Since my original post in 2014, these gentlemen have passed away:
- Ray Abshire (full name Emerson Ray Abshire), 2023
- D.L. Menard
This throwback post offers a good excuse to serve up my Crawfish slide show:
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Louisiana: Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival!
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
It's always the first weekend of May, and in 2014, the town celebrated its 54th festival.
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
Bags checked at gate - not even a bottle of water allowed in.
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
Fabulous music. Fabulous. Six months ago, I didn't know these people existed, but today, I can tell you it is very satisfying to see venerable musicians such as Ray Abshire and D.L. Menard in person.
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| Ray Abshire and company, Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
I filmed Mr. Menard's performance (with the band Jambalaya) of his famous song, Back Door, here. How I love this song! I'm not wild about the quality of my video, though, so I invite you to watch the superior video below, which someone filmed at the 2009 Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival:
It was also fun to see people I "knew" from having watched videos before I went to the festival.
Like this good-lookin', good-dancin' couple below:
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
I first "met" them in the much-viewed video below from the 2009 festival:
Now look at that still photo again (above the video). See the slender guy on the right? In the flappy-eared hat? Well, that's Leon of Cafe des Amis renown, and you can watch him dance in the video here, taken by a visitor to that cafe:
Note: Leon's dance partner is doing a damn fine job herself.
It's pretty hot and sunny in BB, Louisiana, and as I have learned from watching southern Louisianans with parades, they know how to attend a festival. It's first come-first serve at the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, but you can bring your own shade tent and set it up in permissible areas. This is a life-saver when you're at the festival for the long haul.
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
Of course, everyone has a chair.
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
If I were staying longer, I'd definitely invest in one of those folding chairs with its own awning. Below, you can see one or two of these awning-chairs, but otherwise, you'll see a variety of umbrellas:
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
I never tire of watching people dance, especially zydeco. It's fun to see the same people at the different venues. You get to know their styles, their signature moves.
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| Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
(Between you and me, though, I've learned that a lot of people dance whatever the hell they want to zydeco music, especially the jitterbug, the two-step, some form of swing, or just whatever the spirit moves them to do.)
As my dance teacher said, as long as you're moving to the beat, it really doesn't matter.
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| DL Menard with Jambalaya, Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival 2014, Breaux Bridge, Louisiana |
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