ROAD TRIP!!!
By Joe Kopacz
The weather isn't the only thing getting hotter this summer. Check out this line up of festivals!
09/03-06
Rayne Frog Festival Rayne 318-334-2332Another great name for a great festival.. Carnival and family events, frog racing & jumping contests and more. To top that off, a great lineup of music. Sheryl Cormier & Cajun Sounds, Beau Jocque & the Zydeco Hi-Rollers, The Basin Brothers, Richard LeBouef & Two Step, Robert Jardell, Hunter Hayes and home town boy Wayne Toups & Zydecajun.
09/05
SW LA Zydeco Music Festival Plaisance 318-942-2392 www.zydeco.orgThe festival starts with a kick-off party on 09/04 at Slim's Y-Ki-Ki in Opelousas with "Step" Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws, and just keeps going from there. Open hearth cooking, crafts and music (ice chests allowed). Headliners include; Willis Prudhomme & the Zydeco Express, Boozoo Chavis & the Magic Sounds, Chris Ardoin & the Double Clutchin' Band and "Step" Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws,
09/06
Creole Zydeco Festival St. Martinville 318-394-4635Entertainment includes: The Creole Zydeco Farmers, Jean Pierre & the Zydeco Angels, Lil' Pookie & the Zydeco Heartbreakers, and more.
THE NEXT STEP IN THE DANCE - by Tim Gautreaux
Just like movies, there are guy books and girl books. As much as I love the familiar Cajun settings and New Orleans environs of James Lee Burke's writings, I had to give him up for a while because I just couldn't take all the violence. Now don't get me wrong, I'm no romance reader either; I prefer a good mystery to romance any day. But I just couldn't take Burke's blood and guts anymore. In Tim Gautreaux's writing, I think I've found just the right mix of mystery, romance, and Cajun lore. This one should appeal to guys and girls alike. This is the story of Paul Thibodeaux, his wife Colette, and all of the characters who join in their dance through life and around each other. He is a handsome young man with a love for dancing and for the machines he repairs. She is beautiful but dissatisfied with the limitations of living in small-town Louisiana. When Colette goes off to California in search of something more, we join their adventure and their love story. Gautreaux's descriptions of life in both states paint a moving picture of a culture you have to have lived in to truly understand. One of my favorite passages takes place in a California "Cajun restaurant" where Paul goes in search of some home cooking. Paul's waiter tells him of "the authentic dishes of the bayou state" starting with the day's special of "blackened swordfish", a fish Paul has never seen in his life. Instead he orders a large bowl of gumbo which turns out to be a "small cauldron of bitter juice so hot with Tabasco that Paul broke out in a sweat." He tells the waiter "Man, you people must have spilled some Tabasco in this stuff. My tongue's been killed dead." To which the waiter replies, "it takes time to develop a true Cajun palate." Read this book. You'll laugh, cry, and sit on the edge of your seat, as one obstacle after another falls in front of Paul and Colette, but best of all you'll pass a good time. A book review by Capt. Cyn Hebert
And now, a message from Kevin Royak
Okay, Kevin. Thanks for the help. It is smart as well as nice to help other clubs, they can provide us with more chances for fun. And bravo to the Orlando Chapter of Friends of Florida Folk. This sounds like a cool event, and we will definitely try to make it. We will also reprint this announcement next month.
The Porch Dogs and Swamp Grass played at a free fais-dos-dos last weekend (August 15).
We had a nice time and ran into members of Cajun Connection from both sides of the state.
Erica Johnson -
erica@magicnet.net
) is a member of the Cajun Connection
as well as Friends of Florida Folk (FOFF). She was handing out flyers for an upcoming
event FOFF is holding in Casselberry. I think our members would be interested and it should be
mentioned in upcoming events in the next newsletter.
Secret Lake Park, 200 N. Triplet Lake Dr., Casselberry
From I-4 take the Altamonte Springs exit (SR-436 East) to US-17-92. Go North on US-17-92. At the second light turn Right on Triplet Lake Dr. and go to end. Turn left on North Triplet Lake Dr. Go 1/2 mile, and Secret Lake Park/Senior Ctr. is on left.)email marygened@juno.com or call (407)786-6208 or 889-9300
For info:
OR
