April 22 - Festival International #1

The Festival begins tonight. Should be the highlight of my three month stay. I have been able to listen to so much music, dance 'til my feet burn and "study" the culture through films and conversations. This festival in Lafayette brings music from all over the world in addition to showcasing local talent - many of whom have already been mentioned in these posts.

Tonight, my friend Karen, from Arizona, is going to get her first dose of crazy!! Pine Leaf Boys are in the house (well, on the stage) and in full-on, knock 'em dead mode. The crowd is full of energy and the dancers look like they've died and gone to heaven --- cajun-style. The festival will continue through the weekend with arts, crafts, food and street performers enlivening the scheduled acts. It is my second taste of BIG FESTIVAL Louisiana-style, first being Jazz fest last year. The non-dancing crowd is heavy and it is tough to get through the streets.

After Pine Leaf Boys, the crowd begins to get even worse. There is only one stage tonight and the next act is Keith Frank Family Band, from the small rural community of Soileau in Allen Parish. Bio from the web, " Keith is the son of Preston Frank, member of one of the great Creole musical families. Their family can trace its musical lineage at least as far back as great-grandfather Joseph Frank Jr., an accordion player, and great-great-grandfather, Joseph Frank Sr., who played fiddle. Neither ever recorded. His great-uncle Carlton Frank, one of the last of the old-time Creole fiddlers, died in 2005, at the age of 74." A huge group of young people have come just for this performance. He now adds elements of rap to his music, which dismays purists but brings out these younger listeners.