Wednesday, April 27, 2016

FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE LOUISIANE 2016

By
Gypsy Rhapsody
(A 1977 Airstream having fun with her owners, Vannie and Dave)

One of Vannie and Dave's favorite times of the year is...
being in Lafayette, LA for
Festival International de Louisiane.
Their daughter-in-law, Diane Harris, is the
production director for this festival year round.
One heck of a job...
According to V and D, it is one of those
"bucket list" festivals.
It is a FREE music and arts event celebrating the French cultural heritage of south Louisiana.

I hung around the old homestead place in Youngsville, LA.
Perfect spot to rest and recoup from the Florida trip.

The opening night of the festival was a little wet.

...but a miracle happened, and
the rain stopped...and God painted a rainbow in the sky...

..and Festival International de Louisiane 2016 said..."Bonjour"

Vannie said the opening was PRECIOUS.!
French Immersion students from Myrtle Place Elementary
and French students from Martinique had been practicing with
Zachery Richard on skyp for months.
The kids from Martinique flew over and "Viola"...
it happening.  MAGIC 

Dave said that this was the sky for the rest of the weekend.
F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S

V and D love hitting the festival streets early...
before the crowds.  They say it is a must-do.
This is downtown Lafayette.

Hospitality Room
Food...Clean bathrooms
The blue circle on the wall monitor is the festival emblem.

The Austin family showed up.
The grands are hard at work on a project in the Kid's Area.
r to l...Cooper, Vincent, daughter - Emilie, and Maddie.

Sister and Brother
Emilie and Ashley

Son-In-Law
Roy
Grubbing down on festival food
Vannie said that was his third plate (all different) in a matter of 30 minutes. 

Is that a popsicle?
Good gracious...it matches her dress.

Vincent with his concoction.

...and Mr. Cooper enjoying a slushy. 

Are we having fun yet?

Vannie and Maddie visiting with some of the kids from Martinique.
They didn't speak the same language, but somehow they communicated.

Vannie said the swings reminded her of the ones on the Bernice Elementary playground
in the 1950's...big and strong and fun.

Vincent and Maddie got passed off to V and D for Saturday night.
Boy, was I happy.  Vincent is lovin' cooking those hot dogs.

Sunglasses inside????

I guess so....

Back to the festival and passing them back to their parents.
They had a long ride back to Austin, but I bet
this tiger and kitty cat slept most of the way.

What???? My brother????
Vannie said this guy was one of the food trucks at the festival.
Must say...he's lookin' good.

On the way back to the truck, V and D ran into these guys...

...check out Dave on the left in his Florida shirt...
I think he is a wee bit mesmerized.

OK...festival is over...but guess what...
when V and D visit Lafayette..the eating never stops.
This is crawfish etouffee with stuffed crawfish heads,
compliments of Timmy Credeur and his wife Kitty.
TO DIE FOR...according to V and D... 


Amazing...obviously, the deal is...
when you finish eating (and sucking) the stuffed head, you just carefully
place the shell on the side of the place.
Is that cool, or what????

Vannie said...
"Gypsy, we didn't think we could eat one more bite...
and then Timmy brought out the homemade strawberry cheesecake."
Dave said,
"Best EVER"...

...a little fatter...
...a little happier...
...a little sleepier...

Bonne Nuit

4 comments:

  1. My favorite bedtime stories from Gypsy!! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hail hail the gangs all here!
    Sure do miss LA
    And a good time was had by all!

    ReplyDelete