L. A. F.
F. Email: laffadupre@yahoo.com
Website:www.laffnet.org
A Publication of the Louisiana
Association of Fairs and Festivals Al Dupré, Jr., Editor
July 2005 Edition
President's MESSAGE:
Dennis
Mouton is working extremely hard on Convention 2006 and
we trust you are preparing to attend. “FREEDOM RINGS
WITH LAFF” is the theme so get your red, white and blue
ready! The Queen’s
Packets have been mailed out. Please make certain that
your Pageant Director has received one and
if not, let
me know right away and we will make certain that she
gets one. Please have it delivered to your queen as
soon as she is crowned in order for her to prepare for
Queen of Queens 2006. Make certain too, that you email
Janet at
robpiraro@aol.com
or call her at 337-478-2355 and give her the name of
your queen to add to the list for the hotel. Remember,
we have blocked off rooms for the queens but YOU
MUST STILL MAKE YOUR QUEEN’S RESERVATION!
On Friday, May 27th, Janet and I
attended the Sulphur Heritage Festival. The Brimstone
Museum is a very nice museum under the oaks and the
weather, although hot, offered some cool breezes while
people ate and listened to good music. We said hello to
their new queen, Katy Kress, and welcomed her back into
the Rhinestone Sorority.
On Saturday, May 28th, we picked up some
people on the side of the road, (I-10), Dennis and
Natalie Mouton in Lafayette, and then Lana and her Mom
and we all headed to Gonzales for the Jambalaya
Festival. What a treat! Thanks to their reigning
queens, Miss Brittney Robert and Teen Macy Martin, for
being such gracious hostesses. We enjoyed the jambalaya
and hospitality. Although we thought it was hot, think
about the cooks as they cooked their jambalaya over open
pit fires! Again, thank you for taking time from your
busy schedules to tell us all about your festival. Your
pride in it was obvious and I applaud you both for your
contribution to the Jambalaya Festival.
That night, May 28th, we then all
headed to Church Point for the Church Point Buggy
Pageant. Seeing Ms. T. C. Cary and Ms. Virgie Courville
is always such a pleasure. Congratulations on another
very successful pageant.
On Sunday, June 5th, we had the honor
of attending the Church Point Buggy Festival and their
queens’ luncheon for the official crowning of their new
queen, Casey LeJeune. Thank you Ms. T.C. and Ms.Virgie
for always making us feel so welcome in Church Point.
I am preparing for my festival, Cajun Music, to
be held July 16th & 17th in
air-conditioned Burton Coliseum. We would love to see
you there! Our queens’ pageant, Miss Cajun Music, will
be held July 9th at the Lake Charles Civic
Center. The next L.A.F.F. Board meeting will be held in
District 2 at my home in Lake Charles on Saturday, July
23rd. Janet and I are honored to host this
meeting and if you want to stay and swim after the
meeting, you are more than welcome. If you would like
to attend, please call me at 337-478-2355. Districts
2, 6 and 7 will be up for election in 2006 so plan now
on entering your name for election if you would like to
serve L.A.F.F.
As always, if
you need help with any thing, please do not hesitate to
contact me. I am here to assist in any way possible. I
look forward to seeing you all as we crisscross
Louisiana and take advantage of our beautiful state and
its’ great people.
May
your event be successful,
s/Rob
Piraro
***********
VICE-PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE:
I would like to wish all a Happy
Fourth of July, and to wish all Festivals held this
summer, to have great weather.
The Holiday Inn Select in Baton
Rouge, is requiring that you “put down” a first night’s
payment to secure your room(s) when you make your hotel
reservation, for your Queen and your Delegates.
Please notify Janet Piraro as soon
as you have your new queen so that we can make sure that
they have a place for them since we have 85 rooms
reserved for the queens this year.
Despite the heat, it has been a
great month to travel. I traveled to Gonzales, to the
Jambalaya Festival and was provided with great
hospitality, was given a tour of the facility and was
treated to a delicious meal of Jambalaya. Then it was
off to the Church Point Buggy Festival. As always Ms.
Virgie and Ms. T.C. did an outstanding job with their
pageant. Good luck to your new home town Queen, Kasey
Lejeune.
On June 4th we traveled
down to Rayne and was able to visit with Marlene Habetz
and the Ray*La*Ne board members, they always have a
great pageant.
I spent the rest of the month
preparing for the 4th of July Junior
Pageant. If anyone thinks that a pageant is easy to put
on, they need to rethink their thoughts. I would like
to thank Rob and Janet Piraro for running my Senior
Division Pageant to give my daughter the opportunity to
run for her home town festival. Natalie and I were
given the opportunity to sit down and enjoy the pageant
as we nervously awaited the results. Congratulations,
to Leslie Mouton the newly crowned 4th of
July Queen.
If there is anything that we can
assist you with please do not hesitate to call me. We
enjoy working at different festivals. Enjoy the 4th.
s/
Dennis Mouton
********************************
PAST-PRESIDENT’s
MESSAGE
Well, another month has
just flown by. Although it has been very busy for Fairs
and Festivals and the weather has been great. I must
apologize to the Fairs and Festivals for
not attending,
but I’m still recovering (at a fast pace). I’m like a
bicycle with a broken kickstand, if it doesn’t work it’s
hard to get off the bike. I am maneuvering without any
assistance, but uneven surfaces are still quite a
challenge. “Congrats” to the new festival Queens, you
will have a very busy year ahead of you. I did have the
honor of attending the LA Catfish Festival pageant, and
their Miss and Teen Miss are lovely young ladies and
I know they will both do a great job representing
their festival. We enjoyed visiting with Kurt and Lydia Dempster, Parents of the new Teen Miss, Barbara Horaist,
Dennis Mouton, Al and Mona Dupré, and our Queen of
Queen’s Lana Meche and her parents.
We left the pageant
and invaded Shoney’s, where some of us really made a
spectacle of ourselves. Of course, you all know that
I was a very polite and quiet gentleman when
out in
public. OK, maybe not so quiet. After talking with
Dennis Mouton, I can assure you he is working like crazy
to present you with a most memorable Convention in
2006.
Rob and Janet have been globetrotters, within the
state of course, attending numerous Fairs and Festivals
as well as pageants, while preparing for their festival
which will be here very soon. I do want to thank the
officers and members for their concern during my illness
and recovery.
I have good news and bad news, I am
still around, lost more weight, but, am still old and
ugly. I hope all of you have a great month and
remember, keep smiling, stay dry, and above all, wish
your fair or festival sunshine and the largest crowds
ever.
As
the year progresses our secretary will be developing the
next Fairs and Festivals guide that will be published
listing the dates for 2006 Fairs and Festivals dates.
To insure
your Fair and Festivals inclusion in this guide it is imperative that you contact the secretary, in WRITING, with your dates for next year. We need your assistance to make this guide the successful tool to draw more people to your event and especially on the correct dates. Please contact the secretary in Writing and As Soon as Possible, so that we can develop an accurate listing for the Upcoming guide. Please submit information to: 2402 Elizabeth St. Thibodaux, LA 70301 or laffadupre@yahoo.com.
Don't forget to update your Queens picture for the website. Your queen deserves the exposure and it is great to show the Fair and Festivals pride in the jewels in Louisiana that are our queens..
s/ Warren
Deemer
**************************
TREASURER’s
REPORT:
Happy Fourth of July to
everyone! Don't forget to thank a veteran and to pray
for those now serving in Iraq.
On May 28, I attended the
Church Point Buggy Festival Pageant and saw their queen
Mallory Spinner give up her title to the new queen Kasie
LeJeune. Mallory was a
great ambassador for the
festival, and I am sure Kasie will be also. Virgie and
T.C., you did a wonderful job!
On May 29, I judged the
morning pageants for the Opelousas Spice and Music
Festival with Equilla Victorian and Paul McGee and was
an auditor for the afternoon pageants.
It was great
judging with two fellow LAFF representatives. Thanks to
all of the committee for such great hospitality.
On June 11, I attended the
Louisiana Catfish Festival Pageant and saw their
wonderful queen Candice Denoux give up her title.
Candice was an awesome representative for the festival.
Many thanks go out to Johnnie Simoneaux and Dana Sampson
for a job well done.
On June 18, Neal, Mooney
Moss, and I judged the Miss and Master Rayne Pageant.
Thank you to Kelly Stutes and Vicki Meaux for the
wonderful hospitality.
Please GET INVOLVED! Let
Convention Chairman Dennis Mouton know if you wish to
serve on a committee or help with convention in any
way. He's doing a tremendous job preparing the 2006 LAFF convention for you!
Should any fair/festival need
any assistance, such as judging a pageant or event,
working a booth, etc., please let me know. Contact me
at 337-893-6328 or email me at
bnhoraist@aol.com.
Have a great summer,
s/
Barbara T. Horaist
**************************
SECRETARY’s REPORT:
I
had the pleasure of visiting and supporting two of our
event’s pageants this month . On June 11th,
Mona & I traveled to Des Allemands for the LA Catfish
Festival Pageant and had a great time. On June 25th
I was able to spend some time at the Erath 4th
of July Pageant. It was nice to see that both events
had their usual nice crowd, great judges and impressive
contestants for the event’s “crowns”.
At this
point I have sent out two requests for information and
2005 dues. Many of you have responded, and I thank
you. Some have not yet responded. If you want to be in
the 2005 Member’s Hand Book and the 2006 Louisiana
Tourism Brochure, I need your information (and current
dues if not yet paid) immediately. I have also
requested your event’s upcoming dates. These LAFF
publications are for YOUR benefit. They are published
with your contact information, to go out to the public.
While
I try to inform with this newsletter, published material
is becoming a “dinosaur” of information. While the
printed word has its place, Email is much more
“immediate”.
Please send me any updates, corrections,
additions, event information, etc. on your events, at
any time of the month. What will assist you best, I
will put in the newsletter; and
I will gladly send your
information on to our webmaster. If you send it to me,
I will have a record and will gladly forward your
information to our webmaster. By the way, our
webmaster
is doing an excellent job of making information
available to you and for you. Please check out
laffnet.org frequently. We are all trying at assist
member events to
be the best they can be. If you have
any news about any special events, send it to me and I
will print it and/or send it to our website for
additional publicity for your event.
s/
Al Dupré
DISTRICT
# 5 DIRECTOR
I traveled to the Louisiana
Peach Festival on Friday, June 24. The event is held in
Ruston, LA. The Peach Festival is not currently a
member of LAFF, but responded
very favorable. I spoke
with their President, Scott Terry and their Coordinator,
Sandra Grady Hart. The hospitality was nice and the
peaches were great. Especially the
peach ice cream.
s/ Chris Giordano
DISTRICT # 7 DIRECTOR
Greetings
from District 7, a hot “hello” from the Catfish Capital
of the Universe, as my festival is soon approaching. We
have all been very busy putting on the final touches
for
this fun filled weekend. Our annual pageant was held on
June 11, 2005 and we would like to congratulate our two
new queens. Our Miss Queen is Rachel Lynn Held
of
Destrehan and the Teen Queen is Amanda Renee Dempster of
Luling, and for those of you with active minds YES she
is my daughter and I congratulate them both.
Many
thanks to the LAFF members who attended our pageant. I
thank you so much for your support, with heartfelt
appreciation. Past President Warren Deemer and
Mary,
Vice-President Dennis Mouton, Secretary Al Dupré and
Mona, Treasurer Barbara Horaist and Mooney, and our LAFF
Queen of Queen's Lana Meche. If I have
forgotten
anyone, I apologize and I thank you now for coming. We
would also like to extend invitations to the queens and
their teen queens we have not been able to reach
to come
to our annual Catfish Eating Contest on Saturday July
9th 2005@2:00 p.m. on the festival grounds. If you are
interested please contact Rachel Held @
catfishqueen30@hotmail.com,
or
Amanda Dempster @
teencatfish05@yahoo.com.
We would love to have you, and we extend an invitation
to anyone wanting to
come out
and taste mouth watering catfish, you cannot win a
prize, but you certainly can come a enjoy a fun filled
day with the La. Catfish Festival!
Your District 7 Director,
s/ Kurt Dempster
QUEEN of QUEENS
Although the month of June marks the beginning of summer vacations, well-deserved rest, and a time off of school, I was kept busy by my part-time job, new internship, and
of course, my responsibility to my beloved organization, LAFF.
I began June by giving a speech to the Lafayette Kiwanis Club. I spoke on Louisiana fairs and festivals, LAFF, and my reign as Queen of Queens. These business leaders
were very interested in fairs and festivals and eagerly took in all of the knowledge and information that I had to give. I then traveled to Gheens for the Bon Mangé Festival
Weekend. It was a queen's sleepover, with pizza, contests, makeovers, and an airboat ride. In the Pajama Contest, I won “Best Representative of my Festival”, as I donned
gingerbread men pajama pants, candy cane socks with bells, and a Santa hat!
Next on my agenda were the Festival Ray*La*Ne Pageant and the Church Point Buggy Festival. These two events were fun-filled and festive, and I was warmly greeted at
both activities.
On June 10, my mother and I traveled to Lake Charles, where I attended Mrs. Janet Piraro's open house for her new dress shop, The Rhinestone Runway. I tried on many
of her gorgeous gowns and felt like a princess all afternoon, while sharing many laughs with her and the crew at The Rhinestone Runway. Mrs. Janet, this dream has been
a long time in the making, and I'm so proud of you!
On June 11, I traveled to Bunkie for the Corn Festival, where I rode in the festival parade, and shucked two ears of corn in 13 seconds for the Corn Shucking Contest.
That afternoon, I then sped off to Des Allemands for the Catfish Festival Pageant. It was a bittersweet experience for me, as I had to say good-bye to a great friend and
classy queen, Candice Denoux, but did get to welcome another beautiful queen into the rhinestone sorority.
I finished off the month of June by attending the Smoked Meat (Viande Boucanee) Pageant in Ville Platte, where I was honored to crown the new queen, and the Erath 4th of
July Pageant. Here, I not only enjoyed a pageant, but I was reminded of the true meaning of my country's stars and stripes...the sacrifices of our ancestors and current soldiers
that have allowed us to enjoy the freedoms and liberties that we have today.
Have a blessed Fourth of July!
In Queen’s Love,
s/ Lana Meche
“Highlights” of LAFF meeting minutes –
April 30, 2005 – Erath, La
Convention
- Dennis Mouton - 2/16-19-2006 theme - Freedom Rings with LAFF;
wants to dedicate the convention to LAFF members that are in
military; wants to use LAFF military to be Friday night escorts;
Hall of Fame - Kaye Ladner will Chair; Trade Show
- Neal Horaist- delegates and suppliers want more time, Saturday
start before 10:00 a.m. Norman’s suggestion that one hour of
trade show per day with nothing else going on at convention;
Workshops – will be handled by Chris Giordano/Equilla
Victorian; Essay Contest - David Bourdier will
chair-“What is the cost of freedom” is theme; Poster Contest
- Kaye Ladner chairs; Awards Committee - Kurt
Dempster chairs; Entertainment - Norman Land noted up to
four showcases on Friday and three on Saturday. Discussed
previous showcase “infractions” – notice if any showcase goes
over twenty minutes - talent coordinator/artist WILL not
showcase the following year/period allowed; Evaluations -
Kaye Ladner-discussed ‘05 criticisms, will get write- up on
website (and in 2006 convention packet) on how we have dealt
with evaluations; General Store - Paul McGee - wants more
explanation why we have the general store; Queens Door
Decorations - Chris Giordano chairs-queens will be on 2nd
floor (spillover 3rd floor NW wing);
Sergeants-At-Arms will be Kenny Guidry and Russel LeBlanc and
committee; Ditty Bags – will need donations; Womanless
Pageant - Dennis Mouton will chair; New District #3
Director-Jimmy Meaux elected after Jimmy Meaux (Rayne Frog)
and Rebecca Richard (Washington Catfish) were nominated and
Cheryl McCarty (Ray*La*Na) withdrew; By-Law Revision
committee-Gale LuQuette- 2/3 of Board of Directors (8) to
conduct business-passed; Approve new members (subject to
receiving 2005 dues payment: Golden Meadow Firefighter Family
Fishing Rodeo; Bradonvical, Inc. - Baton Rouge; WHS Productions
– Jonesboro; Neon Blues Variety Band - Matt Castille - St
Martinville; St Clement Oyster Festival - Tom Willis – Metairie;
The Andes Rock Climbing Wall - Carlos Ochoa - New Orleans;
Masters of the Chainsaw - Jen Ruth - Lehighton, PA; Verizon
Wireless - Shelly Buller - Lake Charles; Backline RMS,
L.L.C.-Ronald Sanders-Lafayette; Robeline Heritage Society –
Theresa Gibson/Fran Nelson East Coast Entertainment-Ben
Pines-Atlanta, Ga. Crawfish Lizzies Daiquiri Shack-Liz
Willis-Groh–New Iberia; Parks Cracklin Cook-Off
Association-Avery J. Castille Great Southern Bluegrass
Festival-Angie 70426-reactivation Hoyt L. “Chick” Boyd, Angie,
LA; Opelousas Spice & Music Festival; Sky Products - Millie
Harris) ; Convention dates January 31-February 4, 2007,
February 20-24, 2008 & Feb. 5-8, 2009; Feb. 25-28, 2010
approved; Committed to have convention in East Baton Rouge
Parish through 2010; Authorized president and convention
chairman to enter into another two year contract with Holiday
Inn Select-passed. Convention delegate prices 10/1 -
11-30...$110.00......12/1 - 31......$120.00...& 1/1 to
convention......$130.00 approved; Individual tickets priced as
2005....after 1/1/06 to convention, prices will go up $5.00
across board. Will use postmark date to determine price to
charge; Budget approved ($85,100.00) with transfer of funds from
GMAC demand note $ 6,905.93. Next Meeting (July 23rd
Lake Charles)
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.
No 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, Louisiana 707438
985-848-5937
Fax 985-839-9164
Email: wpfairlady@yahoo.com
ESSAY CONTEST
Theme: “What is the cost of Freedom”
Rules and Regulations:
1. Essay must contain between 500 and 800
words.
2. Name of contestant MUST NOT be written
on the essay but must be written on a separate sheet and
clipped, not stapled to the essay.
3. On a separate sheet, contestant should
follow this format:
Name: Address: Grade: Phone:
Parents’s Name: School Name: Fair/Festival Represented:
4. Essay may be handwritten or typed.
5. Spelling, grammar, phraseology,
general interest, continuity and adherence to theme will be
determining factors for selecting the winning essay.
6. The categories: A. Grades 6-8; B.
Grades 9-12.
7. Information used from sources should
be acknowledged in a bibliography.
8. Pictures or diagrams can be included
within contest of essay or in appropriate appendix.
9. Essay must be in the hands of Chairman
no later than January 6, 2006.
10. Criteria for judging:
Content (adherence to theme) ...........
40%
Grammar (punctuation, capitalization) ..
25%
Continuity (introduction, body, sentence
structure, conclusion) .... 20%
Spelling ...............................
15%
11. Essay Prizes (State Level)*
1st. $150 2nd. $100 3rd. $50
*All fairs should use this theme on the
local level for elimination purposes; only the top three winners
should be submitted on state level.
12. All essays become the property of
LAFF. The first place winners will be published in a collection
by groups.
Chairman:
DAVID BOURDIER
P. O. Box 762
Patterson, LA 70392
985-395-3720
EVENTS TO ATTEND
June 30 – July 4
Erath 4th of July Celebration
July 2 – 4
Greater Mandeville Seafood Festival
July 2
LA Cajun Culture & Music Club
July 3 -4
Bogalusa Paper Queen
July 4
Slidell Heritage Festival
July 8 – 10
LA Catfish Festival
July 8 – 10
Washington Parish Watermelon Festival
July 16 – 17
Cajun French Music & Food Festival
July 29 – 30
Morse Recreational Festival
“Freedom Rings with LAFF”
Holiday Inn Select
Baton Rouge
February 16, 17, 18 & 19, 2006
