Cajun/Swamp Pop fest promises fun for all

Ernest Dardar was grieving the death of a buddy when he helped give life to the idea of the Grand Bois Cajun/Swamp Pop Music Festival.

“We went to a wake one night, and the person who passed away always liked swamp pop music,” Dardar said. “I used to play music a long time ago, and we had been discussing it for a while, but it never materialized. But that night we decided ‘let’s go for it.'”

The rest is history.

The Grand Bois Cajun/Swamp Pop Music Festival will celebrate its eighth year when it opens Friday through Sunday, Oct. 19-21 in Bourg.

The family-oriented festival will feature a live musical lineup that includes The Treater Band, Henry “Horn Man” Billiot, The Cajun Ramblers, The Basin Brothers, Pat Folse and many more.

Bands will perform under a small pavilion in a wooded area off the Bourg-Larose Highway.

“We’re trying to get a larger pavilion,” Dardar said.

“Some people can sit under our tent, and some people can sit out under the sun in large chairs.”

Concessions will include jambalaya, white beans, shrimp patties, gumbo, hamburgers, hot dogs, fresh hog cracklins and beer and soft drinks.

Cost is $5.

No ice chests or outside liquor is permitted on the grounds.

One-price armbands will also entitle attendees to enjoy carnival rides the entire weekend.

But the main attraction is the music.

“We started the first festival with a small group of older people who grew up with this kind of music and had no place to go and dance to it,” Dardar said. “If you come here now, you’re starting to see a lot of younger people who like swamp pop.”

For more information on the Grand Bois Cajun/Swamp Pop Music Festival, call (985) 594-7410 or (985) 860-9431.