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Shown below are photos from Saturday's Roots Heritage Day (April
21), which
extended from late morning until late evening. Click on thumbnails to access larger
photos. Dances were held under a big tent, while
workshops and jam sessions were offered at nearby locations.
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members sold a variety of Cajun and Creole dishes (including
cochon de lait roasted on a Cajun-converted charette), and arts and
crafts were also on sale. |
The transformed charette
(click for larger photo) |
Still photos, of course, do not offer much beyond a
sense of the visual ambience. For videos, trying
searching "Balfa Camp" or similar terms in YouTube and
be sure to check out the photos and videos at
CajunTunes.com.
Click here for
photos of the evening dances held April 20, 22, 23, 24, 25 and
26. |
Overview of
Dewey Balfa Cajun
and Creole Heritage
Week
The 2007 Dewey
Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week, held April 20-26 at
Chicot State Park, attracted about 105 campers coming from some
40 states and six foreign countries. The daytime activities
were limited to the campers, but each evening members of the
surrounding communities joined the campers for dances featuring
top Cajun, Creole, and Zydeco bands. Roots Heritage Day,
shown in the photos on this page, was open to everyone,
both campers and community members from throughout the
region.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. For more information on the Balfa Heritage Week, go to
the Louisiana Folk Roots
web site.
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Jonno Frishberg and Bayou Deville
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Corey Ledet and His Zydeco Band
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T-Salé
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Bonsoir, Catin
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Recognition: Jodi Hebert
Jodi Hebert, former executive director of
Louisiana Folk Roots, was honored Saturday evening for her hard work
and dedication. Making the presentation is Eric Fahey, who each year
constructs the wooden dance floor for the Heritage Week, joined on
stage by members of the Balfa family, who served as volunteers for
the event.
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Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha
Chas
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Dancers
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Workshop: Juré
Cecile Broussard led a workshop on the
very old juré tradition of call-response singing in which
hand-clapping and foot-stomping provide the rhythm.
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Workshop: The Music of Cyprien
Landreneau
The workshop highlighted the life and
music of the late Cyprien Landreneau, including recollections by his
daughter, Margaret Aucoin, and son-in-law, Gilbert Aucoin (aka
Chicken and Winky Aucoin), his grandsons, Louie Aucoin, playing his
high-tech version of a washtub bass, and Jean-Jacques Aucoin on
accordion and vocals, with Lee Tedrow on guitar and Dirk Powell on
fiddle. As leaders of the band T-Salé, the two grandsons perform
several songs originally played by Adam and Cyprien Landreneau, who
were cousins.
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Workshop: The Music of the Balfa
Brothers
Participants included Christine Balfa
Powell, daughter of Dewey Balfa; Ray Abshire, who played with the
Balfa Brothers after his distant cousin Nathan left the group; Peter
Schwarz, who apprenticed with Dewey Balfa, developing a very close
relationship (when he died in 1992, Dewey left Schwarz his fiddle);
and Courtney Granger, Dewey Balfa's grand-nephew whose vocals and
fiddle style carry on the Balfa tradition. For some videos of
the workshop, go to
CajunTunes.com.
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Workshop: Gospel
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Jam Sessions
Leading the sessions are, from left
photo, Jeffery Broussard, Courtney Granger, and Kristi Guillory.
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