Festival receives $10k from state; French official visits Eunice

The Experience Louisiana Festival had a big day Thursday as it learned of a $10,000 state grant for marketing and met with Gregor Trumel, consul general for the Consulate General of France in Louisiana.
Dwight Jodon, one of the festival organizers, announced the grant awarded through Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne’s office.
“That is just huge for us,” Jodon said of the grant.
Also huge for the festival was Trumel’s attendance at the meeting held in the Louisiana State University Eunice Community Education Building attended by about 20 people.
Trumel said it was too soon to discuss specifics about his office’s involvement in the festival.
“The role for the consulate general is very important to help people understand that the French culture, the French legacy is really special for Louisiana,” he said. “So, we can help with the festival to make connections and to attract some French bands ... and perhaps to take part in the activities and bring some people from the French community.”
Trumel has visited St. Landry Parish before, but this was his first visit to Eunice and the first for a consul general to visit Eunice.
Trumel heard from a variety of people in his visit including former Mayor Curtis Joubert.
“We are working in a very special environment, which is the bilingual French-English environment,” Trumel said.
The Experience Louisiana Festival will be held Oct. 17 to 18 on the LSU Eunice campus.
The festival is a revival of the successful Louisiana Folklife Festival held in 1980s and 1990s in Eunice.
Last month, festival organizers met with Charles Larroque, executive director of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana.