Festive weekend ahead in St. Charles

Get ready for a festive weekend in St. Charles Parish coming up. The 29th annual Alligator Festival will bring crowds of funlovers to the West Bank bridge park, offering alligator sauce piquante and other delicious cuisine as well as good music, dancing, rides and a chance to socialize with their neighbors and visitors.

This festival, which has become one of the most popular in the state, was started in the early eighties when the St. Charles Rotary Club was looking for a way to make money to donate to civic causes. At the same time, members wanted to help the economy by promoting the alligator industry since the reptile had been taken off the endangered species list.

It was a small affair at first, held behind Willowdale Coutry Club and club members cooked the alligator dishes themselves. When the festival grew beyond the bounds of the country club, in only a couple of years, it was moved to U. S. 90 in front of Coronado Park Subdivision and then to Holy Family Church  and the bridge park.

Club members spend many hours in preparation and staging the festival, not in food preparation anymore since that is farmed out to professional food handlers and civic clubs who earn money for their causes. They mainly manage the affair which has become a big undertaking.

Today, it is a mini-Jazz Fest in many ways, right here at home.

So head out to the Alligator Festival this weekend and you’ll pass a good time, yah.