Church Point will serve as a venue for the Grand Réveil Acadien 2020 this fall, and the call is out for those who would like to participate in the event.
Harold Fonte, Acadia Parish Tourist Commission at-large member and Le Vieux Presbytère Museum curator, said, “Tourism is one of the life bloods of the area. We have lots of great industries, but tourism is a vital economic force around here.”
He continued, “A first step is tourism, getting people to come here. If they like the place, if they like the culture, well come live here.”
The nine-day event, hosted once every five years, is a multi-parish experience to celebrate the lasting cultural impact of the Acadian people. This will be the third Grand Réveil Acadien, and this is the first time Church Point will serve as a venue for the celebration. The event is hosted by Louisiane-Acadie, a non-profit corporation, and the event was created to showcase south Louisiana’s unique culture, language and music.
The event will be hosted Oct. 3-11, and Church Point will host events on the weekend of Oct. 10-11. On Oct. 10, the Le Vieux Presbytère Museum will host an open house, and The Church Point Farmers, Crafts and Vendors Market will be hosted from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. that same day. Our Mother of Mercy will host its Church Bazaar Saturday and Sunday, and there will be bingo and a free dance with live entertainment by Zydeco crossover band Grand Slam on the Saturday night.
“The neat thing about this event is that the woman in the area that pushed this is Martha Royer,” Fonte said. “She is on Louisiane-Acadie and owns a bed and breakfast in Rayne. She invited Mayor Ryan Meche and I to a meeting. She said, ‘Church Point is such a quaint Cajun town with the Presbytère and the town square, y’all ought to get on to this.’”
“I said, ‘You bet,” Fonte added.
Fonte hopes to line up other culture, language or music events for that day, and he has also contacted various civic leaders to propose other events for the day. Those interested in hosting an event can contact Fonte at 337-384-7993 or at hjfonte@gmail.com.
Other Grand Réveil Acadien 2020 venues are Avoyelles Parish, Loureaville, Lafayette, Arnaudville, Abbeville and Broussard. The event will culminate in a parade from St. John’s Cathedral in Lafayette to Warehouse 353 in downtown Lafayette.
Fonte said he does his work to help preserve the culture and for his love of the south Louisiana French culture.
“Réveil means awakening,” Fonte said.
Fonte said the Grand Réveil Acadien is not just for tourists, but also for those in Louisiana to wake up and celebrate the culture for itself.
“If it weren’t for French music, cooking and language, there wouldn’t be any reason to come to south Louisiana,” Fonte said. “We have to preserve it for our own future, for our own vitality.”
For more information, call or visit the Grand Réveil Acadien / Great Acadian Awakening Facebook page or contact grandreveil2020@gmail.com.
