Lighthouse Festival starts Friday
The town of Berwick’s fifth annual Lighthouse Festival will take place Friday through Sunday along the Berwick riverfront and feature carnival rides, live music, the Tour du Teche finish and more.
Food, drinks and beer booths along with arts and crafts booths will be open 6-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. No ice chests, glass bottles or pets are allowed at the festival.
Pay-one-price bracelets for carnival rides will be $20 for each time slot. Those time slots are 5:30-10:30 p.m. Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday, 5-11 p.m. Saturday, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
Live music will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday with Jus Cuz playing until 9:30 p.m. On Saturday, Powerhouse will play 3-5 p.m., Blue Collar Boys 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Krossover from 8-10 p.m. On Sunday, Lowdown will play 1-3 p.m. and Déjà Vu 4-6 p.m.
Officials will close the La. 182 bridge 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to encourage people to walk across the bridge from Morgan City to attend the festival.
From 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, people may visit The Brown House-Berwick Heritage Museum on Third Street for an exhibit titled, “The Mighty Live Oaks Tell the Story of Old Berwick … If Only They Could Talk!”
Members of the Berwick Historical Society compiled the inaugural museum exhibit that will feature a pictorial on canvas of 36 special oaks.
Also at Berwick’s Lighthouse Festival, a car show presented by Cypress Corvette Club will be 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Registration will take place prior to the show. The Little Zoo on Wheels will be at the festival from noon-4 p.m. Sunday.
An awards ceremony for the Tour du Teche IX paddling race will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday on the Berwick riverfront. The 135-mile, three-day staged race for kayaks, canoes, pirogues and stand-up paddleboards will start Friday in Port Barre and finish Sunday in Berwick. Awards will be presented in different individual and team categories.
Officials will also dedicate a monument honoring racers who’ve won the Triple Crown, which refers to the fastest times by class for those completing the Tour du Teche, Ouachita 49er from West Monroe to Columbia, and Tour de la Rivière Rouge 275-mile race from Bossier City to Butte LaRose, Race Director Ray Pellerin said.
Next year, officials will discontinue the Tour de la Rivière Rouge and add a 35-mile race from Lafayette to Abbeville, Pellerin said.