FRANKLIN — Lawn chairs, houseboats and a variety of food vendors a block long lined the banks of the Bayou Teche for this year’s 15th annual Black Bear Festival.

There were about 100 people in attendance who could be found dancing to live music as well as checking out the wide variety of foods with kids in tow.

“Well, we usually come every year,” Laura Dehart said. 

She brought her children, 10-year-old Lindsey and 8-year-old William Senette out for a snocone.  “I work around the corner at the Fountain of Youth and we decided to come. I think it’s great. I like that it’s small and family-oriented. I love it. We come every year.”

Some walked around in sneakers, others settled into their lawn chairs and still others got a chance to enjoy the band and festivities from the view of several houseboats that lined the Bayou Teche.

“Oh, I think they enjoy it because so many people don’t own a houseboat,” Jackie Spangler said. “We invite family close friends and family from out of town sometimes come. This is our second year with our houseboat, but we’ve come previous years with friends who have owned them.”

The smalltown feel of the festival lent itself to several homemade goodies ranging  

from pepper sauce and homemade tea cakes to cracklins and pork skins.

“We wanted to support Franklin and support the festival and have people taste our pepper sauce,” Gayle Louviere with Gene’s Pepper Sauce tent said. “Our recipe is over 175 years old and it’s been passed down through the families and no one else has this recipe.”

Local churches were also on hand with homemade tea cakes and hot links that were a big hit.

“Anything local and community wide brings people together for a positive reason and a positive cause, plus there’s  good music good food and good fellowship,” the Rev. Darlene Moore of Asbury United Methodist Church said. 

Organizers said giving vendors a platform to fundraise is one of the driving forces of the festival.

“This year was really focused on giving  a platform for local organizations to come out and promote or fundraise for their cause,” Black Bear Festival President Edgar Dugas said. “Rotary had their jambalaya and gumbo cookoff, Lions Club has a cause for providing eyeglasses for children at summer camp and  Franklin High band is raising money for band camp.” 

And, of course, there were representatives from the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries who were there to educate both adults and children on the importance of the Louisiana black bear to the Franklin community and surrounding areas.

“Festivals like this bring people outside the area and helps introduce them to the wildlife refuge in this area,” Brian Pember, assistant manager of the Bayou Teche Wildlife Refuge, said. 

“The wildlife that benefits from having a wildlife refuge here between Franklin and Centerville, the fish and the birds, all benefit from the 9,000 acres we’ve set aside to protect the black bear,” Pember said.

Organizers of the event said they meet as early as next week to start planning for next year’s festival.