Black Bear Festival kicks off 15th event

This weekend’s 15th Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival will kick off Friday evening.
Organizers Edgar Dugas and Catherine Siracusa say that though the festival has necessarily been scaled back due to budget, there’s still plenty on the slate.
Franklin Rotary Club’s First Annual Gumbo and Jambalaya Black Pot Cook-Off will take place Saturday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., behind the Blevins Building, at the corner of Willow Street and Teche Drive.
“Running of the Bears will still go on,” Siracusa said. “The ladies at Franklin Foundation Hospital will volunteer at the Coke booth; the Lions Club is doing beer and daiquiris.”
The Running of the Bears 5K Run/Walk is hosted by Teche Action Clinic. Start time Saturday morning is 8 a.m. for both runners and walkers, who will meet at the St. Mary Parish Courthouse Square.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and is $25 the morning of the event; $5 for school teams per student, and $15 without t-shirt entry (some categories do not guarantee or offer a shirt.)
“I feel we’ve got good involvement from outside,” Dugas said. “The Franklin High School band will do the ‘Running of the Ducks.’”
A local church will offer hotlinks.
All the bands are St. Mary Parish based.
The music lineup will be:
Friday:
6-8 p.m. The 5 O’clock Shadows
8:30-11 p.m. The Yum Yums
Saturday: 3-5 p.m. The Bayou Classics
6-8 p.m. Flashback
8:30-11 p.m. Jus Cuz
Vendors include some new offerings. Included will be different arts and crafts, Siracusa said. “We’ve got a lady coming from Florida with ‘upcycle silver jewerly’ where she uses old silver flatware and makes it into different things. She’s on Etsy, she’s all over the internet. There’s a lady from (St. Mary) who does sewing, makes children’s clothes, rag dolls, stuffed toys, that kind of thing. A lady from the Thibodaux area does children’s sand art. There’s a new variety in there.”
Also included is a sno-ball vendor, the Greek food booth, hot wings booth, the small “farmer’s market” and more.
Unfortunately, there will be no fireworks, children’s activity area, nor will US Fish & Wildlife offer boat tours or the educational area about the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge. “That’s budget constraints,” Dugas said.
There will be rides and a rock climbing wall.
BEARS, Bayouland Emergency Amateur Radio Service, special event station will be held under the Parc Sur la Teche pavilion along the Bayou Teche.
The station will be in operation Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rotary Club President Iris Sharpe says the mission of the event is to share southern hospitality and expand the reach of Rotary, making its purpose known throughout the community.
The funds raised are set to go toward Rotary’s annual scholarship program, through which, three seniors from local high schools will receive scholarship awards, to defray the cost of college.
Sponsors are invited to participate, and can do so in several levelled increments, up to $300.
The cook-off competition is comprised of four food categories: seafood gumbo, chicken and sausage gumbo, seafood jambalaya, chicken and sausage jambalaya.
The Cook-Off rules define “gumbo” as a Cajun soup containing roux. It may contain a variety of meats and/or seafood, vegetables and seasonings, and is served over rice.
The rules also require that the competition gumbo be made from scratch as an original recipe, and it will be judged categorically as seafood, or non-seafood.
As for jambalaya, the Cook-Off defines “jambalaya” as a highly seasoned mixture of pork, poultry, seafood or vegetables with rice.
The rules here require that the competition jambalaya be made from scratch as an original recipe, as well.
So far, Rotary expects around 12 teams to compete, but has their fingers crossed for an excess of 12.
Judging will commence on event day, around 11:30 a.m., and teams are to be comprised of three to five members.
Each team is encour-aged to bring a 10 by 10-foot tent to the event, and the best decorated tents will receive prizes. The tent theme is: Black Bear.
For copies of official rules, entry forms and sponsor forms, contact Iris Sharpe by email at iris@stmarychamber.com or by phone at 337-578-9078.