Opelousas and the Great Yambilee Festival

We returned from Eunice too late on Saturday to catch any of the Halloween Fun (oh yes, don’t let the wrong night get in the way of a good Saturday night). On Sunday we had considered going to Opelousas because they were celebrating their most celebrated item – the Yam, not to be confused with the Sweet Potato (because I am). Yes it was The Yambalee Festival in Old Opelousas. It had been going since Wednesday, so today was the last day and the day of The Great Parade.

So we set out at about lunch time, found our way to Opelousas, got out the lawn chairs and joined the throng on Main Street, just in time for The Great Parade to come past.

The Great Parade was made up of the police, bikes and cars. Two high school marching bands, a couple of dance schools and then an assortment of company cars, a couple of floats and, and, for some reason I cannot explain…… The politicians who were running for Congress, The Senate, The State Governor and The Opelousas City Mayor. Why, because Tuesday is VOTIN’ DAY, not for the president, but for almost everyone else. And they was out in force. They all came past with their campaign slogans, and music and shaking hands with folk and kissing babies, and throwing out sweets and garlands and shaking hands with babies and kissing folk and asking for their vote.

Well, because I like to be loved, as they came past I told each one of them I thought they were the right man (though one of them was a woman) for the job and I would vote for them (then quietly to myself I had to say, well I would if I could, but I is British, so I can’t). Still it made for a great parade.

When the parade had gone past we picked up our lawn chairs jumped back in the van and went on down to the funfair and met Miss Yambilee 2010 and some crazy woman dressed in a Whoopie Cushion! (Only in America)

We then came home via Wal-Mart. We tried to find somewhere to eat out, but there was nowhere that was suitable, so we came home and I cooked Chicken and Rice with Gravy (which my friend Kathy had taught me to cook last week).

Just as a footnote, while at Chicot Park we have made friends with a full timer called Camilla, she comes from Oregon. She is very sweet and so we invited her to join us on our trip to The Great Yambilee Festival Parade and we all had fun together.