Cypress Sawmill Festival is Friday-Sunday

The Cypress Sawmill Festival will kick off Friday at Kemper Williams Park near Patterson.

Festival events will continue through Sunday.

Proceeds from the festival benefit Louisiana State Museum – Patterson, home of the Cypress Sawmill and Wedell-Williams Aviation exhibits. Organizers first held the festival in 1991, but canceled the 2017 festival.

However, they decided to bring back the festival this year.

Included in the festival are music, carnival rides, lumberjack shows, a car show, museum tours, food and craft vendors, a children’s pageant and a softball tournament.

To begin the festival, there will be a free All American Lumberjack Show at 10 a.m. Friday. There is no cost to enter the park at this time, said Jeff LaGrange, festival committee chairman.

Officials will begin charging $5 per vehicle at the gate around 4:30 or 5 p.m. Friday. The gate will open at 10 a.m. Saturday, and entry will cost $10 per vehicle that day.

On Sunday, the gate will again open at 10 a.m., but entry is $5 per vehicle.

Pay-one-price carnival ride bracelets will be $25 each day. Individual ride tickets are $1 each. Carnival hours are 5-10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday, said Gus Mitchell of Mitchell Brothers Amusements.

Sawmill festival organizers are partnering with Road to 3rd Street - Songs on the Bayou Songwriters Festival and Last Honky Tonk Music Series. Brigitte London, director of the music series and songwriters festival, is also music director for the Cypress Sawmill Festival.

Musicians from the Last Honky Tonk Music Series will give museum tours, and a van will be available to transport festival-goers to the museum.

In addition to music Friday through Sunday at the sawmill festival, the songwriters festival will continue April 11-15 at 12 different venues in the area. For more on the songwriters festival, visit the Road To 3rd Street - Songs On The Bayou Songwriters Festival page on Facebook.

Music at the sawmill festival will begin at 5:15 p.m. Friday with Sadie McClendon followed by the KQKI Country Showdown competition at 6:30 p.m. and Déjà Vu at 9:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Jus Cuz will play at noon, Cliff Hillebran at 2 p.m., Lowdown with Hal Bruni at 3:30 p.m., Mudbone at 5:30 p.m., Sean Gasaway at 7:45 p.m. and headliner, Jeff Bates at 8:30 p.m.

Sunday’s music lineup will begin with a Gospel Jam at noon, CJ Solar at 1 p.m. and Chubby Carrier at 3 p.m.

There will be another Lumberjack show Friday night, three shows Saturday and two shows Sunday.

A softball tournament is expected to start Friday night and last through Sunday at Kemper Williams Park, said Bill Skinner, state commissioner for USA Softball.

A “show and shine” car show will start at 9 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Patterson Area Civic Center. There is no charge to enter the car show, and no awards will be given. Those entering the show will receive a free festival parking pass, LaGrange said.

Anyone interested in bringing RVs to the festival grounds should call Kemper Williams Park at 985-395-2298.

A children’s pageant will be held Sunday at the festival. Age groups of 4 years and under will begin at 10 a.m. Registration for those groups is 8:30-9:30 a.m. The pageant for all other age groups will begin at 1 p.m. with registration from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

For more information on the Cypress Sawmill Festival, visit cypresssawmillfestival.com.