of Confederate muskets aimed at approaching Union forces in the sugar cane fields parallel to the Bayou Teche above Franklin. This battle was fought between Union General Nathaniel P. Banks and Confederate General Richard Taylor for the control of the Bayou Teche region. The Confederate forces under the command of General Taylor were greatly outnumbered by the Union aggressors under the command of Brigadier General Cuvier Grover. The battle was a Union victory at a cost of 353 casualties to the Union command. The victory would have been an even greater victory for the Union army if they would have been able to conquer and capture the Confederate forces. The Gunboat Diana saved the day for the Confederate forces by giving continuous fire from her siege gun and cannons upon the Union forces. This continuous barrage of artillery fire by the gunboat Diana gave the Confederate army the opportunity to retreat from the field of battle without being immediately pursued by the Yankee army. This valiant deed by the captain and crew of the Gunboat Diana came at a high cost in casualties. The Diana was abandoned and set on fire by the crew to prevent the vessel from falling into the enemy’s possession.


Dr. Beach was born and raised in Texas. He earned a BA in Psychology at the University of Houston in 1990, and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alameda, California in 1996. He is licensed as a Psychologist in California and New York. Today Dr. Beach lives in the Bay Area in a small town named Clayton.

The Young Sanders Center is located at 701 Teche Drive, Franklin, Louisiana.
For further information contact Roland R. Stansbury, Director at (337) 413-1861 or email us at ysc1861@aol.com

“Waves of Thunder” Outboard Races

July 6th – 8th, 2012

Lake Palourde Parkway

The Morgan City Power Boat Association will host “Waves of Thunder,” outboard races, on July 6th – 8th, 2012 at the Lake Palourde Parkway in Morgan City, Louisiana. This summer will mark the 50th Anniversary of racing since being incorporated.


Pre-ticket sales will be available at $8.00 per person/per day thru Friday, July 6th, and $10 at the gate per person/per day; children 12 and under are free all weekend when accompanied by parent or guardian. Tickets can be purchased at Flower Fashions, Sportsman Cycle Marine, and Its Entertainment in Houma.


Friday, July 6th, will be a FREE to the public “Test Day.” Saturday, July 7th, and Sunday, July 8th, boat races will begin at 12 noon.


Nonprofit organizations will man concessions with a variety of food and drink items. T-shirts will be for sale throughout the weekend. Festival organizers are allowing guests to bring ice chests into the park for a fee of $10 per ice chest. Park & city policy state that glass, open fires or BBQ pits, pets, and firearms are not allowed on the property. This year’s event will have a number of kid’s activities, arts and crafts, and live entertainment by Flatline on Saturday, July 7th from 7:30 - 9:30 pm. Also, on Saturday, July 7th a fireworks show on Lake Palourde will begin at 9 pm. Performance by Flatline and the fireworks show will be free events for the public.


Anyone interested in advance tickets, t-shirts, or sponsorship information can contact the Morgan City Power Boat Association, P. O. Box 3526, Morgan City, LA 70381, call Marie Siracusa at (985)519-2678 or Carla Dartez at (985) 759-0310, or the Morgan City Chamber of Commerce at (985) 384-3830. You can also visit www.cajuncoast.com or www.mcpowerboat.com for more information.






Hydroplane Racing – the greatest show on H2O

Bayou BBQ Bash, "Morgan City Under the Bridge"

July 13 & 14, 2012

Second and Everett Streets in Morgan City

IBCA Sanctioned A State Championship BBQ Competition will have the following food categories: pork spare ribs, brisket, and/or chicken (competetors must cook all three for Grand Champion prize). There will also be a Corporate Cooking Team Throw Down Business Cooking Team Challenge (Bragging Rights for the Best Corporate Company Cooking Team in St. Mary Parish). Teams are not allowed to cook with gas cookers.


Other events to take place include:


• Car Show by Lirette Ford


• Corvette Club Car Show


• Arts & Crafts Booths


• Quilters Guild Booth


• Coast Guard Auxiliary Boater Safety Booth


• Live Music


• Kid's BBQ Competition


• 5K Run


Children's Miracle Network Food Booth will be serving Brisket Sandwiches from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.


This event is organized by the St. Mary Chamber of Commerce. For more information, sponsorship opportunities, or entry forms contact 985-384-3830.


IBCA rules will apply and can be looked up at www.ibcabbq.org.