NEW IBERIA, La. — The first ever Cajun Country ParaCon is bringing together the like-minded people of New Iberia, who see and believe all things otherworldly.
Inside New Iberia's Sliman Theater, Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigations, a group dedicated to the investigation and research of paranormal activity, put on a paranormal convention.
"People who think like us—who have a same interest like us—that don't necessarily get to meet with each other every day or get to meet with each other once a year. This is a convention for everybody who's into the weird things that maybe scare normal people. For us, it's fun," said Cimi Calvaruso, the case manager for Louisiana Spirits - Acadiana Chapter.
The convention included vendors, speakers and several guest celebrities, such as Dave Schrader, a paranormal investigator who, along with Sarah Lemos, medium, conducted a ghost hunt inside the theater after the convention.
"I've got some equipment and an audio recorder, in hopes of collecting and actually recording spiritual or ghost voices, and Sarah, kind of our little conduit between the physical realm and the spiritual side, so we're hoping that we'll be able to get some kind of interesting information about the spirits that are here and why they remain," Schrader said.
Lemos was the featured guest, and she spent some time connecting convention goers with their loved ones who had passed.
I sat in to listen to one of these sessions, where Lemos was connecting with the convention goer's father.
"He says you need to know this right now: that you are changing the world, one student at a time, and that you—that he wants you to know how proud he is of you. He says 'I should've said it more,'" Lemos said to the woman, a teacher.
"Yeah, he wasn't very lovey-dovey," the woman said.
"No. Yeah, says 'I should've said it more,' and then he squeezes your shoulder," Lemos said.
Louisiana Spirits said they chose New Iberia as the venue for the event due their investigation of a high level of paranormal activity in the area, which one convention goer supported by sharing her own paranormal experience.
"So, for some reason, around the same time every night from 11 to three o'clock in the morning, if I have to go to the bathroom, there is just this woman that wants to stand at the end of the hallway and then come after me when I leave the bathroom. I don't know why. She just circulates that hallway, and then, if I don't close the door, she'll rattle my doorknob," said the New Iberia local.
Louisiana Spirits said the event had a good turnout, with VIP passes being sold out and people coming and going steadily throughout the day.
General admission day passes into the event were $30, and the proceeds went to the Angel Paws Adoption Center in New Iberia.
"They're in need of everything from food, blankets, toys for the animals, you know, litter, anything that they can give to the animals that everyday people could not do, we're here to do it for them," Calvaruso said.
If you're interested in learning more about Louisiana Spirits Paranormal Investigation, check out their website and Facebook page.
If you are experiencing some paranormal activity and would like for Louisiana Spirits to conduct a free investigation, email them at mlee@laspirits.com.
