Louisiana IS Festival

I would like to propose that the word FESTIVAL become the official word of Louisiana. It sums up the "joie de vie" of Louisiana and its people in one, neat, perfect, word. It is, of course a noun : I am going to Festival. But here, it is also used as a verb: I'm gonna festival tonight. And it can work as an adjective: That party was so festival.

Festival is so ingrained in the people of Louisiana that when you say "festival" to someone, there is a visceral response. Why? Because we have 2 festival seasons in Louisiana - spring festival season and fall festival season. The rest of the year is just hot (Summer) or cold (Winter). Just in the past month there has been: Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, Cajun Hot Sauce Festival, French Quarter Festival, Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Festival, Bayou Teche Bear Festival, Festival International de Louisiane and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Louisiana IS Festival.

I will be out at Festival International tonight and I will be Tweeting and Whrrl(ing) all the fun.

Photo by me from 2007 when I was Festival International's official photographer.