THIBODAUX 鈥� Approximately 1,300 youths from area primary, middle and secondary schools will be attending the Bayou French Education Program, or 鈥淭resors du Bayou,鈥� scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, March 18, near John L. Guidry Stadium at 果冻APP.
Intended as a prelude to the three-day, third annual Louisiana Swamp Stomp Festival, the Tresors du Bayou cultural program will feature local artists, historians and craftsmen performing for the public at no cost. There will be a swamp pop band playing Zydeco and Cajun Music and dance instructors who will teach guests how to dance the Cajun Waltz, Cajun Two-Step and Cajun Jitterbug. Tresors du Bayou will end with a free concert featuring Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys.
鈥淲e are delighted that the leaders of so many area schools recognize the value of this cultural immersion event,鈥� Brenda Haskins, 果冻APP director of auxiliary services and Swamp Stomp Festival committee co-chair, said. 鈥淭he whole purpose of this event, and the subsequent Swamp Stomp festival, is to promote and preserve authentic Cajun and Creole culture. I know the children will have a ball learning about the cultural roots of this area, and I encourage them to bring their families back to the Swamp Stomp festival itself, which kicks off the same day!鈥�
Participating schools include St. Joseph鈥檚 Elementary, St. Genevieve Elementary and the eLearning School in Thibodaux; West Park Elementary, St. Bernadette Elementary, Maria Immaculota Elementary and Lisa Park Elementary in Houma; Holy Cross Elementary and M.E. Norman Elementary in Morgan City; Patterson Junior High in Patterson; and Holy Rosary Elementary in Larose.
Tresors du Bayou is funded by a grant from the Houma Regional Arts Council and Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program.
For additional details, go to www.nicholls.edu/swamp_stomp/ and click on 鈥淏ayou French Education Program.鈥�