By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

LUTCHER — Hundreds of St. James Parish students made jewelry from alligator garfish scales, ground sassafras to make filé, danced along to a Cajun band and engaged in other cultural lessons Wednesday as the annual Cajun and Creole Celebration was held at the St. James Career and Technology Center.

ProStart Instructor Rachael Schexnayder of St. James Parish’s Career and Technology Center said the one-day event caters to high school students enrolled in the career and technical classes, as well as visiting elementary students.

The students heard and danced to Cajun music, tasted regional delicacies and learned from lifestyle artists during the event, which was organized for students to gain a better understanding of Cajun and Creole lifestyle traditions and to be able to link some regional foods eaten today to various cultures that have influenced Southern cooking traditions.

“Allowing the students … to learn about local traditions and to understand where these traditions came from will hopefully increase an awareness among them to question their grandparent or family members about a skill used today that they can one day pass on to their children,” Schexnayder said.

In just a handful of the learning experiences offered, Crazy ‘Bout History President Connie Donadieu was on hand to dress the students in traditional clothes from the 1800s, while Ray Guillot demonstrated the knitting stitches used in making dip and frog nets. Jim Jenkins demonstrated blacksmith tools, while Julia Hooker demonstrated the art of making vegetable oil-based soap over an open fire.

Allison Borne, a high school student participant, said the experience allowed her to learn new things and meet new people.

High school student Alexis Breaux agreed.

“I learned a lot and found it very interesting,” Breaux said. “Making the jewelry was my favorite thing.”

To tie Creole cooking to the various cultures that have influenced food eaten today, several food artists prepared samples.

Lionel Key, of Native American and African descent, demonstrated how to make filé from sassafras leaves, while Irving Schexnayder and Eugene LeBlanc boiled down the juice from a local sugar mill to demonstrate how cane syrup is made.

Schexnayder said this year’s lack of available grants — the way the program has been funded since its inception — would have meant the program could not have been held if not for donations from Motiva in Covent, St. James Stevedoring, Nucor, Louisiana Sugar Refining LLC, Noranda and Mosaic.

“My long term goal of this project is to see a change in my students by making them more appreciative of our rich local culture in both lifestyle traditions and food traditions,” Schexnayder said. “Hopefully this project will increase their civic pride and encourage them to increase their knowledge about their own culture.”