Charmin' the Crowd at the Fort Lauderdale Crawfish Festival

(5/14/03) I've been to many a music festival, but I have to say that the hit of this year's 11th Annual Fort Lauderdale Cajun-Zydeco Crawfish Festival wasn't a band, but instead the immaculately clean and air-conditioned portable restrooms provided by Charmin Ultra. This has to be the most brilliant use of corporate sponsorship I have ever experienced at a festival. Each stall was air-conditioned and equipped with liquid soap, running water, Bounce paper towels, piped in music & 2 types of Charmin tp to choice from. In between (ahem) customer visits, the Charmin attendants inspected and cleaned each stall before the next visitor entered. Toilet paper is usually one of those commodity products one shops for by price, but everyone I know who visited the Charmin booth mentioned that they are now planning to buy this brand. Bravo Charmin and thanks!

Perhaps one shouldn't be totally surprised by finding first class rest rooms at the Ft. Lauderdale festival, since the rest of the facilities at this event have always been excellent. The festival is held on the grounds of the Ft Lauderdale Stadium, located about 10-15 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean (making it easy to combine a beach and festival vacation, with many inexpensive lodging options available in Lauderdale by the Sea, a very pleasant beach community). Free parking is provided. All 4 of the music stages (Main Stage, Backwoods Acoustic Stage, Louisiana Swamp Stage) have wood dance floors, 4 of the 5 stages are shaded and two of these are tented with huge fans strategically placed for ventilation. Signs are placed on the dance floors telling folks not to stand, set up chairs or drink or eat on them. The food has always been varied and delicious, with a Louisiana emphasis. There are lots of drink options, with folks encouraged to recycle their containers.

Hundreds of Cajun & zydeco enthusiasts from around the country attend this festival, as well as South Florida residents. Dance lessons are provided throughout the 3 day events. I had several 1st time attendees remark to me at how many terrific dancers were in attendance. There is also a 'crazee kids zone with children's activites, a gumbo cook off, a crawfish eating contest, and watermelon sacrifices each day.

Oh, and did I mention the music and cultural events? Entertainers this year included Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers, Geno Delafose & French Rockin' Boogie, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, JoJo Reed, Lil' Brian & the Zydeco Travelers, Magnolia Sisters, Nooney & the Zydeco Floaters, The Nouveau String Band with Marce Lacouture, Terrance Simien, , Willis Prudhomme & the Zydeco Express, T-Sale, Red Stick Ramblers, Sean Vidrine, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Dorra & the Zydeco Bad Boyz, Savoy Family Band, Bayou Teche Band, Tom Rigney, Gris Gris, Porchdogs, Bayou Teche Band & Mojo & the Bayou Gypsies.

It was very hot and humid during this year's festival, but that only made spending time off the dance floor and at the more laid back & shaded Backwoods Acoustic Stage and Acoustic Corner even more inviting. The Acoustic stage featured performances by Marce Lacouture & Friends, Steve Riley & Friends, Veillee, Keith Frank, Willis Prudhomme, the Red Stick Ramblers, and fiddle & accordion workshops. This was an intimate stage, where questions to and interaction with the musician was encouraged. The Bayou Corner had a similar format and size. A sampling of sessions there included: Breaking the Tradition with Sean Vidrine & Friends, a Texas Zydeco Workshop with Brian Jack, Nooney & Lil Brian, Making Zydeco a Grammy Category with Cynthia Simien, Geno Delafose on Creole Tradition and zydeco accordion, and Cajun cooking with Marc Savoy.

Brian Jack put on several incredible sets during the festival. With great energy & showmanship and irresistible original songs, Brian and the Zydeco Gamblers are, in my opinion, the most exciting band to hit zydeco since the 90's Beau Jocque/Keith Frank explosion.

In live music, there is the music and then there is the pure showmanship aspect of performing it. Particularly memorable 'show bands' included: Sean Vidrine's dynamic act, and Terrance Simien's barefooted, bead-throwing stage show complimented by his beautiful vocal range.

For quieter musical moments, it is hard to beat the traditional Cajun ballads sung acapella by Veillee. Two musically eclectic bands include The Red Stick Ramblers, which performs an interesting mix of Cajun, jazz, country and swing, and the Nouveau String Band, which is inspired by 40s style blues, Cajun & Western fiddle tunes, and swing. These bands were perhaps inspired by the success of BeauSoleil whose wide-ranging style is a prime example of a Cajun band that has used its Cajun roots as a base to explore and incorporate other world roots music into their sound. On the zydeco side, Keith Frank does a similar thing musically, taking the Creole songs he learned from his father, Preston, and mixing them with the songs he learned from his mother's record collections ( Motown, Stax) to come up with his own unique eclectic style.

There were also some interesting comments from various musicians at the smaller stages. Geno Delafose said that when aspiring musicians asked for his advise, he told them to complete their schooling because the life of musician was like 'chicken and feathers', going on to explain that sometimes you ate chicken and sometimes all you had to live on was feathers, and that one needed to have a plan for both times. He also commented that when he played, his band closely watched his movements... a nod of the head, or stepping back might mean the song was ending. His band knew how to read his body language, sort of "like a well-trained horse". During Veillee's set, David Greely said the Cajun culture's survival was at least partially due to the fact that they were able to 'absorb and conquer' other nationalities that came into contact with them - for example, there were immigrants of German, Spanish and Irish descent that now considered themselves Cajun and spoke Cajun French. Sort of like the Borg: Resistance is futile?

The Fort Lauderdale Cajun-Zydeco Crawfish Festival is one festival that gets it right in every way possible, from its great mix of both Cajun and zydeco bands to its well-considered 'corners' that present this music in its cultural context to its fabulous facilities. It is unique in its ability to meet the various 'fun' requirements of varied audiences: from both new and experienced dancers to folks who prefer to sit-down and absorb the music and culture to Cajun food-lovers to beer-lovin' party-goers. If you love Cajun and zydeco music and culture, you are sure to pass a good time at Fort Lauderdale's Crawfish Festival.

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