THIBODAUX – The Chauvin Folk Art Festival and Blessing of the Fleet Celebration is scheduled for Sunday, April 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nicholls State University Chauvin Sculpture Garden and Art Studio, located at 5337 Bayouside Drive in Chauvin.
Participants will enjoy live music by the Lost Bayou Ramblers, Treater and Mellowberry; demonstrations by more than a dozen local and regional artists; an historic boat parade on Bayou Petit Caillou; a children’s tent with various art activities; and guided tours through the sculpture garden in both English and Cajun French.
Free and open to the public, the Chauvin Folk Art Festival is held in conjunction with the semi-annual Blessing of the Fleet, a boat parade during which shrimp boats are blessed by a local priest before the start of shrimp season.
The festival also provides an opportunity to experience the folk art of Kenny Hill, on display at the Chauvin Sculpture Garden.
The 2009 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; a
Community Partnership grant from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation; and the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program.
For additional information, call (985) 448-4444 or go to www.nicholls.edu/folkartcenter.
