Meraux Foundation Hosts ‘Blues, Brews & BBQ in da Parish” Festival
The 5th Annual Blues, Brews and BBQ in da Parish will feature local barbecue masters, breweries, and musicians. The free festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017 from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. at the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm (5124 E St Bernard Hwy, Violet, LA 70092).
“We are thrilled to host Blues, Brews and BBQ at Docville again this year,” said Rita Gue, president of the Meraux Foundation. “We love that the community will be able to come together for a fun day and to support a worthwhile cause, Leadership St. Bernard!”
Chalmette High School Jazz Ensemble will be kicking off the day of blues performances at 11 a.m., followed by performances from the Sarasota Slim Band, Andy J. Forest Band, Keith Stone with Red Gravy, Da’ By-U Blues Band, 30×90 Blues Women, and Cristi Dee’s BAD JUJU. At 12:30 p.m., the New Orleans Blues Society will lead a harmonica workshop for kids, who’ll then take the stage at 2:30 p.m. to perform what they’ve learned.
Adults will be able to enjoy cold beers from among the wide variety of local and craft beers that will be on tap at the festival. Local distributor Southern Eagle will have local and craft beers available.
Local vendors will also be serving up some of their best dishes. For those who love serious barbecue, be sure to check out Aporkalpse Now, winner of the 2016 Hogs for the Cause competition, or Slow and Leaux, among others. For those who would prefer a little something else, The Brackish Bar, a pop-up oyster bar, will be serving their charbroiled oysters and BBQ shrimp and grits; and local Chalmette joint Cafe Aquarius will have a Chinese BBQ noodle salad, as well as a vegan option. Finish it all off with a praline encrusted pound cake from Big Chief Bakery or some jalapeño and mesquite jerky from Aunt Jenny’s Beef Jerky.
The event is being spearheaded by Leadership St. Bernard, a leadership program designed to educate and to engage citizens in identifying needs, resources, and opportunities for St. Bernard Parish.
“We are so excited to be involved with this year’s Blues, Brews, and BBQ and are thankful to the Meraux Foundation and all of this year’s festival partners,” said Michael Lango, who is in the current class of Leadership St. Bernard. “Leadership St. Bernard is growing and we really want to empower residents of St. Bernard to be involved in their communities.”
The event is graciously sponsored by the Meraux Foundation, as well as many others including Chalmette Refining; Valero Refining; Park Investments; Sidney Torres Law Firm; Rita & Floyd Gue; Shine Production, LLC; The Voices Foundation INC.; Republic Services; Associated Terminals; Turn Services; St. Bernard Tourist Commission; St. Bernard Department of Tourism; Parish President Guy McInnis; Southern Services & Equipment; NOLA Realty; Callais Ice; Sheriff James Pohlmann and the Reserve Division; Southern Insurance; Palmisano; Gulf Coast Bank; Title Corp; Tabary and Borne, LLC; EvanSchmidt Design; NOLA Build; and Big Chief Vapor.
For more information on the event, be sure to check out Blues, Brews, and BBQ in da Parish on Facebook or check out the interview with Jessica DeFraites on “Coffee with Kevin.”
More at http://bluesintheparish.com/