ERIK SANZENBACH / L’Observateur / October 25, 2000

LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish will throw one big party this weekendas the annual Andouille Festival kicks off tomorrow night.

Julia Remondet, director of Economic Development and coordinator for the Andouille Festival, promises a lot of new things as this year’s event.

Located next to the Percy Hebert Building on Airline Highway in LaPlace, the Andouille Festival runs from Friday to Sunday with a preview night tomorrow starting at 6 p.m.Since the focus of the festival is food, Remondet said there will be 15 food vendors on the festival grounds providing everything from andouille to jambalaya and more.

To enhance the food motif, the St. John Parish 4-H clubs will sponsor cookingcontests using andouille at the Council on Aging building. Awards will behanded out Sunday for the most lip-smacking recipes.

The 4-H clubs will also have a tent with other 4-H exhibits, including live animals like sheep, cows and other farm creatures. Members of 4-H willdemonstrate how these animals are cared for and groomed.

“We think that this will provide a first-time opportunity for a lot of kids,” said Remondet. “A lot of kids around here have never seen farm animals.”Artistic students from East St. John High School will show off their creationsin the new art tent at the festival. The art work will be judged and prizesawarded.

Other firsts for the Andouille Festival are gospel groups singing on Sunday morning, Tai Kwan Do demonstrations by the local martial arts school and dance groups performing on Saturday night.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars LaPlace Post 3337 will have a booth selling crafts, and all proceeds will go to the local cancer society. For the first timethe VFW will sponsor a bingo game Saturday evening.

Talking about crafts, Remondet promises a lot more arts and crafts booths this year.

L’Observateur will have a booth at the festival with contests for children and adults with lots of fun prizes. It will also be a chance for everybody to signup for a subscription to the two-time Louisiana Press Association’s Newspaper of the Year.

On Sunday afternoon, radio station B-97 will do a remote broadcast from the festival grounds from noon to 3 p.m.Another new wrinkle this year is the Pay One Price ticket that can be purchased in advance at the Hibernia National Bank on Belle Terre Boulevard.

For $40 a person can buy an entire weekend of entertainment on all the rides at the festival. There are also $15 daily pay one price tickets that will getyou on all the rides.

The festival will have a preview night Thursday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. withonly rides.

The official opening of the Andouille Festival is Friday night at 6 p.m. Gateswill remain open until midnight. Gates re-open at 10 a.m. Saturday and thegood times roll until midnight. For the final day of the festival, there will bethe Andouille 5K and Two-Mile Run starting at 8 a.m. The festival re-opens at11 a.m. on Sunday and officially closes at 9 p.m.For more information, call 652-9369 or visit the St. John Parish President’sOffice in the Percy Hebert Building in LaPlace.

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