Lawrence Park Porchfest is Saturday

The third annual Lawrence Park Porchfest will be held from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Lawrence Park in downtown Morgan City. Admission is free to the event that will feature bands playing music on the porches of homes surrounding the park.

Food and drinks will be sold during Porchfest to raise money to refurbish the playground at Lawrence Park. Sponsorships also contribute heavily to the fundraising effort.

Kiwanis Club of East St. Mary hosts Lawrence Park Porchfest. Organizers encourage attendees to bring lawn chairs, but ask they don’t bring ice chests.

There will be fun jumps and face painting for kids as well as other activities.

Kyle Labat will kick off the music at 10 a.m. on the porch of Shannon Thomas followed by Cliff Hillebran at 11 a.m. on Howard and Bethanie Thibodaux’s porch, Jahne Bailey and Cody Duval from Jus Cuz at 12:15 p.m. on Thomas’ porch, Josh Broussard at 1:30 p.m. on Ferris and Bonnie Gilmore’s porch, The Earmuffs at 2:45 p.m. on Barry Dufrene’s porch, Hal Bruni at 4 p.m. on Ed and Bonnie Leonard’s porch, and South 70 at 5:15 p.m. at Lawrence Park Gazebo.

Dr. Scott Sicard, a Morgan City dentist, started the fest in 2016 in memory of his son, Jacques O’Neal Sicard, who died in 2015 at just 5 months old.

Sicard got the idea to hold a Porchfest in Morgan City after attending one in Cleveland while he was doing his oral surgery residency there. Sicard was trying to find a positive event to bring to the community following his son’s death.

Sicard was a member of Kiwanis Club of East St. Mary at the time and had asked club members to sell drinks because he knew the club had success doing so and raising money at the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival.

Charlie Solar, last year’s volunteer of the year, is in charge of selling fair burgers at Porchfest, Sicard said.

Sicard decided the first year of Porchfest to raise money to redo the playground at Lawrence Park. The entire project will cost over $100,000. Sicard hopes officials can also get some grant funds to contribute to the project.

So far, organizers have raised about $20,000 toward the goal. Once officials raise enough money for the new playground, they can then raise funds for wherever the city has a need or wherever Kiwanis Club members see a need, Sicard said.

Sicard is still involved in organizing Porchfest, but he has turned the reins over this year to let the Kiwanis Club be the main host.

“I thought Kiwanis (has) the same mission that I wanted … (and it is) a long-lasting, well-respected organization,” he said.

For more information, visit the Lawrence Park Porchfest Facebook page.