Zydeco Festival Serves As A Reunion For Lebeau Community
Lebeau Zydeco Festival In Its 26th Year!
July 2, 2016
Holly Duchmann
The Daily World
With the sun peaking in the sky and not a cloud in sight, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie kicked off the 26th annual Lebeau Zydeco festival and enticed the local festival goers with their Cajun and Creole rhythms to forget about the July heat.
Hosted by the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in the small community of Lebeau in north St. Landry Parish, the festival is one of the main fundraisers of the church to help pay its insurance bill.
In an open field between the old Catholic school building, which was closed in the '80s, and the old church with peeling white paint and a red trim, the community, the church congregation and zydeco enthusiasts alike gathered under the shade of a patio to enjoy the music.
"(My favorite part is) just watching the people sitting around, talkin' and smilin' and waiting on the bands to get ready and shake a leg," said Geneva Lemon, a lifelong member of the congregation and co-coordinator of the event.
Lemon has been involved with the festival for the past 15 years and co-coordinates the event with Joseph Irving.
"The bringing people together, that's what I like," said Bernadine McKnight, one of the original founders of the festival. "Because that's what we originally intended to do. Bringing the alumni and the community back to where they originally started. It's like a big community."
And while though the music has stayed the same over the years, McKnight said, the crowd is different.
"At the beginning, it was more of middle-age and older people, but now it has got to all age groups," she said.
Shameika Jefferson traveled from Houston with her husband and three children to attend the festival. Though she was born in Texas, she says she has ties to Lebeau and a lot of her family is buried in the small cemetery next to the old church building.
"I love it here," Jefferson said. "My family works with the church."
She said her favorite part of the day was watching everyone dance, and though she doesn't know how to dance herself, she said she would like to learn.
Wearing red cowboy boots and a floral black halter top and twisting and turning all over the dance floor, Naomi Ashworth looked like she had been dancing to zydeco her entire life. She's only been dancing for the past 15 years, she said, after she heard zydeco at a festival, and this was her third time at the Lebeau Zydeco Festival.
"I just moved (to Acadiana) from Alabama so I could dance all of the time — 24/7," said Ashworth as she wiped sweat off her brow. "I just love to dance."
Lebeau Zydeco Festival In Its 26th Year!
July 2, 2016
Holly Duchmann
The Daily World
 |
| Dancing to the sounds of Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie Saturday at the annual Lebeau Zydeco Festival held on the grounds of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. (Photo: Freddie Herpin, Daily World) |
Hosted by the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in the small community of Lebeau in north St. Landry Parish, the festival is one of the main fundraisers of the church to help pay its insurance bill.
In an open field between the old Catholic school building, which was closed in the '80s, and the old church with peeling white paint and a red trim, the community, the church congregation and zydeco enthusiasts alike gathered under the shade of a patio to enjoy the music.
"(My favorite part is) just watching the people sitting around, talkin' and smilin' and waiting on the bands to get ready and shake a leg," said Geneva Lemon, a lifelong member of the congregation and co-coordinator of the event.
Lemon has been involved with the festival for the past 15 years and co-coordinates the event with Joseph Irving.
"The bringing people together, that's what I like," said Bernadine McKnight, one of the original founders of the festival. "Because that's what we originally intended to do. Bringing the alumni and the community back to where they originally started. It's like a big community."
And while though the music has stayed the same over the years, McKnight said, the crowd is different.
"At the beginning, it was more of middle-age and older people, but now it has got to all age groups," she said.
Shameika Jefferson traveled from Houston with her husband and three children to attend the festival. Though she was born in Texas, she says she has ties to Lebeau and a lot of her family is buried in the small cemetery next to the old church building.
"I love it here," Jefferson said. "My family works with the church."
She said her favorite part of the day was watching everyone dance, and though she doesn't know how to dance herself, she said she would like to learn.
Wearing red cowboy boots and a floral black halter top and twisting and turning all over the dance floor, Naomi Ashworth looked like she had been dancing to zydeco her entire life. She's only been dancing for the past 15 years, she said, after she heard zydeco at a festival, and this was her third time at the Lebeau Zydeco Festival.
"I just moved (to Acadiana) from Alabama so I could dance all of the time — 24/7," said Ashworth as she wiped sweat off her brow. "I just love to dance."
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