Cathy Indest, with the microphone, welcomes visitors at the final event of the 2016 Dave Robicheaux’s Hometown Literary Festival. She holds a sign featuring the sponsors and is surrounded by committee members and volunteers who helped make the inaugural event a success. This year Cajun dancers Cal and Lou Courville will teach from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. before Terry Huval and his Jambalaya Cajun Band performs for the fais-do-do, called Black Cherry Boogie, Saturday night April 1 at the Steamboat Pavilion at Bouligny Plaza.

Do you see what they see? Look again!

Spring is a great time to explore South Louisiana. An even better time for dusting off the cobwebs of memories past for creating new ones. Organizers for Dave Robicheaux’s Hometown Literary Festival will be doing just that for residents of the Teche Area as well as expected visitors from around the world.

Established as a force to boost the economic future of the area, as well as create some down-home fun for locals and tourists, the Robicheaux festival was conceived around the James Lee Burke character Dave Robicheaux, a detective who fights battles of his own while finding criminals that invade his beloved world in New Iberia.

Twenty titles feature the Cajun man captured masterfully by Burke in a way that inspires visitors to Louisiana to make special trips to the Teche Area to experience for themselves the New Iberia where Robicheaux dwells.

“It’s the world we live in everyday,” said Cathy Indest founder of the festival along with the Iberia Preservation Alliance, a coalition of three organizations spearheading the events. “We live in an atmosphere most people don’t realize exists except in literature. But when they come to our area, they find a culture among the people of South Louisiana that makes them want to return or at least take back fond memories.”

Meager Beginnings

The festival may have started with a focus on Burke and Robicheaux, and it will always revolve around the rich descriptions and life-like characters of his books, but the festival in its first year took on a character of its own.

“We’re so culturally rich with diverse artists in our midst,” said Becky Collins, a festival committee member, supporter of the arts and board member of the Bayou Teche Museum. “This festival is a culmination of the richness of the arts that is the reason Wyatt and I chose to retire here.”

Collins leads the group of volunteers organizing the “Neon Rain” 5K Run and 1 mile fun run to be held Saturday morning April 1 through downtown New Iberia. Runners need not be a fan of the Burke series to enjoy the festival run, named for one of Burke’s books. Registration for the run is coordinated online at Cajuntiming.com. Fees vary depending on age and date of registration.

Another inclusive artistic aspect of the Robicheaux festival is the readers theater performance to be held at Essanee Theater by members of Iberia Performing Arts League. Excerpts from Burke’s books will be dramatically read with live music interspersed in such a fashion to capture the ambiance of the stories. Bobi Lyon and Joe Ritter will celebrate their second year as IPAL consultants for their knowledge of the Burke mysteries.

Lyon and Ritter are living testimony of the power of Burke’s books. Having read all of his books, they became enamored with the culture of South Louisiana. They first visited New Iberia during several vacations prior to making the decision to move permanently into the community when they retired. The 2017 festival will follow closely behind the first anniversary of the Californians move to the Teche Area.

Scholastic Attraction

One of the favorite events at last year’s festival was the inclusion of an educational symposium coordinated through the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Professor Claire Manes coordinated scholars like a published Burke analyzer who spoke about the writing style, area historian and Ph.D. Shane Bernard and other university English department personnel speaking on the development of story and characters. The symposium will return with a new group of experts ready to explore the written word.

Teche Life editor and author Vicky Branton moderated a panel of professionals that included publisher Trent Angers along with an author and relative of Burke’s, a book distributor and printer. This year the panel includes an award winning journalist and published author, an author/periodical writer and editor, plus a publisher promoter who can help would-be writers and published authors expand their understanding of the exploitation of manuscripts.

Interactive workshops on Friday are designed to increase the awareness of writers’ gifts and potential to reach not only audiences but fulfill their destiny as writers and communicators.

For writers who have published in any format or those who consider they might have a book or story worth publishing, these are essential and free opportunities to learn more about the art and craft of writing and publishing.

Community Event

The Iberia Cultural Resources Association, Bayou Teche Museum and Shadows-on-the-Teche — collectively known as the Iberia Preservation Alliance — are joined by community co-presenter New Iberia Main Street Program, along with Iberia Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau, Iberia Parish Library, Iberia Performing Arts League and the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, to bring this menagerie to the Teche Area. Event sponsors also include EdwardJones, Books Along the Teche, Sir Speedy and The Daily Iberian.

Leadership of the Robicheaux festival began at minimum two years prior to last year’s inaugural events. Success was measured by the fact visitors and fans of Burke’s books came from three other countries, more than 16 states across the U.S. and a surplus of funds-over-expenses — seed money for planning the 2017 slate of activities. The launch of a new international festival for the Teche Area left its mark.

What Others Have Said

“I live in the UK and attended the festival. It was excellent. Well organized and well structured for both James Lee Burke fans (me) and book-lovers in general,” Richard Cusden from Liverpool, England, said after last year’s festival. “I went ‘all-inclusive’ and attended all group meals, coach trip, lectures, a film and a dramatization of the first Dave Robicheaux book. All were well attended and of high quality. Most of all the ‘Southern hospitality’ shone through. Many thanks to all those who made it such a memorable trip. Get planning for next year!”

As special guest of the festival organizers, Consul General of France in Louisiana, Grégor Trumel, came to the festival from New Orleans.

“I held my promise and visited the festival on April 8-10 with my wife and children and it was fantastic,” Trumel said. “The greatest thing was perhaps how welcoming and nice a people you are, so joyful and eager to share your ‘joie de vivre.’ I will definitely spread the word in France and to the international community and will come back next year. In addition to being a Dave Robicheaux and James Lee Burke fan, I am now a true fan of New Iberia, too.”

Support for 2017 came from Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor Billy Nunguesser’s office. They have called Dave Robicheaux’s Hometown Literary Festival something to “Pick Your Passion” about. Books are no longer a solitary adventure when combined with the culture of Cajun country.

James Anderson from Birmingham, Alabama, said, “New Iberia’s scenery, as expected, was lush and beautiful, the people friendly and courteous, the weather perfect. James Lee Burke’s love of this area is certainly well deserved. Thank you for providing this festival. We certainly plan to attend the next one.”

Elizabeth Oswalt Wheeler from Mobile County, Alabama, said she loved visiting New Iberia and learning how to play Bourré. She’s looking forward to returning to the next Dave Robicheaux Festival. An author from Austin wrote a book set in the culture of the Teche Area and offered them at a table along Main Street.

“It was wonderful returning to Louisiana for the Dave Robicheaux Hometown Literary Festival. New Iberia is an incredible city,” said Dwaines Lawless, author of Cajun Moon.

Everyone’s Important

What was missing, and was noticed by organizers in 2016, were hometown attendees expected to shop at author tables and attend both the free and ticketed events wearing the hat of Teche Life ambassadors as well as festival goers.

“The many visitors from throughout this country and beyond celebrated the event and many, if not most, promised to return next year,” said Mike Manes, another Robicheaux festival committee member.

Manes wrote a letter to The Daily Iberian editor following last year’s festival. He had this to say.

“To the ‘locals’ who joined us, we say thanks. It was a busy time in Cajun Country this past weekend and we appreciate all who could make it to Main Street,” said Manes. “For those unable to attend this time and interested in the world of literature, continuing the revitalization of Iberia, and further establishing this parish as a destination for fun, scholarship, music and food — our Cajun culture, we invite you to join us next year!”

Like a Burke mystery, the first festival offered options that at the time seemed confusing to some residents — something unknown. In South Louisiana to call a weekend of activities a festival denotes an atmosphere quite different than the one experienced last Spring by residents and international travelers alike.

Free & Ticket Events

What is Dave Robicheaux’s Hometown Literary Festival all about?

The quick answer is that organizers wanted to offer a variety of opportunities so everyone in Acadiana and around the world would find something to enjoy in a culture often taken for granted by those who live in it everyday.

The festival is not about the masses — a deterrent to some who stay home from large crowds. It is, however, all about enjoying the hospitality and diversity of South Louisiana.

Speaking of diversity, also new this year is an author round table giving opportunity to build community between the races that inhabit the Teche Area. Margaret Wrinkle wrote “Wash” after researching the rumor that her ancestor was a slave breeder in the 1800s.

Limited by the written facts discovered by her research, Wrinkle wrote a novel growing in national acclaim for the delicate subject of human bondage through slavery. Although decided long ago, the effects of slavery and human rights are still highly volatile and carry generations of wounds yet to be healed.

An open discussion with local and regional historians and genealogists promises to be a highlight at this year’s festival.

Next Year is Here

In less than a month, March 31 through April 2, the second annual Dave Robicheaux’s Hometown Literary Festival will take place in and around New Iberia. For a complete list of free and ticketed events, visit EventBrite.com and search Dave Robicheaux’s Hometown Literary Festival. Mark what you plan to attend as free events and purchase tickets there or at the Shadows Visitors Center, where you can receive an early bird discount or group rates if purchased before March 25.

You can also visit IberiaTravel.com or the DaveRobicheauxLiteraryFestival.com website to view video clips highlighting last year’s festival and premiering new attractions for 2017.

Anyone with the organizations listed above can tell you about the excitement of being part of a community event like the one created because of an author’s literary point of view.

Take the tour. Enjoy Friday night’s cochon de lait and second line with the Bunk Johnson Brazz Band, take dance lessons at Saturday’s fais-do-do with Terry Huval and his Jambalaya Cajun Band. Learn to play Bouree or win at the tournament Saturday, tour the Bayou Teche on a party barge or take a guided bus-tour listening to readings from Burke’s books or take a picnic to Sunday’s Acadiana Symphony in the Park.

Attend the workshops or walk down Main Street and enjoy the visitors expected from around the world. They’ll be eating lunch at food trucks on Saturday while listening to live music or getting ready for the bus tour at Victor’s while hearing about the history of Burke and New Iberia.

It’s Spring in Acadiana. Time to bloom with new experiences while making memories with old friends — written or otherwise.