Ascension Parish Bicentennial Celebration

I must have written the word "BICENTENNIAL" over 1,000 times in the last 7 months. But, until now, I really haven't thought about what the word means ­ and I'm not talking about the definition in the dictionary.  

To me, it means so many things - history, development, struggle, success, goals, dreams, pride, hardship, beauty, accomplishment and so much more.

This year, Ascension Parish will be celebrating a milestone. It was 200 years ago that this Parish was born. Here is a little overview of its history:

Ascension Parish lies on both banks of the Mississippi River and has a diverse culture... French, Acadian, Italian, Spanish, German, African, English, Native Tribes, Canadian, Canary Islanders and more.

• 1543 - Europeans came to the Parish, led by DeSoto.
  
• 1682 - became the property of France when LaSalle explored the Mississippi River.
  
• 1763 - became a Spanish Territory.
  
• 1766 - the Spanish Government issued land grants to Acadians from Nova Scotia and Canary Islands.
  
• 1806 - Donaldsonville dedicated. The Parish seat was named after Founder, William Donaldson.  
  
• 1820's - Parish called the Gold Coast due to prosperous farming. Many sugar barons erected plantations such as Ashland, Hermitage, Tezcuco,  Bocage, Houmas House.
  
• 1825, William Donaldson (the town) became the Capital City of the Commonwealth of Louisiana. The title only existed from  1830-31, going to New Orleans.
  
• Experienced many Civil War skirmishes, including the Battle of Fort Butler in Donaldsonville.
  
• 1906, Joseph Gonzales, subdivided two properties: Henry B. Parker farm and the Vincent T. Landry property, selling lots for $50 to $100.
  
• Sorrento, originally identified as Conway (Bayou Conway), became established with the coming of the railroad. Railroad owner, William Edenborn, renamed the village in 1909  after Sorrento, Italy, where he had taken his bride on their honeymoon.  
  
• Mid-1900's, the Parish saw tremendous growth. Transitioned from agrarian base with the birth of petro-chemical plants along the river.
  
• Today we are experiencing incredible growth again and look forward to a marvelous future!
  

There are several South Louisiana Parishes that are celebrating Bicentennials this year. We feel certain that our celebration will be something really special. I'd like to share with you some of the plans.

For over a year, plans have been developing on the best way to commemorate this important occasion. Parish President, Ronnie Hughes and Betty Robert, our Chief Information Officer for the Parish have   wanted to develop something very special.

It was decided to throw a birthday party for the Parish ­ the biggest, most spectacular Festival Ascension has ever hosted!

It will be held at our premiere event site, the Lamar Dixon Expo Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 20 ­ 22, 2007.  

In order to organize an event of such large proportions, it was important to recruit experienced and dedicated event managers and producers.  

The Parish enlisted the help of Linwood Holdridge, a lifelong resident of Ascension. Lin has an incredible portfolio of work including several decades with Walt Disney World. Perhaps his most important and satisfying job for the last 30+ years has been as a teacher at East Ascension High School. Lin brings a great deal of experience, creativity and love for the Parish to the mix.

Lin brought Buddy Berry on board. Buddy owns Stage Right Productions in Baton Rouge. His company has developed into one of the largest staging, lighting and rigging companies in the United States and has been in operation for over 25 years.  Buddy has worked with some of the biggest events and names in the business and is well-respected by his peers.

In addition, I came on board. I have had my own business for 16 years. Carter Companies provides event management, fundraising, marketing and graphic design for companies in Baton Rouge and Ascension Parish.  

Together and with the help of those at the Parish office, we established an advisory board of directors whose job is to oversee our progress. Here is a list of our distinguished and dedicated directors:

Ascension Parish Bicentennial Advisory Board Members

Sherry Kinchen
Chair Ascension Parish Recreation Director

Betty Robert ­ Sec./Treasurer
Ascension Parish PIO

Tee-Wayne Abshire
Tee Wayne's Cajun Cooking

Lisa Bacala, Supervisor of Secondary Education
Ascension Parish School Board

Tom Barfield
Comptroller

Nancy Carter
Carter Companies, LLC

Eddie Crawford - Director
Lamar-Dixon Expo Center

Ramon Gomez
Ascension Parish Tourist Commission

Cathy Hambrick, Executive Director
African-American Museum

Linwood Holdridge
Director of Creative Entertainment

Becky Katz, Executive Director
Donaldsonville Chamber of Commerce

Tommy Kurtz, Exec. Director  / CEO
Ascension Economic Development Corp.

Bill Landry
Gonzales Chief of Police

Lee Melancon, Director of Academic Affairs
University Of Phoenix

Edie Michel, Director Business Development
Ascension Economic Development Corp.

Debbie Peltier, Chamber Voice
Editor in Chief

Lyle Schexnaydre, Supervisor
Ascension Parish Recreation

Loretta Templet
Ascension Parish Tourist Commission

Judge Alvin Turner
Circuit Judge

Jeff Wiley
Ascension Parish Sheriff

Paul Robert
Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office

The advisors and the coordinating team have been working for months and months on the development of the Festival. We are proud to say that plans are coming along beautifully and you can all expect a fabulous event.

Here are just some of the details:

The Festival's Presenting Sponsor is EATEL. It is important that everyone in the community know about EATEL's commitment to this celebration. They have been interested in participating in the Bicentennial from its inception. They have become a true sponsoring partner in our efforts providing resources, time, and ideas to ensure that this Festival truly reflects the wonderful elements of Ascension Parish ­ past, present and future. We are truly fortunate to have EATEL in our Parish. And, what's so very nice is that they feel fortunate to be in the Parish as well.  

• Admission: Free admission / $5 per vehicle parking
  
  
• We plan to organize a shuttle service from a location outside of Lamar Dixon in anticipation of large attendance. We will   certainly let everyone know  your parking options as the event nears.
  
  
• 100' Concert-style staging with impressive lighting and high-quality sound
  
  
• National, regional and local live musical performers. We  have some really impressive   acts lined-up and we will share those names, performance date and times with you as the   event nears.
  
  
• "Spectacle in the Sky" ­ Lights, sound, lasers, pyrotechnics and musical entertainment showcasing the history of Ascension Parish ­ Friday and Saturday nights ­ This show is being written, directed and produced by Lin. We can expect to be dazzled and enlightened as the history of our home is revealed in this high-tech way.
  
  
• Nightly Fireworks Finale
  
  
• 24 exhilarating midway rides
  
  
• Carnival snack foods such as funnel cakes, popcorn, hamburgers and hot dogs
  
  
• McDonald's Children's Play Area
  
  
• Featured food vendors   offering signature South Louisiana flavor!
  
  
• Controlled beer garden and Coca-Cola products
  
  
• Well over 100 arts and crafts vendors
  
  
• Historical booths and displays
  
  
• Commemorative Bicentennial merchandise
  
  
• Associated Food Stores "BBQ on the Bayou," State-sanctioned IBCA BBQ competition
  
  
• Vintage car exhibit; Antique Farm Equipment Exhibit
  
  
• Motorcycle, Boat and RV Exhibits
  
  
• Health and Wellness Pavilion sponsored by St. Elizabeth Hospital
  
  
• Indoor, air-conditioned art show and exhibition of area    student's work related to the  history of Ascension Parish
  
  
• Ascension Parish Business Expo Booths
  
  
• Ascension Parish Bicentennial Pageant ­ details are just coming together regarding this event inside our event. As soon as we can, we will send information out through area media so that those interested can get involved. If there is anyone interested in getting on the organizing committee for this Pageant, please e-mail us by visiting our web site: www.ascensionbicentennial.com
  
  
• A greased pig run, a livestock show or small rodeo are also in the works.
  
  
• Commemorative 15' sculpture created by well-known Ascension Parish Sculptor, Craig Black to be unveiled at the Festival
  
  
• Commemorative original  piece of art to be unveiled at   the Festival
  
  
• Hall of Fame inductees to be announced during the Festival
  
  
• And of course, some surprises!
  

Here is further detail regarding some of the commemorative aspects of our plans.

Commemorative Sculpture: Our sculpture will be created by Craig Black and is in development at this time. The Sculpture will be unveiled at the Festival.

Educational Program: It is important that the students of our Parish are included in this celebration. Therefore we are currently working with school officials to ask that teachers incorporate a writing or art   project in their classes. They will choose a representative piece from their class to be included in a display at the Festival.

Hall of Fame: We would be nothing without those incredible pioneers that contributed to the beginning of our Parish. We want to identify and recognize those people through our Hall of Fame: We also want to identify and recognize those present-day pioneers who are making a significant difference in the present and future of our Parish.  Plaques will be on display at the Festival. Anyone interested in nominating someone for the Hall of Fame, please send your ideas to us via our website: www.ascensionbicentennial.com.

Commemorative Art: A piece of art will also be created by an area artist. This art will be framed and unveiled at our Festival. Posters of the work will also be available.  We invite all interested artists to contact us for further details about becoming the official artist for this commemorative piece of art or if they are interested in participating in our art show.

These programs are supported  by underwriters. We ask for donations from $1,000 and up, generally in the name of a person or company that has made a significant contribution to our Parish over the years. That name will be included on the nameplates of the art, sculpture and Hall of Fame and listed on the educational display in return.  Interested? Please e-mail us at www.ascensionbicentennial.com.

Sponsors are such a huge part of this event. As you can imagine, the costs related to putting on a top-quality, interactive, entertaining and enlightening event are substantial. Sponsors see the value of getting involved in something like this for several reasons: They see it as a marketing opportunity, as a way to show their dedication to our Parish and as an opportunity to be a part of a once-in-a-lifetime happening. So far, we have many incredibly generous sponsors and are still looking for a few more.

EATEL
Presenting Sponsor

WBRZ
Television Media Sponsor

The Advocate
Newspaper Sponsor

Clear Channel Communications
WYNK, The River, WFMF, WJBO, The Score ­ Radio Sponsor

St. Elizabeth Hospital
our official health and wellness sponsor

UCB Bank
our official banking sponsor

Bengal Chemical

Baton Rouge Coca-Cola

Associated Food Stores

McDonalds

Welch Generators

SW Computers

Neese Industries

Gerry Lane Hummer

And many, many others

The fact that the Festival will take place at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center means that this impressive event facility will be showcased to thousands and thousands of people. The Center will be included in all of our advertising, on our web site and its location will become known. The staff at Lamar Dixon is working with us regularly to be certain that the facility is in top form and ready for an event of this magnitude!  We appreciate Lamar Dixon's understanding of the scope of this event and how important an opportunity this is to showcase both the Center and our Parish regionally.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that Parish President Ronnie Hughes decided we needed to do something spectacular to commemorate   this important milestone in our Parish's history, this article wouldn't be complete without mentioned the Parish Council.  This group of dedicated, community leaders immediately recognized the incredible value an event like this would have for our Parish and unanimously voted to contribute significantly to the effort. This forward thinking vision is great for our Parish!

To conclude, if you stop and think about the positive economic impact the Ascension Parish Bicentennial Festival will have on our community, it is impressive. We will have visitors to our community who would have never ventured here otherwise. And, we will have a family-oriented birthday party for our Parishioners that they  will truly enjoy and remember for years to come.

We invite everyone to have a   roll in the Festival. We need volunteers, sponsors, staff, vendors, artists, musicians, historians, hobbyists and more!  Everyone is needed.

Please e-mail us or call our Bicentennial phone line to learn how you can be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event!

673-0200
www.ascensionbicentennial.com

Ascension Parish 1807-2007 Bicentennial
The word means so very much!

Nancy Carter
Co-Executive Producer
Ascension Parish Bicentennial Festival