Experience Louisiana Festival expected to return for 2nd year

The first Experience Louisiana Festival passed many of its tests during its two-day run on the Louisiana State University Eunice campus.
About 5,000 people attended the festival Saturday and Sunday where their experiences included music, folk crafts, food, film and a Mardi Gras run.
Dwight Jodon, an organizer and spokesman for the festival, said it took courage on the part of those who participated because it was the first.
“It was beyond expectations,” he said. “What people walked into Saturday morning was what we’ve seen in our minds all along.”
The festival was planned for 18 months as a revival of the Louisiana Folklife Festival that was held in Eunice during the 1980s and 1990s.
The Eunice Rotary Club launched the festival and picked up key partners in LSUE and the National Park Service, which operates the Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice.
Jodon was unsure if the festival broke even financially, but he said, “we are talking dates right now” about a second Experience Louisiana Festival.
Finding the same view among festival-goers was easy.
Pam Rivers of Massachusetts, who had completed a dance, said, “I wanted to see the Savoy Family Band and The Band Courtbouillon. It doesn’t get any better than Courtbouillon. It would be great to see it come back next year. I’d love to see it.”
Jodon said of festival-goers, “I think they were just really pleasantly surprised at the the scope. That’s what we heard over and over. ‘We had no idea it was going to be like this. We had no idea it was going to be this big.’”
Jodon credits planning and hard work for the successful execution of the festival.
“We had really strong people in charge of each of those big pieces,” he said.
The festival was organized into a Folklife Village, Artist’s Village, Walk Through Louisiana, Film Village, Cooking Demonstrations, Antique Car Show, Musicians Village, Ag Village, Craft Village and Food Village.
“The comments we got were that the personality of this festival was welcoming and hospitable and friendly and safe,” Jodon said.
“We heard over and over from people that they felt safe,” he said.
Jodon credits the security provided by the Eunice Police Department, Eunice Marshal’s Office and LSUE security for the safe atmosphere.
Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot said the only incident during the festival was a report of a hit and run incident on the parking lot after the festival ended Sunday.
The festival grounds remained clear of trash the entire two days, Jodon said. “It was the cleanest crowd I’ve been around. There was no litter,” he said.
There were some glitches, Jodon. Among those were a power generator issue, which was remedied by the use of a St. Landry Parish Government generator.
Festival merchandise is still available, he said. Call 337-457-1776 for more information.
The festival finances may be complete by the end of the week, Jodon said.
Festival proceeds are to benefit the LSU Eunice Foundation Scholarship Fund, the Eunice Chamber of Commerce and Eunice Rotary Club Community Outreach, which includes the Eunice Community Free Health Clinic, holiday food boxes for the needy, student scholarships, water well mission projects and polio eradication.