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AUGUST 2005 Edition
PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE:
I hope every one is managing to stay cool this very hot
summer season and on a personal note, I am extremely grateful that my
festival is held in air-conditioning.
On June 24th, I had the privilege of judging
the young Miss 4th of July Pageant in Erath. Thank you to
Dennis and Natalie Mouton for making me feel so welcome. On Saturday
June 25th, Janet and I had the pleasure to serve as the
Pageant Directors for the Miss Erath 4th of July Festival
Queen’s Pageant for the Teen, Ms., Lady Liberty and Miss Pageants. It
was very nice to be back in Erath and they have a tremendous group of
people devoted to this organization and to the town of Erath. Our
congratulations to all of you for a job well done.
On June 30th, I had the opportunity to travel
to Rochester, New York and the home of the Monroe County Fair to judge
the Mrs. New York America Pageant. Needless to say, I had a wonderful
time and it is always interesting and enjoyable to meet and talk with
other fair and festival people from throughout the country.
On July 9th, we held our annual Miss Cajun
Music Queens’ Pageant and we are pleased to announce we had 89
contestants in 11 age divisions. This was quite a night for us because
as you looked around the room, you saw so many L.A.F.F. friends there to
help us out. Our sincere thanks go to Dennis Mouton who served as our
auditor; Natalie Mouton, Erath 4th of July, for helping out
back stage; Gale LuQuette from the Louisiana Cattle Festival, Linda
McKinney from the Independence Italian Festival, and Al Dupré, Jr., from
Thibodauxville for serving as judges for us that night; Barbara Horaist,
Louisiana Cattle Festival and our Queen of Queens, Lana Meche, for
serving as judges during the day; Marlene Habetz, Festival Ray-La-Ne for
working backstage, and Equilla Victorian, District 2 Representative and
Jimmy Meaux, District 3 Representative for attending. Everyone’s help
was greatly appreciated.
On July 16th and 17th, we held our
Cajun Music and Food Festival at air-conditioned Burton Coliseum. Once
again, thanks go to Dennis and Natalie Mouton for helping us out at the
festival as well. We congratulate our new queens, which include our
Miss Cajun Music Erica Pickering; Teen Miss Cajun Music Courtney Shaw,
and Ms. Cajun Music Erin Keenan.
Janet and I are looking forward to hosting the L.A.F.F.
Board meeting at our home on Saturday July 23rd. We are just
hoping the weather will be nice and not quite as hot.
Once again I remind each fair and festival that it is up
to YOU to make the hotel reservations for your
queens. If you have not sent Janet your queen’s name for 2005, please
do so as soon as possible. Our Email address is
robpiraro@aol.com .
As always, if you need anything, please do not hesitate
to contact us. We are here to serve.
s/Rob Piraro
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VICE-PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE:
Despite the heat, the fairs/festivals continue. This
month I traveled to The Cajun Music Pageant, as always a great turn out,
Rob and Janet do an awesome job. I took a trip down to Morse Recreation
in Morse, LA met with Jim Meaux, where we spoke with the festival
chairman and the carnival manager with D’Heilly and Sons. I also
attended the Cajun Music Festival which was a great event
Preparations are well underway for the 2006 LAFF
convention. If you have not made your Hotel reservations, the Holiday
Inn select is out of double beds all they have is King Size Beds
available. The two adjoining hotels are Hampton Inn and Embassy
Suites. If you want to make reservations at these hotels the phone
numbers are: Hampton Inn 225-926-9990; Embassy Suites 225-924-6566.
Room rates for the Embassy Suites are $94.00 + 13% tax =
$106.22 for double occupancy. Room rates for the Hampton Inn are $83.00
+ 13% tax = $93.79 for double occupancy.
We are currently looking for any items red, white or blue
to decorate the banquet rooms, American flags, any items for table
decorations, if you find any items please call me.
s/ Dennis Mouton
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PAST-PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE
I had the opportunity to attend
the Louisiana Catfish Festival on Sunday July 24. Although it was hot,
the crowd was nice and the food was selling fast. I ran into David
Boudier and Janet, and spoke briefly to Kurt and Lydia Dempster. Kurt
was busy as usual; you would think he was the Fair Chairman or
something. The Queens, Miss, Rachael Held and Teen Queen, Amanda
Dempster were busy doing queenly things but both were lovely. Although
Hurricane Dennis caused a reschedule for the event, they did
exceptionally well. Saturday evening while returning from Lake Charles,
we were going to stop in, but could not find a parking place, so we
decided to go on Sunday. Congrats to Kurt Dempster, his Queens, and the
entire Catfish Staff, who made us feel like family once again.
s/ Warren Deemer
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TREASURER’s REPORT:
Is it HOT, or WHAT?! I am so
thankful that I do not work outside and that air conditioning exists!!
I certainly hope that all summer festivals/fairs have had great weather
and record attendances.
On June 25, I attended the
Erath 4th of July Pageant and saw Dennis and Natalie Mouton's daughter,
Leslie, crowned as their new Miss Queen. Congratulations, Leslie, you
will indeed be a great representative of your festival!
On July 9, I judged the Cajun
French Music and Food Festival Pageants for babies through 13-year-olds
in Lake Charles. There were many contestants, and the decisions were
hard ones. Thanks, Mitzie Sanders, for showing us great hospitality!
Thus far, it has been a pretty
slow month for me with respect to visiting festivals/fairs. I have been
busy learning the Quick Books program for the treasurer's reports, etc.
It's not that bad -- a lot different from logging in everything by hand
on ledger sheets.
Please continue getting your
patriotic clothes and ideas ready for the February convention. Also,
please volunteer your time and expertise to serve on a convention
committee.
Should anyone need help with
their events, please feel free to contact me at
bnhoraist@aol.com
or at 337-893-6328.
s/ Barbara T. Horaist
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SECRETARY’s REPORT:
On July 30th, Mona
& I traveled to Erath. We enjoyed the festivities with Dennis and
Natalie Mouton, as well as being with many of the LAFF folks. We
enjoyed spending a little time with the board and officers of the 4th
of July Celebration. That day, Mona & I also represented LAFF at the
wake of Gale LuQuette’s father in Abbeville. Typical of Louisiana, we
walk in knowing about five people, before we leave it’s like we’ve been
family for years. Truly a nice family.
I want to thank Rob and Janet
Piraro for inviting me to judge the Cajun French Music & Food Festival
Pageant. I was very impressed with the contestants in the divisions I
judged and thoroughly enjoyed the pageant. As always, Mona & I were
made to feel special, as everyone was so hospitable. Thanks for
inviting us. If your pageant is in need of a judge just Email (laffadupre@yahoo
.com)
or call 985-637-5487.
s/ Al Dupré
DISTRICT # 5 DIRECTOR
I would like to report that we
had an excellent board meeting in Lake Charles on July 23rd.
Congratulations to the Louisiana Peach Festival and welcome back to LAFF.
s/ Chris Giordano
QUEEN of QUEENS
Let Freedom Ring! While this is the theme for the 2006
LAFF convention, this month’s travels were full of patriotic
celebrations and shouts of freedom!
I began my travels with the Erath 4th of July
Festival, where I attended the beautiful outdoor mass and witnessed the
signing of the queens’ contracts.
On July 2, I attended the Greater Mandeville Seafood
Festival. I was greeted with warm welcomes by the Association and its
President, Mr. Bill Dobson. My family and I were given free passes and
VIP backstage passes to that festival. From there, I went to Bogalusa
for the Paper Queen’s Ball and Activities. I was able to meet the mayor
and local firemen, in addition to welcoming the new Paper Queen.
On July 9, I judged the baby Pageant for the Cajun Music
Festival in Lake Charles, and that evening, I attended the Cajun Music
Miss Pageant. Many thanks to Mitzie Sanders and Janet and Rob Piraro
for their great hospitality. That Monday, I visited Rayne and took part
in a “Parade of Royalty” for the Louisiana Bed & Breakfast Association
Convention.
On July 16, I served as emcee for the Miss Breaux Bridge
Pageant, and then traveled to Lutcher for the Miss St. James Sugar
Pageant. As always, it was an outstanding production! That night, Mr.
Warren Deemer and his wife rented a hotel room for my family and me, and
the next day, I judged the Miss & Master Liberty with him in Bridge
City. Mr. Warren & Mrs. Tootsie, thanks for the warm hospitality and
the breakfast at Shoney’s.
On July 23, I traveled to Lake Charles and attended the
quarterly LAFF Board Meeting, where I met up with all of my beloved LAFF
Board members and shared a day of business, laughs, and lunch. That
evening, I visited Gonzales for the Swamp Pop Music Festival Pageant.
During the last weekend in July, I attended the Miss St.
Charles Parish Pageant, and on July 30, I decorated watermelons and
“spit a few seeds” at the Watermelon Festival Day Activities. That
evening, I trekked over to Ville Platte for the Tournoi Festival
Pageant.
This month has been busy with festivals, celebrations,
and pageants. I can’t wait to see what next month has in store!
In Queen’s Love,
s/ Lana Meche
QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP IN L.A.F.F. HALL OF FAME
(Revised 7.05)
1. Must be a current or past member, living or deceased,
of a fair/festival association which belongs to and is in good standing
with L.A.F.F.
2. Must have contributed to L.A.F.F. in terms of (1)
service, (2) making a tangible donation and/or (3) providing an
unselfish act or deed benefiting L.A.F.F.
3. Must have belonged to a L.A.F.F. member fair/festival
association for a minimum of ten (10) years.
4. Must be nominated by a current member fair/festival
of L.A.F.F.
5. Unless superseded by the L.A.F.F. Board of Directors,
only one new member of L.A.F.F. Hall of Fame will be inducted each year.
NOMINATING PROCEDURE FOR L.A.F.F. HALL OF FAME
1. State nominee's name and home address, including zip
code.
2. State nominee's fair/festival affiliation (if
associate, state business).
3. State nominee's length of membership in L.A.F.F.
4. List nominee's accomplishments in L.A.F.F.
5. List nominee's accomplishments with local
fair/festival.
6. State, in 25 words or less, why nominee is a
candidate for Hall of Fame honors.
7. State your name and address (including zip code) and
telephone number (including area code).
8. If possible, include a photo of the nominee and some
newspaper clippings of any events featuring the nominee in a
fair/festival-related setting.
9. Send nominations to L.A.F.F. Secretary.
10. Entry Deadline: December 30th.
POSTER CONTEST RULES
1. Subject of poster shall be:
“My Fair/Festival”. Name, location and date of event
must be on poster.
2. Any public, private, or parochial school student may
participate.
3. Poster will be judged in four categories:
A. Grades 1 – 3; B. Grades 4 – 6;
C. Grades 7 – 9; D. Grades 10 - 12
4. Poster must be displayed on 14" X 22" white poster
paper. (½ sheet of standard poster paper).
5. All work must be vertical. Nothing horizontal will
be judged.
6. All lettering must be free-hand. Do not use
Stencils.
7. Medium used shall be: Crayon; Water Color; Acrylics,
Felt-Tip Pen; or Oil. Neither Cut-outs nor Collage.
8. First, Second, and Third place winners in each
category are eligible for state competition.
Limit of Twelve (12) posters per event.
9. Posters will be judged and points awarded as
follows: Originality 35%; Theme 25%;
Neatness 25%; Spelling 15%
10. Poster Prizes:
Third Place $25.00; Second Place $50.00;
First Place $75.00;
One Best Overall $100.00
11. Information cards (5X7 index cards) should include
the following:
Name; Address; Telephone; Parents; Category;
Fair/Festival
This should be placed on the left top corner of
poster in such a way that it can be flipped
over from front to back.
12. All posters must be presented by 5:00 PM on Friday
of the annual convention.
Chairman: Kaye Ladner; LAFF District IV Director; 27280
R. F. Ball Rd.; Franklinton, La; 707438 (985)-848-5937; Fax
985-839-9164; Email:
wpfairlady@yahoo.com
EVENTS
TO ATTEND
August 4 – 7
Satchmo Summerfest-New Orleans
August 12 – 14
Washington Festival De Courtableu
August 17 – 21
Delcambre Shrimp Festival
August 19 – 20
Cajun French Music-Eunice
August 20
Golden Meadow Firefighters Family Fishing Rodeo
Pageant
August 25 – 28
Gueydan Duck Festival
September 1 – 5
LA Shrimp & Petroleum Festival –
Morgan City
September 8 – 11
Rayne Frog Festival
“Freedom Rings with LAFF”
Holiday Inn Select
Baton Rouge
February 16, 17, 18 & 19,
2006
Be sure to bring you red, white & blue!
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