Festival promises fun for everyone

By Anne Lautzenheiser
Published on Monday, July 2, 2007 9:27 AM CDT

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St. Tammany News

Heritage Park will be the place for food, fun, and fireworks at the 10th Annual Slidell Heritage Festival on July 4.

Last year's event drew more than 6,000 attendees, and festival officials expect an even larger turnout this year, due in part to the mid-week timing of the Independence Day holiday.

"So many folks go out of town when it's on a Friday or Saturday," said Kevin Pearson, chairman of the Heritage Festival Foundation. "It's on a Wednesday this year, so we'll definitely have more. Maybe even as many as 10,000 people could show up."

Live music will be performed throughout the day, starting with Bruce Daigrepont at 3:30 p.m., performing traditional Cajun and Zydeco tunes. Following Daigrepont's band will be the Alley Cats at 5:30 p.m. with rock 'n' roll classics from the '70s and 80s. Then country favorite Johnny Lee takes the stage at 7:15 p.m. Popular cover band the Chee Weez will close out the event after the fireworks on Bayou Bonfouca. A disc jockey will provide entertainment between acts.

Giant inflatables will be installed at the playground for the kids, and members of Slidell Art League Teens will provide face painting. The Slidell Art League will also present Art on the Bayou from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. during the festival, showcasing art from over a dozen local artists. This is the first time an art exhibit has been included as part of the event.

Local vendors, such as Redfish Trading Company, will provide food concessions. Attendees can choose from not only pizza and poboys, but can sample such delicacies as Italian smoked Cajun alligator. Of course the perennial favorite, funnel cakes, will also be available.

Admission is $5, and proceeds will benefit a number of local charities, including STARC, Habitat for Humanity, Rainbow Child Care, Northshore Disaster Recovery Inc., Slidell Boy Scouts, Community Christian Concern and the Slidell Boys and Girls Club. Volunteers from these organizations will provide assistance with parking, ticket collection, and other services during the event.

Pearson, in his second year of chairing the event, is optimistic about the outcome and praises city officials for their support.

"The city has been tremendously helpful in making it a great event," he said. "Everything runs like clockwork."

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Comments

6 comment(s)

Anjelina wrote on Jul 12, 2008 5:36 AM:

" http://bbs.flashget.com/en/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=12104 "

Cody Chenevert wrote on Jul 10, 2008 11:49 PM:

" be happy to drive and drop off my recyclables in Slidell. The environment is worth saving and I know our fellow St. Tammany residence feel the same way. "

Cody Chenevert wrote on Jul 10, 2008 11:48 PM:

" It is a shame that I have to drive all the way from Slidell to Baton Rouge just to do my part in saving our environment. Our relatives In Los Angeles get a pretty penny for their recyclables enough to be exact that would be able to pay my car note. I can’t even imagine getting paid to recycle, considering we don’t even have recycling in the first place. So this article is a relief, and I hope this company follows through with their plan. All I am asking is for a public recycling drop-off location, because I will "

Cody Chenevert wrote on Jul 10, 2008 11:47 PM:

" our older house which was 1/3 the size as our newly constructed home, and by this time next year I will be looking at solar panels on our roof. So I know firsthand going green is worth every penny. We did the hard part now all we need to do is recycle all of those plastic bottles in the garage along with the paper and glass that is stacking up. I refuse to throw it away, when we visit relatives in Baton Rouge I take all of my recyclables with us and drop it in there (Coastal) sized recycle bin. "

Cody Chenevert wrote on Jul 10, 2008 11:46 PM:

" St. Tammany is falling behind; other parishes in Louisiana have already implemented recycling on a major scale, the Baton Rouge area for intense. I see it every day “go green recycle” I know I have gone as green as I can for the time being but I have hit a MAJOR road block, I can’t recycle which is the basic “go green” plow along with changing to compact florescent light bulbs. Our entire house has CFL light bulbs along with Foam insulation, and all energy star appliances and let me tell you our electric bill is about $50 cheaper than "

vicki benitez wrote on Jun 10, 2008 10:32 PM:

" I believe we could start recycling with containers located in strategic places that people could drop off their recyclable items. This is something that we have to start doing asap. Drop offs would elimnate their driving around to too many homes problem. If this company is not interested, we need to get someone who is!!! "

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