WELSH, La. — Things are slowly changing.
People’s behavior is changing and traditions are coming back. People in Welsh spent the day downtown, doing what they do best – having a good time.
“Festivals, having a good time, good food, lots of laughing and dancing—that's just part of our culture, absolutely,” said Mayor Pro Tempore Jackie Balmer. “We’re right in the middle of Cajun land so it’s just a natural thing for us to do.”
She said it was unfortunate they could not host it in 2020.
“I think we all missed it. We missed each other, and we missed the fellowship and just having a good time together outside,” she said.
Live music, families, and vendors filled the downtown area Saturday afternoon. Plus, a barbecue cookoff and a pie baking contest.
Jake Elliott from Lake Charles and his cooking team Smokehouse 36 won the cookoff.
“To say that I’m excited is an understatement for sure,” he said.
He says he used his family’s cooking style to grill all the way to the top.
“Low and slow, low temperature, open fire, smoke, and hardly no seasonings, salt and pepper only. It’s all about the time and the wood and the meat,” he said.
He believes that food and bringing people together are all part of Louisiana culture.
“The Louisiana mindset of family and friends, and community, and neighbors doing neighborly things, and then you add Louisiana cuisine on top of that and you bring it all together into an event like this and it’s just the perfect storm of what people need.”
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