Love Was Everywhere
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
It was a perfect day for six hours of fun, food and festivities.
As bar-b-que smoke spiraled upward in North City Park and loudspeakers blasted Zydeco and Hip-Hop on a clear and cloudless Saturday, the fourth annual Love Fest again attracted several hundred inside a venue that promoted citywide togetherness with handshakes and hugs..
If any negative attitudes existed, it was apparent that they had been left at home.
Approximately 100 vendors set up booths underneath tents to provide free information along with cost-free food and drinks
Those walking up the boulevard and onto the festival area had opportunities to obtain books, tomato and cucumber plants, educational material, as well as literature on local products and civic information.
The food choices were delicious and varied, as visitors could choose from hot dogs, hamburgers, jambalaya, fried fish, pastries, fruit, desserts, snacks and popcorn.
Yvonne Normand, who represented the Opelousas Sunrise Club that hosts the event, said the Love Fest is one of many civic projects the club sponsors annually.
“We started off four years ago with about 30 booths and then the next year we were up to 50. Last year there were 80 and (on Saturday) we were at 100 the last time we counted,” said Normand.
The objective for each of the Love Fest events, Normand said, is to create a gathering place where people within the city can get to know one another.
“Everyone here today is your neighbor. You may see some unfamiliar faces, but it’s a chance for us to learn about one another and create awareness about community. When you look at the people who are here, you are looking at family,” said Normand.
The Love Fest, Normand pointed out, is one of several Love Projects sponsored by Sunrise Rotary.
“It (the Love Fest) is our major project, but throughout the year, we have camps and clinics for youths where we teach them skills in basketball and football. There are senior programs and etiquette classes that are designed to teach young people how to dress and eat properly,” said Normand.
The food, drinks and materials handed out at the Love Fest were fee, Normand said.
“No one is allowed to exchange money or to buy or sell anything,” Normand pointed out.
This year Sunrise Rotary plans to partner with the St. Landry Parish School District in order to create better human trafficking awareness.
Normand said school administrators, guidance counselors, nurses and teachers will be introduced to aspects of human trafficking. Students will eventually be informed about human trafficking in appropriate conversations,” said Normand.
