2006 Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week

Overview of Dewey Balfa Cajun
and Creole Heritage Week
After having to miss all of the 2005 Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week, it was certainly a pleasure to return to Chicot State Park new Ville Platte, La., in April 2006 to join campers from 48 states and several foreign countries, along with locals, who, like me, worked at our regular jobs during the day but spent all the time we could manage partaking in a unique event that provides a true experience of Cajun and Creole culture in Evangeline Parish, location of the world famous town of Mamou and also of rural Creole communities like L'Anse de 'Prien Noir where Creole French is still spoken. The Heritage Week, sponsored by Louisiana Folk Roots, is named in honor of the late Dewey Balfa, a phenomenal musician who played a key role in reviving and preserving the French cultures of Southwest Louisiana. The pages posted on LSUE's web site primarily show the evening dances, along with a few photographs of two afternoon workshops led by master musicians with a few more shots of instructional sessions. Miss are photos of the specially prepared meals, the informal jam sessions, special performances, and a lot more that full-time campers got to enjoy. For more information on the Balfa Heritage Week, go to the Louisiana Folk Roots web site.

More Pages

The 2006 Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage opened with an evening dance featuring Balfa Toujours, joined my a number of other musicians as the night progressed.

Christine Balfa Powell

Courtney Granger and Dirk Powell

The Mamou Playboys' David Greely joined in on fiddle.

Jono Frishberg on twin fiddle with David Greely and Dirk Powell on accordion.

Courtney Granger (grand nephew of Dewey Balfa)

Jesse Lege is a popular Cajun musician who moved up north but manages to favor us with a visit to Louisiana several times a year.