Target shooting, local delicacies on tap at Little Red Church Festival

Thelezia Folse

The Little Red Church Food and Fun Festival will take place May 4-6 behind St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. The festival offers a variety of fair rides and games along with tasty food.

Thousands of people will head to Destrehan next weekend to enjoy soaring fair rides, chow down on crawfish pies and onion mums and show their skills in paint ball target shooting.

St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church will host its 32nd annual Little Red Church Food and Fun Festival from May 4-6 behind the church on River Road. The festival has grown into one of the top yearly entertainment venues in the parish and will have four bands and a drumline showcase this year.

Of course, one of the main reasons people travel to any festival is for the food, and Little Red Church doesn’t disappoint. Crawfish pies, meat pies, jambalaya and red beans, pulled pork sandwiches and onion mums are just a few of the tasty choices this year. Sno balls, beer and wine will also be on the menu.

There will also be several amusement park rides and exciting games where festival goers can take aim at a shooting gallery, hurl a ball at a dunking tank, hit targets with paint balls or throw darts for prizes.

Historically, the event has only hosted two live bands, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. But this year four bands have been booked and will perform throughout the weekend.

Off The Hook and Bonerama will perform Saturday and No Idea and the Topcats will play on Sunday. The drumline showcase will take place on Friday.

Entry into the festival is free and about 3,000 to 5,000 people attend each year.

The festival’s roots trace back to 1980, when a small group of people at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church decided to put on a modest fair to raise money for parish projects and bring the community together. Thirty-two years later, the Little Red Church Food and Fun Festival is one of the largest events in St. Charles.

This year’s festival will be held on May 4 from 6-10 p.m., May 5 from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. and May 6 from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. behind St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church on River Road in Destrehan.

For a full schedule of events, including band times and dates, see the ad on page 3B.