Cajun Crossroads Festival to be held May 4-5 in Hessmer

The 4th annual Cajun Crossroads Festival will begin at 6 p.m. this Friday (May 4) and continue Saturday with fun, food, music and baseball.

The event will be held at the Village of Hessmer’s Ronald Mayeux Ballpark Complex. Admission is free Friday, when the main attraction will be the T-ball games for adults and children. The tournament brackets have been set and no new teams are being accepted, Hessmer Sports Club President Shawn Gagnard said.

The Crossroads Festival is the main fundraiser for the Hessmer Sports Club. Proceeds are used to maintain and improve the Mayeux recreational complex. Gagnard said last year’s proceeds paid for the new scoreboards at the park.

“This year we are talking with the town about putting in a new playground at the park so younger children will have something to do while their older brothers and sisters are playing ball,” he added.

Gagnard said the festival “is a great family fun weekend with proceeds going to help support the kids in our local community.“

Admission will be $3 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The T-ball tournaments will conclude during the day. After 5 p.m., a $5 fee will be collected, which includes entrance to the band area. A dance will be held that night with The Hot Sauce Band, a local ‘80’s rock-theme band, performing.

The Village of Hessmer will sponsor a fireworks display, visible from the fairgrounds, after sundown.

There will be several vendors in the “Beer Garden and Food Court” area of the festival. The park will shut down at 11 p.m. Friday and midnight on Saturday.

This year’s backyard chef competition will be a Jambalaya Cook-off. Samples will be sold for $5 per bowl. Winners of the Jambalaya Cook-off will be announced and prizes awarded at 5 p.m.

Area backyard chefs can enter the contest for an entry fee of $50. Contact Alan Miller 308-1861 or Derek Juneau 359-0183 for more information.

Besides jambalaya, there will be boudin, fried fish, hamburgers, Cajun fries, cold beer and soft drinks available for purchase.

There will also be children’s games and face-painting sponsored by the St. Alphonsus Catholic Church youth group, J.C. and Company. Cost will be $2 per game and face painting starts at $1.50.