The festivity will begin with a cocktail reception and hors d’oeuvres at 6:30 p.m., followed by a three-course dinner prepared by well-trained student culinarians under the direction of distinguished visiting chef Joe Randall, owner of Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School in Savannah, Ga.

Special guests will include Stanley Jackson, a member of Randall’s African-American Chefs Hall of Fame, and Rudy Lombard, coauthor of “The Creole Feast,” a chronicle of African-American chefs in New Orleans throughout the 1970s. All gala dishes will be prepared from recipes featured in Lombard’s book.

In addition to fine dining, attendees can look forward to the annual live and silent auctions.

Corporate tables for 10 are available for $5,000, with Benefactor tables for eight available at $2,500. Regular seating is $150 per guest. Wine will be served during the meal, and every couple in attendance will receive a commemorative event poster. Cocktail attire is requested.

To order tickets, call (985) 449-7114. For additional information about the John Folse Culinary Institute, go to nicholls.edu/culinary/.

The 2009 Blessing of the Fleet in Chauvin, La.

The art festival will be held at the Chauvin Sculpture Garden and Nicholls State University Art Studio, located on Bayou Petit Caillou at 5337 Bayouside Drive in Chauvin, La. Free and open to the public, this event is held in conjunction with the traditional blessing of the fleet, the semi-annual boat parade along Bayou Petit Caillou during which shrimp boats are blessed by a local priest before the start of shrimp season.

The sculpture garden, featuring folk art by Kenny Hill, provides a convenient location from which to observe the blessing of the fleet, which is scheduled to begin around 12:30.

Musical entertainment will include swamp pop, folk and roots music and classic Cajun and Zydeco tunes by Moss Pickers, Mehlika’s Mirage Bellydance Troupe and Treater.

Festival guests are invited to meander through the many sculptures of Kenny Hill, visit the neighboring Nicholls Art Studio, and shop the booths and watch demonstrations by more than twenty local artists, including Joycelyn Boudreaux, Chuck Broussard, Jeff Brown, Susan Carver, Doris Dupre, Chris Hubbard, Chico Gomez, Yvonne James, Willie Lamendola, Deb Lillie, Janie Luster, John Perrilloux, Ellen McCord, Dottie Ratliff, Dennis Sipiorski, Michael Williams and others.

Guided tours through the sculpture garden will be hosted in both English and Cajun French, and an activity tent will be available for children and adults alike.

Festival visitors should park in the American Legion parking lot adjacent to the Sarah Bridge on La. 56. Shuttles will be running every 15 minutes to and from the festival, at no cost.

For additional information about the Chauvin Folk Art Festival, contact Dr. Gary LaFleur, festival coordinator and Nicholls associate professor of biological sciences, at (985) 448-4715 or gary.lafleur@nicholls.edu.

The 2011 Chauvin Folk Art Festival is supported by a grant awarded to the Friends of the Chauvin Sculpture Garden from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Houma Regional Arts Council; the Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program; and the Kohler Foundation.