Festival of Words presents Halloween Music and Mic

Get out your spooky poems, songs and stories for the Festival of Words Halloween Music and Mic at 7 p.m. at Chicory’s Coffee and Café in Grand Coteau. Henry Hample will sing spooky Halloween songs and guests are invited to bring Halloween poems, songs or stories for the open mic that follows.

Hample studied English literature at NYU, then received a master's degree in ethnomusicology from Brown University. He played with several bands in New York including Washboard Jungle (which the New York Daily News called "a wonderful four-member band who'll give you and the kids a fun-filled concert featuring rock 'n' roll and down-home folk music"). In 2001, he was thrown out of a Bourbon Street bar for attempting to sit in with their Cajun band, so he resolved to learn Cajun fiddle. He moved to Louisiana in 2007, and now plays nearly 100 gigs a year with various bands.

He has recorded CDs with Ray Landry, Harry Trahan, Lisa Trahan, Wallace Trahan and Aaron Chesson. He is a full-time music teacher at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau and has also taught music for Louisiana Folk Roots, LSUE and South Louisiana Community College. In 2014 he received the Excellence Award from the Cajun French Music Association, and he was nominated for their Fiddler of the Year award in 2010. 

This free, community event is suitable for all ages and is sponsored by The Festival of Words Cultural Arts Collective. The venue is made available through the generosity of Chicory’s Coffee and Cafe. For more information call Patrice Melnick at (337) 254-9695 or email festivalwords@gmail.com.

Louisiana Book News is written by award-winning author Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes Louisiana romances and mysteries under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Her first book in each series is FREE to download as an ebook, including "Emilie," book one of The Cajun Series, "Ticket to Paradise," book one of The Cajun Embassy series and "A Ghost of a Chance," the first Viola Valentine mystery.

Festival of Words hosts Nickname Open Mic tonight

            Do you have a fun or unusual nickname? The Festival of Words will host a “Nickname Open Mic” from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight at Chicory Coffee and Café in Grand Coteau. The time limit is five minutes in which participants can explain whether they love or hate their nickname, describe where it came from and tell of their experiences carrying this name.
            Mine is Pixie. What's yours?
            For more information, contact festivalwords@gmail.com or call (337) 254-9695.

Cheré Dastugue Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette, Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” She also writes Louisiana romances under the pen name of Cherie Claire. Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.