There are 30,000 reasons for us to thank the New Iberia Optimist Club in its latest effort to enhance downtown New Iberia.

The Optimists gave the George Rodrigue “pocket park” project a big boost this past week when the civic club donated $30,000. Paul Schexnayder accepted the money on behalf of the Bayou Teche Museum.

“We set out to do something with the surplus we had. It was there due to decades of fundraising and outright work and Optimist members giving their time over the years,” Andrew Harris, Optimist Club president, said Wednesday morning during the check presentation at the Ramada Inn.

“I think it was about a year ago Paul talked to us about the George Rodrigue Park, and what caught my ear was that there would be a huge art wall and something amazing for the youth of New Iberia.”

With that fresh in their mind, the Optimist Club’s board members voted two months ago to donate $30,000.

As a result, the project’s timeline moves at a faster pace.

Schexnayder said a resolution will be introduced soon at a New Iberia City Council meeting to accept state money for the park honoring the late George Rodrigue, a well-known artist born in New Iberia whose Blue Dog paintings are recognized worldwide. Rodrigue died in December 2013.

Schexnayder, an accomplished artist, talked about that outside wall that piqued the interest of the New Iberia Optimist Club. 

“I think the structure, it’s going to be for children’s art, but it’s going to be for a whole lot more that we don’t even know yet. It’s the only structure in there. It can become a multi-purpose space with a mission for little kids,” he said Thursday in The Daily Iberian.

The pocket park, which will be located on the site of the former Masonic Lodge on Main Street, has been in the planning stages for at least three years as a tribute to Rodrigue. The property was donated to the city by the law firm of Landry, Watkins, Repaske & Breaux.

The pocket park’s features will include benches, lighting and a sculpture of a Blue Dog, plus the wall.

That’s exciting for the community. Residents should extend a huge “thank you” to the New Iberia Optimist Club for its role in the creation of George Rodrigue Park.

DON SHOOPMAN

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR