Franco Fete. Heard of it? The State Tourism Department sure hopes so. They’ve been pushing the event for two years trying to spread the word so that when 1999 arrived everyone would be giddy with enthusiasm.
They’ve created brochures, booklets, even made a cross-country road-trip in an attention grabbing party-bus to snag TV and radio spots along the East Coast. They were rewarded with a moment of glory on NBC’s Today Show. They have been working hard to spread the word but I still get the feeling that in New Orleans the concept is a little fuzzy at best, and totally unknown at the worst.
Franco Fete is a year-long statewide celebration created to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Louisiana and 300 years of French influence in the state.
On March 2, 1699 Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville established a military outpost at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was 19 years later, in 1718, that his younger brother, Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded New Orleans.
So Franco Fete is Louisiana’s birthday. Rather than a specific isolated event that one would go to, festivals and towns around the state are encouraged to showcase their French Heritage within their events. In New Orleans relevant upcoming events include a major exhibit of 30 works of art by French impressionist Edgar Degas at the New Orleans Museum of Art and a Franco Fete showcase in the grandstand at the Jazz Fest.
Loosely tied in with Franco Fete, the most focused and consolidated period for a series of events is during the first two weeks of August, when the Congres Mondial Acadien takes place in South Louisiana. This actually should be a pretty fun once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience a gathering of this nature here in the U.S.
Louisiana has invited descendants of exiled and Canadian Acadians from around the world to come here for a reunion with all the local descendants. A multitude of events has been scheduled–ceremonies, conferences, street parties, family reunions and a couple of festivals have been rescheduled during this period to entertain the thousands of anticipated visitors. Dozens of familiar family names, LeBlanc’s, Prejean’s, Landry’s, Mouton’s from around the world will reconnect with distant relatives for reunions and street parties. (800- 870-4959-Franco Fete; 888-526-1999, Congres Mondial Acadien).
Baton Rouge does its, part to commemorate Louisiana’s 300th birthday with a specially created festival this year entitled Bonne Fete. This is a three-day festival (March 5-7), is totally free, and takes place along the river front by the Centroplex at the foot of the Old Capital building. The musical lineup for this event is rather amazing.
Things begin on a high-tone note Friday night as the symphony, with guest conductor Bill Conti, leads a 300-member choir thorough a rousing set of compositions. Then on the main stage country star Randy Travis and Better Than Ezra will perform.
During the weekend days local musicians will be the predominant entertainment and on Saturday evening it’s the 70s revisited with performances by War, Kool & the Gang, Average White Band, Gap Band and the Village People.
Sunday night is dubbed Louisiana Legends with performances by Tabby Thomas, Kenny Neal, Buckwheat Zydeco, LeRoux and The Neville Brothers.
Other activities include a Children’s Area with special entertainers and “hands-on learning and art experiences”-something to keep the ever-spastic kiddies occupied. A Gospel Tent, alternative music stage and Spoken Word stage complete the scene. Dozens of local chefs are promised, cooking up traditional Louisiana fare-perhaps with a French twist. Update: For those of you that have Huli’s 1999 Festival Calendar the World’s Largest Crawfish Boil, held in association with Bonne Fete has been cancelled. (Hours: Friday, 6 p.m.- midnight; Saturday noon-midnight; Sunday, noon-l0:30 p.m. 800-LA-ROUGE www.bonnefete.org)
A quick reminder about the St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph Day activities that span about a week and a half mid-March. The owner of the popular French Quarter bar, Molly’s, organizes a simple fun-loving St. Patrick’s Parade on March 12, about 6 p.m. through the Quarter, starting and ending at the bar. The supremely-popular cabbage throwing Irish Channel Parade takes place Saturday March 13 about 1 p.m. If you’re still standing that evening, the St. Joseph’s Day Parade is around 6 p.m.
On St. Patrick’s Day itself, Tuesday March 17, Parasol’s new owners carry on their traditional neighborhood street party from about noon to 9 p.m., green beer et al.
Bourre’s Bar in Gretna once again holds its annual block party (noon-9 p.m.) with a OJ, live music and plenty of Bar-B-Que under a huge tent. And that evening, around 6 p.m., the Downtown Irish Club marches through them Faubourg Marigny on Royal Street into the French Quarter. I usually try to catch them by Bud Rip’s or Markey’s Bar, where the marchers stop to quench their thirst.
The Italians celebrate their heritage on March 19 with public altars built of food paying tribute to St. Joseph. Although one may visit any of the private homes open to the public by looking for the notices in a special classified section of in the Times Picayune, I tend to feel a little more comfortable attending the larger festivities held at a few local churches and the Piazza D’Italia. (Italian-American Society 504-522-7294).
Mardi Gras Indians are experiencing a great surge of interest among the general public. Helped by the release of numerous new CDs and oft publicized images of men in elaborate costumes of feathers and sequins, Mardi Gras Indians are a cultural treasure uniquely bonded with what it means to live in New Orleans. Super Sunday, held the Sunday after St. Joseph’s Day (March 21), is the chance for you to experience this tradition up close and mingle among dozens of Indians as they march through the streets.
For anyone interested in local culture, this is a glorious experience to just soak up the scene and music on a beautiful day. Two different gatherings take place usually on the same day, but as with many a cool grass-roots event things can change at the last minute. Both of the locations are very similar; the Indians gather for a couple of hours as spectators mingle and then the Indians march their route. The starting locations are at Bayou St. John and Orleans around 11 a.m. and A.L. Davis Park at Washington and LaSalle around 1 p.m. (504-565- 7290 for Bayou St. John and 504- 897-9501 for Washington Ave.)
Although ’tis the season, so far this year I haven’t been invited to many crawfish boils. But you can satiate your crawfish craving with a quick drive down to Chalmette for the 23rd annual Louisiana Crawfish Festival (March 25-28). Thousands of pounds of crawfish are boiled up on the spot and the 20-or-so food booths do an excellent job of offering a variety of crawfish dishes–etouffee, gumbo, pasta, pie, pizza and stuffed bread. Additional food items include soft shell crab po-boys, cold seafood pasta, burgers and hot dogs.
Although the festival lacks much ambiance, being held in the parking lot area of the St. Bernard Cultural Center, it does offer plenty of crawfish and a pretty good musical lineup each year. Friday, the Bucktown All-Stars will appear; Saturday, Glen Fontenot and Pure Gold; and on, Sunday Bruce Daigrepont, Paul Varisco and the Milestones and Bobby Cure and the Summertime Blues.
A nice-sized carnival is set up during the festival as well as a dozen or so craft booths. A little park is located behind the Cultural Center if you want to stretch out but otherwise it’s you the cement and the crowds. The parking situation is pretty congested; most people end up parking in nearby K-Mart lots or they can find a space on nearby streets. (Hours: Thurs.-Fri., 5 p.m.- 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon-11 p.m. (504-271-0228).
