Opelousas, La- Slim's Y Kiki Zydeco dance hall is home to six decades of Zydeco. It served as the heartbeat for Zydeco fans and performers like Clifton Chenier, Chris Ardoin, Keith Frank, and many more. Today, this site is on the road to being brought back to life, but instead of music, it will come back to life with memories.
"A lot of people would tell me and say, Tony, those floors are going to cave in on you one night," said Tony Gradney, former owner.
A time was had for many at this Zydeco dance hall.
"Because the floor would move up and down, that's how many people you had in the business,"
Located across from Piggly Wiggly on North Street in Opelousas, the Zydeco dance hall remains a vital part of the fabric that makes up Zydeco tradition and culture.
Tony Gradney is the former owner of the dance hall.
" I started with my dad in the business when I was 15 years old working in the night club business," said Gradney.
His father, Arnold "Slim" Gradney, left behind a Zydeco powerhouse that would run for nearly 70 years before shutting down in 2016.
"You know, families and friends, we all talked about that club and met there. When we came home from college, everybody wanted to go to Slim's Y kiki," said Rod Sias, Chairman of the Zydeco Historical and Preservation Society.
Sias recalls the good times at this morning's ceremony.
The ceremony invited the families of Zydeco legends who accepted the inaugural Clifton Chenier and Arnold Slim Gradney awards. Tony Gradney is one of the recipients on behalf of his father.
" You can't have Zydeco without Slim's Y Kiki," said Sias.
Sias plans to return the dance hall and register it as a state and national historic site.
" It's been a part of the cultural landscape. It's an international and local treasure, and we can take responsibility for and recognize and preserve the site," said Sias.
Today, the Preservation Society received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The funds will go towards the proposed district's feasibility study and development plan and a restoration plan for the iconic Slim's Y Kiki dance hall.
"It feels good if we can preserve it and keep the history going," said Gradney.
The project is expected to bring 50 new jobs to the area and bring in Tourism for the city.
Gradney says this Zydeco gem must stay alive, dancing or not,
"Because of the club's history and how it was brought up and the bands and groups that played here, Family and friends all come out on Saturday nights and weekends; it's more like family orientated; wehad good times here," said Gradney.
Slim's Y Kiki will transform into a preservation site and will open its doors this summer.
You can visit the Zydeco Historical and Preservation Society Facebook page here to learn more.
