Ellen Fucich and Brady McKellar with Vermilionville stopped by News15 First at Four to share the details on Creole Culture Day.
Ellen Fucich and Brady McKellar with Vermilionville stopped by News15 First at Four to share the details on Creole Culture Day.
The 2024 Créole Culture Day is Sunday, June 9, presented by C.R.E.O.L.E. Inc., and Vermilionville. Come celebrate everything Créole during this FREE Festival. There will be live music from Wayne Singleton and the Same Ol' Two Step and Louisiana Folkroots will host an instrument Petting Zoo. Jacqueline Jones of the Baton Rouge Community College will share discussion on The Forgotten Trailblazers: America's Black Cowboys. Experience the art of Anne Guillot, the poetry of Alex PoeticSoul Johnson and more -- food, crafts, family fun, plus the 2024 Richard Catalon Créole Heritage Award. Come celebrate the profound contributions of Créole culture June 9 at Vermilionville!
Erica Melancon Fox 2024 Catalon Award recipient:
Erica Fox is a local griot (see definition below), community advocate and professional singer with over 40+ commercial recordings. She has performed in stage plays and performed at such venues at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and being civic minded in her entrepreneurial approach, she launched Attakapas Collective, a BIPOC creative makerspace in Lafayette. She is the founding member of Lafayette's first African American history museum, Maison Creole de Freetown located in the Freetown neighborhood. She continues to champion for the preservation of history, music and culture in Acadiana.
A griot (/ˈɡriːoʊ/; French: [ɡʁi.o]; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: ߖߋߟߌ,[1] djeli or djéli in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician.
