Mayor Freddie DeCourt speaks at Grand Reveil Acadien Tuesday morning. 

Grand Reveil Acadien continued its weeklong celebrations in New Iberia Tuesday with a long list of events celebrating the Acadian influence in the city.

Organizer Ebrar Reaux called New Iberia and Iberia Parish a “cultural gumbo” at the welcoming ceremony held Tuesday morning at Bouligny Plaza. Although Grand Reveil Acadien is specifically a celebration of local French culture and influence, Reaux said that other cultures in the area have been just as prominent and important.

“We have a lot of culture in New Iberia,” Reaux said. “The English, African-Americans, Spanish and the Cajuns added a strong flavor to our city.”

Mayor Freddie DeCourt spoke to a crowd gathered near the Steamboat Warehouse Pavilion to lend his support to the event and give his own thoughts on the importance of French culture in the area.

“When you think of our French culture and all that its added, I don’t know where the world would be without us,” DeCourt said. “I think it’s great there are groups like this that perpetuate our culture and instill it in our grandkids.”

North Lewis Elementary French Immersion students were on-site at Grand Reveil Acadien to not only give a French rendition of the pledge allegiance, but also to read a storybook the students had written previously to the audience.

The event merited some international attention with cultural attache for the Consulate General of France Jacques Baran also present for the Grand Reveil Acadien.

Baran said that his experience in the area for the past few months had given him firsthand experience on the cultural diversity of the area and the benefits it brought to Iberia Parish as a whole.

“A few months ago I had absolutely no idea what a cultural gumbo was,” Baran said. “Butr coming here it all makes sense. There are so many different cultures and you are fortunate to have so many cultures that work together to make Iberia Parish and especially New Iberia what it is. This spirit of togetherness is something we should all have.”

Some of the other features of the event that started Monday morning and extended into Tuesday afternoon included an update on the New Acadia Project, a local archaeological project that is seeking to locate the first Acadian settlement and is suspected to be in the Loreauville area.

Presentations on other significant cultural events like the New Iberia Spanish Festival and the Grand Marais Mardi Gras Parade were also given an opportunity to be explained to the public as well.