By: Shane Rasmussen
NATCHITOCHES – The audience at the 43rd annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival held on July 22 was entertained and educated about the rich and diverse cultural offerings of the state. The Festival featured traditional Louisiana foods, Kidfest activities, music, traditional crafts, narrative sessions, musical informances, and cultural exhibits. This year’s Festival theme “Celebrating Louisiana’s Cultural Gumbo” was a great success, with a very happy audience.
The Festival opened on Saturday morning with music performances in Prather Coliseum by the Cajun Stompers, Gal Holiday and the Honky Tonk Revue, the Home Grown Tomaters, Hugh Harris and the Drifting Cowboys, Mississippi bluesman Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, the Jambalaya Cajun Band, James Kinden Hogg, Los Rancheritos de la Sierra, the Rick Adams Band, the Russell Welch Hot Quartet with special guest Marty Peters, Rusty Metoyer & the Zydeco Krush, Cajun and zydeco dance lessons by the Cajun French Music Association Dance Troupe and interpretive performances by the Broussard Family Juré. Also highly popular were dance and music performances by the Louisiana Czech Heritage Dancers and the Choctaw-Apache Rising Sun Youth Dance Group and an open jam session led by the Cajun Stompers.
In addition to stage performances there were narrative sessions and music informances, including conversations about traditional blacksmithing, Cane River Creole traditions, the Cajun Dance tradition, the Choctaw-Apache Rising Sun Youth Dance Group and Louisiana folk foods and cookery. Also featured were music informances by Rick Adams and Jimmy “Duck” Holmes. Outdoor activities included demonstrations by the Central Louisiana Dutch Oven Cookers, the Red River Smiths, and Wash Day, presented by the West Baton Rouge Museum. This year the Festival continued a series of free workshops for Festival attendees. A harmonica workshop led by bluesman Ed Huey was very well attended, with free Hohner harmonicas given out to workshop participants.
The annual Louisiana State Fiddle Championship was also held on Saturday in the Magale Recital Hall as part of the Festival. Fiddle Championship judges included James Linden Hogg, Phillip Mayo and Ron Yule. The new Louisiana Grand Champion is Curry Perkins of Ragley. Second place winner was Clancey Stewart of Florien, with Joe Suchanek of Maryville placing third, and Ron Pace of Alexandria placing fourth. Stewart took first in the 22-59 championship division, with Perkins coming in second. Suchanek took first in the 60 and up championship division, with Ron Pace of Alexandria coming in second. Stewart and Suchanek took first place in the twin fiddles competition.
As the new Louisiana State Fiddle champion, Perkins also performed on the main stage in Prather Coliseum. Gidget, Sophie and Susan Rasmussen managed the fiddle championship. Dr. Susan Roach from Louisiana Tech University emceed the championship.
A traditional crafts person and five musicians were inducted into the Louisiana Folklife Center’s Hall of Master Folk Artists. Inductees included cultural authority and traditional crafter Rhonda Gauthier, who also served as honorary Festival Chair, the Broussard Family Juré group and country musician Hugh Harris. Dr. Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center, led the induction ceremony, assisted by Cherry Perkins, Ms. 2023 Avoyelles Arts and Music Festival Queen and Jace Jordan, Miss 2023 Avoyelles Arts and Music Festival Queen.
This year’s Festival saw the return of the Gumbo Cookoff, which was coordinated by Folklife Center graduate assistant Zoe Hebert. Winners of the cookoff were Elvin Shields in the People’s Choice category, Laurie and Merrill Smith in the Poultry Plus category and Joel Sylvie in the Seafood category. Judges were Mona Bamburg, director of the Natchitoches Parish Library; Dr. Kent Peacock, director of the Creole Heritage Center, and Natchitoches Mayor Ronnie Williams.
In addition to two book signings and exhibits by the Cammie G. Henry Research Center, Cane River Creole National Historical Park, the Creole Heritage Center and Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site, 60 craftspeople displayed their traditional work on Saturday. These craftspeople demonstrated and discussed their work with the Festival patrons. Craftspeople displayed accordion making, beadwork, baskets, Czech Pysanky eggs, filé making, flintknapping, folk art, knives, music instruments, quilting, pottery, spinning & weaving, tatting, walking sticks, whittling and needlework, wood carving and more. Eleven food vendors provided a cornucopia of traditional Louisiana foods to the Festival audience.
Support for the festival was provided by grants from the Cane River National Heritage Area, Inc., the City of Natchitoches, the Louisiana Division of the Arts Decentralized Arts Fund Program, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Shreveport Regional Arts Council and the State of Louisiana.
Much needed support also came from generous sponsorships from Bank of Montgomery, City Bank & Trust, Clear Water Pools & Spas, the City of Natchitoches, Cleco, Domino’s Pizza, the Donut Hole, Exchange Bank, Georgia’s Gift Shop, Grayson’s Barbecue, the Harrington Law Firm, International Paper, Jeanne’s Country Garden, the Jena Choctaw Band of Indians, Little Caesars, Mama’s Oyster House, McGee’s Patio Café, Merci Beaucoup Restaurant, the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, Natchitoches Wood Preserving, OLS Cookie Jar, Pelican’s Post Too, Piggly Wiggly, Raising Cane’s, Southern Classic Fried Chicken, Super 1 Foods Natchitoches 604 and 613, Trail Boss Steakhouse, Walmart, Waste Connections and Weaver Brothers Land & Timber. In addition, numerous newspapers, online venues, and radio and TV stations assisted the Festival by generously printing articles, airing interviews and free promotional PSAs.
The success of the Festival was made possible due to the many people from NSU’s faculty and staff who gave so generously of their time and talents. The Louisiana Folklife Center is grateful to Dr. Lisa Abney, David Antilley, Donna Baker, Amber Beasley, Melanie Braquet, Sean Callander, Kay Cavanaugh, Jason Church, Samantha Culver, Chris Shella Dalmace, Alicia Davis, Sherrie Davis, Michelle DeMattie, Dr. Khirsten Doolan, Kayla Dunagan, Anthony Dyjack, Catrice Ellis, Officer Nick Franklin, Cassidy Gandy, Dr. Kathryn Gentry, Cody Germany, Paula Gooden, Officer Brian Goody, Dr. Hiram F. “Pete” Gregory, Captain Wesley Harrell, Jackie Hawkins, Daphne Hines, Dr. Steve Horton, Carla Howell, Martin Iddon, Leah Jackson, Dr. J. Ereck Jarvis, Alysia Jones, Officer Kelvin Jones, Dr. Marcus Jones, Pat Jones, Jennifer Kelly, Dr. Francene Lemoine, Jon Lentz, Millard Mangum, Officer Tonya Mason, Byron McKinney, Chasity McKinney, Taylor Morgan, Melinda Parnell, Emily Posey, Chris Reich, Tamila Reliford, Dr. Thomas Reynolds, Kendrise Rushing, Valerie Salter, Michael Scott, Dr. Jennifer Shaw, Taylor Shephard, Trena Smith, Brent C. Thomas, Charlotte Thomas, Gwendolyn Tucker-Meshell, Hillary Ward, Yolanda Washington, David West, Emily Windham and Dale Wohletz. NSU students included Brandon Cagle, Jordan Johnson,and Breanna Melancon. Many thanks are due to the Louisiana Folklife Center staff, including administrative coordinator Bessie Jones, student workers Alayna Charles, LeT’Anna Ledet and Aaron Malone, graduate assistants Zoe Hebert and Nina Murray and Folklife Center intern Regina Brossett. And many thanks go out to the new Festival crew, Matt DeFord and Jovan Jones.
Thanks also go out to Rick Adams, Mona Bamburg, Jennae Biddiscombe, Mary Bindas, Rebecca Blankenbaker, Christy Castille, the Central Louisiana Dutch Oven Cookers, Donald Choate, Helen Dalme, George Darfus, Atticus DeFord, Cheryl Devall, Tedd Dumas, Sandy Dunn, Eli Dyjack, Justin French, Dustin Fuqua, Arlene Gould, Jerry Hale, Rodney Harrington, Dr. Don Hatley, Jim Hogg, David Holcombe, Ed Huey, Terry Huval, Peter Jones, Barbara Leach, Melissa Tucker Megason, Judy Montet, Verna Murray, Audrey Rasmussen, Gidget Rasmussen, Ramona Rasmussen, Sophie Rasmussen, Susan Rasmussen, Megan Reed, Jake Rivers, Dr. Susan Roach, Deb Rock, Romulus Roquemore and Fisher’s Sports, the Red River Sanitors, Kevin Shannahan, Hank Staples and WHS Productions, Clancey Stewart, Bill Vance, Vita Riner and 318 Latino, Mayor Ronnie Williams, Jr., Ralph Wilson, Shirley Winslow, Marty Young, Ron Yule and the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center trustees.
