Lifestyle -> Party Girl TUE, SEP 20 6:00PM by Party Girl

Party Girl

Mes amis, read on for part deux of Party Girl's local volunteer recap. I told y'all there would be plenty to report! Well, in addition to volunteering, locals are also turning their parties and events into fundraisers, combining the best of both worlds. The outdoor concert, Band Together, a benefit for the Red Cross Sept. 10, was a huge hit, packing the Parc International stage with performers from Michael Doucet to Zachary Richard to New Orleans' David Torkanowsky, who's making quite a name for himself around town. (He'll also be the special guest at Festival International's Amis du Festival membership drive Sept. 24 at Blue Moon.) And of course Roddie Romero & the Hub City All-Stars shined, opening the show and playing through the night. The crowd packed the park and included many from New Orleans. Two touching moments were American Routes producer Nick Spitzer's words about the generosity of Lafayette and the closing number, "When the Saints Go Marching In." The crowd formed a second line of course, complete with umbrellas. Word on the street is more outdoor benefit concerts are in the works, so leave your weekends open and stayed tuned!

Also turning a good time into a fundraiser was the second annual arts event, Prelude: Overture to the Arts. Held at the Lafayette Natural History Museum & Planetarium, Prelude provides a sneak peek of arts organizations' upcoming seasons. Entertainment included Lafayette Ballet Theater dancers, the Kabuki Dancers drumming up interest in PASA's new season and the highlight of the evening, Tower of Power's Ellis Hall performing with the Acadiana All-Stars, a group of Lafayette musicians and special New Orleans evacuee musicians. And props go to Jill Merkl, who joined Ellis on stage for "You are the Sunshine of My Life." Proceeds from the event go to an endowed Fund for the Arts at Community Foundation of Acadiana and also went to a Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund this year. There's just no end to the power of our arts here, y'all!

Before I get to my final party turned fundraiser, let me fill y'all in on another effort going on around town. The Louisiana Home & Garden Show and Acadiana Fun Jumps have been holding luggage drives on weekends and delivering the luggage to the Cajundome. The first drive gathered more than 700 pieces, and more are needed. So, as an excuse for a new suitcase, y'all bring those old ones to Acadiana Fun Jumps.

Volunteer On! ' PG

Articles by this Author:

View all articles by this author

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

You must be logged in to post a comment. Log in using your Facebook account or register if you do not have an account yet.

Most Read

Alex Lege: 'The Cop Watcher'

Is it a crime for citizens to photograph, video, or take notes of a police officer in the line of duty, or a right protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Locally, such activity, as witnessed recently, will at the very least result in a night spent behind bars.
David Calhoun, ‘EB’ Brooks join Lafayette Central Park

David Calhoun and Elizabeth “EB” Brooks are the first two employees of Lafayette Central Park Inc., the nonprofit charged with turning Lafayette Consolidated Government’s 100-acre Johnston Street Horse Farm property into a passive public park. Calhoun was named executive director, and Brooks is director of planning and design.
Update: PXP creating 600 jobs averaging 100k

At Thursday's State of the Economy luncheon, LEDA President and CEO Gregg Gothreaux said PXP has already quietly hired 180 people for its Broussard expansion.
Today in awesome: ESA’s Caffery wins fellowship

Episcopal School of Acadiana’s Dr. Joshua Caffery, chair of the school’s English Department, is headed to Washington, D.C., and the Library of Congress as the latest winner of the Alan Lomax Fellowship in Folklife Studies.
Zachary Barker takes helm of the Opportunity Machine

Zachary Barker continues making waves in Lafayette’s business scene, mostly recently being named director of the Opportunity Machine.

in case you missed it

COOL TOWN 2013

This year’s Cool Town issue is all about people who are not native to South Louisiana but made a conscious decision to be here, to be among us, to participate in our culture and contribute to it.
A curious compact

A shelved ordinance transferring $200,000 from a northside drainage project to a south Lafayette development may not break any laws, but it stinks to high heaven.
Pooyie 2012

It's good, it's bad and it's just plain crazy.
Saving Saturday Night

An effort to restore a shuttered dancehall and document other vacant or razed honky-tonks could serve as a model for saving an endangered species of entertainment.
Posthaste vs. HART FORTENBERY

Lafayette’s gene pool has been host to a long line of eccentric characters who have blurred the lines between crazy, genius, disturbed and curiously entertaining.