L. A. F. F.    Email: laffadupre@yahoo.com

                                                                                                       Website: laffnet.org

A Publication of the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals            Al Dupré, Jr., Editor

June 2006 Edition

NEW ADDRESS FOR MEMBERSHIPS/CONVENTION REGISTRATION, ETC:

LAFF Treasurer

P O Box 1608

       PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE:

On a sad note, a dear friend past president of LAFF passed away this past week, Mr. Sam Giordano.  Sam was the President of The State Fair of Louisiana and also the general manager.  He will be sadly missed by all. 

Congratulations to Chris Giordano for being selected to follow in his father’s footsteps; I know that his father would be extremely proud; Chris is the new general manager of the State Fair of Louisiana.

I attended Sam’s funeral in Bossier City, the admiration for Sam was tremendous, the Police Department escorted the funeral procession to the gravesite, and at every intersection that the officers stopped and saluted.  This was a very emotional dedication to Sam.  

It is time to start planning and gathering your marketing items for next year’s convention.

All festivals should submit as many items as they can in their designated categories, it gives the others opportunities to see the different marketing awards that each festival promotes, and it is an honor to receive these awards.  Please contact Jim Meaux District III Director for more information and forms regarding the marketing awards.

Paul McGee is currently working on the convention program and I know that he will have a Fabulous Vegas convention. 

Traveling this month has been very rewarding; we took a trip down to Independence, La.

Bill, Linda, Connie, Cathy and the rest of the Independence board, thank you again for a very warm welcome and entertainment.  Never knew that so many Italian dishes could exist.  My favorite was the spaghetti.

I would like to thank Ms. Theresa Gibson for housing Barbara, Jim, Vickie, Natalie and I during the Robline Heritage Festival Pageant.  She did a great job for being a newcomer to the pageant director scene.  If anyone is interested in getting away for a weekend relaxation the place to go is Violet Hill. Ms. Theresa is the owner of this beautiful home, and treats her guest as family.   It is located on the Banks of the beautiful Cane River Lake in the historic District of Downtown Natchitoches, La.

Once again Byron Blanchard the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival President and the members of this association festival did a fantastic job with their festival despite the rain and power failure that they encounter.

It is always amazing to see the dedication of these people who work during the festival weekend.  Had the opportunity to visit with Deltus Mitchell and his son Gus.  Deltus do you always know where your son is???????????

My hat goes off to Contraband Days festival members and Marlene Hobbs.  If you have never experience pirates storming your festival grounds, then you need to head on down to Lake Charles the first two full weekends in May to experience this amazing festival.  Their firework display was one to see, it was a great event, again thanks to Marlene and all of the festival members.

Spice and Music in Opelousas had a very nice turn out for their 2^nd annual pageant.  Robin Abshire did a great job with the pageant. 

Congratulations to the 2005 Queen of Queens Lana Blair Meche for receiving her diploma from ULL with a perfect 4.0 grade point average what an honor.  Also Lana Banana celebrated her 22^nd birthday on May 22^nd; 2006.  It is so nice to turn my radio to 99.1 and hear Lana each morning as their morning radio show host.  Love listening to her, She is one amazing young woman.

If there is any fair and festival that needs an auditor, or selling tickets, parking cars (my wife can do this ha), or any way that I can assist you please do not hesitate to call me.

s/ Dennis Mouton    

                TREASURER’s  REPORT:

I hope everyone is ready for a HOT summer!  I'll take the heat over hurricanes any day, though!!  I've had a very busy past month.  I finished giving finals on May 12, as well as did an interview for a teaching position for math at Erath High that day.  Well  --  I got the job and am very excited to take this new road in life!  I will still be teaching 2 classes at UL at Lafayette this summer, however, and am grateful for that also.

Unfortunately one of LAFF's past presidents, Sam Giordano from The State Fair of Louisiana, passed away on Saturday, May 20.  Sam was a very dear friend and will be sorely missed.  He was an inspiration to many fairs and festivals.  I had the privilege of attending his funeral today, along with President Dennis Mouton and Past President Rob Piraro.  It was stated that Sam was the ultimate showman.  Well, Sam had a great show and celebration of his life today  --  I couldn't decide whether I was at a Broadway musical or at a comedy show.  That statement is not meant to be disrespectful  -- you would have had to be there to fully understand.  A seminarian with a truly wonderful voice sang, and the priest talked of Sam's life, oftentimes with humor thrown in.  I know that Sam truly appreciated his celebration of his life today.  I know that Chris, his son, did not want to inherit his dad's job in this manner; however, congratulations, Chris  --  you'll do your dad proud!

On April 29, Neal and I, along with past LAFF Queen of Queens Clara Victorian, judged the Sulphur Heritage Festival Pageants from babies through Ms.  It was quite a long day, but we truly enjoyed ourselves.  Congratulations go out to pageant director Fae Bergeron!

On May 6, Natalie Mouton, Vickie Meaux, and I judged the Robeline Heritage Festival Pageants from babies through Miss.  We were truly treated like royalty by director Theresa Gibson and her committee.  We even got to spend the night at her bed and breakfast, Violet Hill  --  wonderful place  --  Thank you, Theresa!

On May 17, Neal and I attended the Lafayette Tourism Tradeshow and Crawfish Boil.  It was very nice, and we may have picked up 2 new members.

The LAFF Board truly respects every member and would like to see more participation from them in the actual planning of convention. If interested in assisting any convention committee, please feel free to contact Vice-President/Convention Chairman Paul McGee.

Also, please feel free to call upon either Neal or me to assist your event in any way, such as judging a pageant or event, etc.

KEEP COOL,

 s/ Barbara T. Horaist

SECRETARY’s REPORT:

I join the other writers in remembrance of “Mr. Sam” Giordano.  I “really met” the “legend” several years ago in Nashville at a Zone 6 meeting; as we spent a most pleasant afternoon.  My last memory of “Mr. Sam” will also be from a Zone 6 IAFE meeting, as we toured the Tulsa State fairgrounds in the same tour wagon at this year’s meeting.

The Queen of Queen’s Pageant information packets have been mailed; your director should have received their packet.  If you haven’t; please let me know.

Please make the information in the newsletter available to your fair/festival members.  If you wish anyone else in your event to receive the newsletter via email, please either type or print very clearly these email addresses and send to laffadupre@yahoo.com.  Also, check the website (www.laffnet.org) for the newsletter, updates and other member information. 

If you need any help with your fair or festival, especially in  judging a pageant or other type of contest or just needing any assistance in general, please send an e-mail to:  GOTOBUTTON BM_1_ laffadupre@yahoo.com  or call me at: 985-447-4658 or write: 2402 Elizabeth Street, Thibodaux, LA 70301

s/ Al Dupré

DISTRICT 3 DIRECTOR

    Festival Season is in full gear, wanting to taste Louisiana’s cuisine or enjoy southern hospitality well you have array of festivals to choose from.

     We started this month going to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival for the opening ceremonies. I had the pleasure of being in the crawfish eating contest. I was enjoying eating the crawfish so I wasn’t worried about winning the contest. I want to thank Byron and Mark and the festival board for their hospitality. We had a great time but had to leave early to head over to the Robeline Heritage Festival pageant in Natchitoches. Sorry to hear that the electricity went out for so long on the Friday night.

    While we were at the Robeline Festival Pageant we stayed at Violet Hill Bed and Breakfast. My wife Vicki and Natalie Mouton and Barbara Horaist were the judges. I had the honor of helping the auditor Dennis Mouton. We were treated like royalty.  I would like to thank Theresa Gibson and the entire festival board for all their hospitality. Alisa Yelverton, District 6 Director, was there also as this was in her district but she made us feel like we were part of the family.  Thanks again.

   We were invited to attend the opening ceremonies for the Louisiana Cajun Food Festival in Kaplan, La. That group of individuals worked very hard to put on this festival. Keep up the great job and look forward to going back next year.

   We then went to the Opelousas Spice and Music Festival. The auditor there asked for my help and I was glad to assist. Always enjoy helping the President of LAFF.

   We got the sad news of the death of Chris Giordano father, Mr. Sam Giordano. I would like to give Chris and his entire family my sincere condolences. Every time I would talk to Mr. Sam he always had kind word to say. He will be missed very much.

    It is time for everyone to start thinking of the market awards for the 2007 conventions. It is easy to do. If anyone needs info on this please call or email me. I am the chairman for this year. You can go the website and download a form.  Go to laffnet.org. Hope to get plenty of entrees this year. My email is jcmeaux@ yahoo.com.  If anyone is in need of a pamphlet of the festivals you can email me and I will be glad to mail you one.

 Until next time see you at the fairs or festivals.

s/ Jim Meaux

DISTRICT 5 DIRECTOR

Greetings from District 5.  As most of you know, it has been a difficult time in Shreveport with the passing of my father and the President & General Manager of The State Fair of Louisiana, Sam Giordano.  My family and I appreciate all of the kind words, thoughts and prayers from the numerous people from around the state and country.  I would like to thank Dennis, Barbara, and Rob for coming to Shreveport to show their love and support and for representing LAFF at the funeral.

On a more positive note, the Louisiana Peach Festival will be holding its annual event June 22 - 25, 2006.  It is held in Ruston, Louisiana and I understand that they have a bumper crop of peaches this year.  Headlining the event Saturday night is Irma Thomas.  Admission is $5.  You can contact the Louisiana Peach Festival at (800) 392-9032 or by going to www.louisianapeachfestival.org.  I hope to see you there.

Attention!  State Fair of Louisiana Queen's Pageant to be held November 4, 2006 at the State Fair of Louisiana in Shreveport, LA.  Please contact our office at (318) 635-1361 for additional information.

s/ Chris Giordano

DISTRICT 6 DIRECTOR

Hello from District 6!  I am trying to attend as many events in my district as possible.  For those festivals in District 6, if you have anything you need help with pertaining to your festival, pageant or convention, please let me know if I can help in anyway. 

On April 29th, I judged the Zwolle Loggers and Forestry Festival pageant.  Their new queen is Haley Mitchell.  Haley is carrying on a "family tradition", since both her older sisters were also Zwolle Loggers and Forestry Festival Queens.   

On May 6th, I attended the Robeline Heritage Festival Pageant.  I saw Savannah Wallace crowned as their new queen.  I am sure Savannah will represent her title and the Town of Robeline well.  Mrs. Theresa Gibson did a great job with the pageant, it went really well.  I know she had a lot of help from Fran Nelson and some other ladies.  Congratulations to all of them on a successful pageant. 

On Friday, May 12th, I attended the Zwolle Logger's and Forestry Festival.  I was glad to see so many people in attendance on Friday night.  I listened to some great music played by a local band and enjoyed some Zwolle Tamales.  Over the weekend, they had around 2,500 in attendance for the festival.  The festival was May 12th & 13th. 

I then attended the Cochon de Lait Festival in Mansura on Saturday, May 13th.   I had the best time.  I think I found my second home.  The people there were so friendly and inviting.  I spent the day with Mr. Ray Bordelon (festival co-director).  I judged the hog calling, best hog imitation, men's and women's drinking contest, boudin eating, queen's hog calling and kid's hog calling contest.  Let me tell you, if I am ever in the situation where this will come in handy I do believe I can call a hog!  I really had so much fun at this festival. There was great music and good food also.  I look forward to attending next year.  Thank you to Mr. Ray and all the people in Mansura for their hospitality.  I asked Mr. Ray about how many people were in attendance at the festival throughout the weekend and he answered, "Well, everybody of course." 

I left Mansura and traveled on to the Contraband Days Festival in Lake Charles.  It was my first time to attend their festival and I was really impressed.  Their festival is a lot of fun.  I enjoyed the music, food, parades and carnival.  The fireworks were awesome. I would like to thank the Contraband Days Festival Committee for their hospitality. 

I have been sick and in the hospital since about two weeks ago.  So my travels have ended with the Contraband Days Festival, but I look forward to attending the Corn Festival in Bunkie on June 10th and getting back on the road.  I was sorry to hear of Mr. Sam Giordano passing away.  My condolences go to Chris and his family.  I know Mr. Sam will be missed by many.

s/ Alisa Yelverton

DISTRICT 7 DIRECTOR

I wish to offer condolences from the entire 7^th District to the Giordano family on the loss of Mr. Sam Giordano.  Mr. Sam was a very goals oriented person and wanted only good things, and would accept no excuse for failure.  He brought the State Fair of Louisiana to prominence and worked until the very end to keep it there.  To his lovely wife and family, please accept our condolences and prayers on your loss.

As June begins so does rising temperatures, also the hurricane season.  After this past year of devastation, my hope is that Mother Nature will see her way to pass us by for a few years.  Many fairs and festivals took great losses during this past year and needs time to recover.  I hope everyone is ready for the coming hurricane season and will not need to evacuate again. 

At the convention many people asked about the division classifications of L A F F, and I forwarded that info through the newsletter.  I also requested that fairs and festivals forward their attendance figures to me, or their respective District Director; so we could update the records and pass it on to you.  As of this date, NO ONE has forwarded any information to me.  We represent your organization, and to be able to give you the correct answers to this question of divisions, we need your input.  Your request was handled in a very timely fashion by your board members, so please forward this information to us so we can give you information that is up to date. 

In District 7, the only scheduled event for June is the New Orleans Floral Trail event.  I do hope that you will support this event.  Pageants are coming up in the District, with Louisiana Catfish Festival holding their pageant on June 10^th at the Hahnville High School Auditorium at 7:00 P.M.  The Festival will be held in Des Allemands on the grounds of St. Gertrude Catholic Church  on July 14^th, 15^th and 16^th.  I hope to see you all there.  I wish you all the best weather, the coolest nights and the most prosperous events that you have ever imagined.

s/ Warren Deemer

2007 QUEEN OF QUEENS INFORMATION

As stated above, the Queen of Queen’s Pageant information packets have been mailed; your director should have received their packet.  The information can also be accessed from the website.

It is very important that every sponsoring fair or festival know that LAFF will not be blocking hotel rooms for queens in 2007.  It is up to each individual organization to make their hotel room reservations for their queens EARLY.

The deadline to enter Queen of Queens and to have all ads turned in will be December 1, 2006 because of the early dates for Convention 2007.  LAFF will still take entries until January 1, 2007, but no photographs of any queens entered after the deadline of December 1^st will be put in the program book.  Encourage your queens to have their photographs done early and to get their entry forms and photographs turned in to me, Janet Piraro, no later than December 1^st, 2006. 

If your organization has a new Pageant Director, please mail me her name and mailing address in order for her to receive the 2007 Queens’ Packet which will be going out in early May.  My mailing address is 4304 Sarver Street, Lake Charles, LA 70605 or you may email me at robpiraro@aol.com or telephone me at 337-478-2355.

If anyone is interested in serving on the 2007 Pageant Committee, please get in touch with me.  2007 will be my last year to serve as Pageant Coordinator and I look forward to working with as many of you as possible.

Please be aware that LAFF is not going to be blocking rooms for queens in 2007.  It will be the responsibility of every fair or festival to make arrangements for their queen and, as always, we advise you to book EARLY; as rooms will be not held for anyone!

LAFF LIBRARY

Announcing a new service for LAFF members – the LAFF Library.  The Board purchased a CD of the sessions of the 2004 IAFE Convention and will make CD’s available to member events for the nominal fee of $5.00 per title (some sessions are two or three CDs, but will still be yours for the same cost).  This will not be a rental.  For $5.00 per title you will own the session on your CD.  The $5.00 per title was settled on to simple defray the cost of CDs and mailings, there is no intent at a profit. 

Titles available are:

Advertising - What Works, What Doesn’t & Why - Roy H. Williams

 

Board Members Only - Adding Value as a Board Janice Moore and Steve Edwards, CFE

 

501(c) (3) or 501(c) (6) - What Should You Be? - Rob Lyons, CPA

 

Keeping the Prosecutor’s Nose Out of Your Tent: What You Need to Know About

Criminal Law and the Amusement Business - Ron Burback, John Hinde, R. Wayne Pierce, Dave Durkee

 

“Las Vegas - The True Story”  - Bo Bernhard - Spouse Program

Secret to Your Success – Communication - Kevin McGrath, CCE

Save Time and Money in the Workplace - Edwin B. Feldman

Take Charge of Your Resources - William Nelson

How To Catch Your Breath When You Are Losing Your Mind - Greg Risberg

E.coli - What We Are Learning from Litigation - Stephen Neel, Ken Renner

You Make A Difference - Greg Risberg

Web/Electronic Entry Systems - Vision of the Future/Consider the Possibilities Robert Fogle, CFE, Mike Bradley, Linda Elderton, Dena Luthi

Media Training - Suzette Heiman

Commercial Exhibits and Concessions - Pat Moroney and Ellen Andrus

Internet Marketing - Dr. Wenyu Dou

Physical Plant/Operations - Marv Witt, CFE, and Greg Lybeck

AgroTerrorism - The Possible Effect on Fairs - Dr. Joseph Broz, Dr. Carl Heckendorf

Facility Usage - Phil Clark and Bill Edmondson, CFE

Exotic/Specialty Animal Show Management - James Goodrich, Bob Dineen, Jerry Dunn, Bob Potter

Agriculture - Heidi Herriott and Debbie Dreyfus-Schronk, CFE

Sponsorship Reality Check: Resources to Rewards - Jeff Milgrom, Torri Aprile

Competitive Exhibits - Becky Brashear, CFE, and Candace Blancher, CFE

The Marketing of Entertainment - David Grimm, CFE, Holly Gleason, Paul Goldman,

Vivian Sayler

Advertising, Promotions & Public Relations - Kim Allen, CFE, and Nancy Smith

Is Your Carnival Up to Industry Standards - Guy Leavitt, Jerry Aldrich, Jim Sinclair, CFE, Mike Heffron, CFE

Pick and choose or order a set, $5.00 per title.  Send your title request plus a check to cover the $5.00 per title to: LAFF Library

                                                       P O Box 1608

EVENTS TO ATTEND

With the recent storms, information has been updated as available, always call before going; especially this year!

June 1 - 4

Church Point Buggy Festival (3)

Church Point

June 2 - 4

City of Opelousas Spice & Music Festival (3)

Ville Platte

June 3 - 4

Gheens Bon Mangé Festival (1)

Gheens

June 9 - 11

LA Corn Festival (6)

Bunkie

June 10

La Cajun Culture & Music Club (3)

Eunice

June 11

The Greater New Orleans Floral Trail (7)

Metairie

June 16 - 18

LA Honey Bee Festival (4)

(Livingston Parish Fairgrounds – Livingston)

June 22- 25

LA Peach Festival (5)

Ruston

June 23 - 24

Smoked Meat Festival (2)

Ville Platte

June 24 - 25

Bayou Lacombe Crab Cook-Off Festival, Inc. (4)

Lacombe

June 30 - July 4

Erath 4^th of July Celebration (3)

Erath

June 30 - July 2

Greater Mandeville Seafood Festival (4)

Mandeville

2006 dates TBA

Washington Parish Watermelon Festival (4)

Franklinton

July 3 - 4

Annual Paper Queen Ball & Parade (4)

Bogalusa

July 7 - 9

LA Catfish Festival (7)

Des Allemands

July 13 - 15

Morse Recreational Festival (3)

Morse

July 15 - 16

Cajun French Music & Food Festival (3)

Lake Charles

July 15 - 16

Swamp Pop Music Festival (4)

Baton Rouge

Convention 2007

“Welcome to LAFF Vegas”

Holiday Inn Select Baton Rouge

February 1, 2, 3 & 4, 2007