Eunice, Louisiana: On the Way to the Powwow: Savoy Music Jam

Cajun jam and Savoy Music Center, Eunice, Louisiana.

On my list of South Louisiana things to do before I leave was a visit to the Saturday Cajun jam at the Savoy Music Center. 

Cajun jam and Savoy Music Center, Eunice, Louisiana.

I like how it's in a prosaic space, surrounded by inventory on shelves, in boxes, kind of dusty, like places with lots of shelves and boxes often are. On the sales counter, visitors place boxes of donuts, cracklins, etc. to share. There's a pot of coffee with the usual cups and fixin's, and a donation jar for said goods.

The morning I went, there were locals plus two women from Paris and a family from Atlanta, Georgia. I'm sure there were folks of other provenence as well.

Below is one of the videos I took. The man seated on my left, in the audience, played the triangle. The woman in blue in the jam circle is from Atlanta.

I like the respect shown both Cajun and Creole music here, as evidenced by t-shirts and CDs for sale.

There's a sign on a wall that says, basically, "Hey! Let the elders get the performance time first and then you yowwens can have a turn."

Cajun jam and Savoy Music Center, Eunice, Louisiana.

Vehicles park alongside the busy 190 and walk into the Music Center driveway to enter the building.

Many songs are in French; the triangle-playing man next to me chatted in French with the Parisians.

The Savoy Music Center is owned by the Savoy family - a very musical family. Ah, and this gives me an excuse to play Wilson Savoy's foot-and-accordion performance in the 2014 Squeezebox Shootout in Jennings:

Is it possible to watch the video and not smile? I think not.

Wilson Savoy's band Pine Leaf Boys also figured in my video at the Courir de Mardi Gras at Vermilionville in 2014 below:

So happy I was able to be at Vermilionville's courir de Mardi Gras.

Eunice, Louisiana: Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

March brings the Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off. The 2014 event was the 29th Annual, sha.

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

It's extraordinary to smell the fragrances of  muddy bayou, spicy crawfish boil, and cinnamon buns all at once. I couldn't decide if I loved it or felt repelled by it. Attempts to come to a conclusion required many careful inhalations, to no avail. 

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

The cultural fusion depicted below is pretty astounding in its complexity, even though it may appear kitschy on the surface. Everything means something: the colors, the courir de Mardi Gras mask and hat, the more urban Mardi Gras crown, the use of the crawfish as a totem; the beads, the gold coin, the fishing basket.  At least some features date back more than a thousand years. 

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

There was a woman at the festival selling handmade dolls for the Wishing Doll Project.

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

The Wishing Doll Project sells the handmade dolls to support enhancements in high poverty, high performance schools. The current drive is for an outdoor reading garden at Eunice's East Elementary School.

Do you think I loved this t-shirt? It really made me laugh.

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

The KBON radio guy kindly posed for me so I could get a good pic of it.

Of course, there is no southern Louisiana festival without music and dancing.

Eunice Crawfish Etoufee Cook-Off, March 2014. 

And here's a slide show:

#30

Louisiana: Boudin

Boudin from Eunice Superette, Eunice, Louisiana.

Boudin. A traditional southern Louisiana food.

You pronounce it: boo' - dan.

Sometimes called cajun sausage.

Mixture of rice, seasonings, onion, pepper, and (traditionally) pork (including liver) - stuffed in a casing, which is a fancy way of saying "pig intestines."

Boudin from Eunice Superette, Eunice, Louisiana.

Ya gotcher tamale trail in Mississippi. There's the search for the perfect chiles rellenos in New Mexico.

I like the demonstration of boudin-making in the above video, but I respectfully disagree with the maker's disdain of organ meats in favor of "good cuts" of meat to make boudin. A better cut of meat changes the flavor of the boudin; it doesn't necessarily make it better. And as a prosaic food stuff, it seems more true to the boudin spirit to stick with the original meat sources. 

Louisiana has its boudin trail. In fact, it has at least three: the Cajun Boudin Trail (affiliated with Boudin Link below), the Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail, and the Southern Boudin Trail. Most of the boudin purveyors on these trails are meat markets. However, there's also a wide fan base for "gas station boudin."

The Boudin Link has a long list of boudin rated by "Dr. Boudin."

I ate my first boudin at the Eunice Superette in March. Tasty.

The Boudin Festival is coming up soon in Scott, Louisiana, the alleged boudin capital of the world. Pretty good chance I'll be there.

Boudin Festival 2014, Scott, Louisiana. Source: Louisiana Boudin Festival.