MONROE, LA (AP) — Ouachita Parish residents and revelers from across the region will have the opportunity to witness alligator wrestling, fair rides, a petting zoo and country music as a local businessman is planning the first Louisiana Crawfish and Gator Festival.
The News-Star’s Kaleb Causey reports Riverside Coney Island owner Tom Hardy is putting together the four-day event, which also will include music by Wayne Toups and Jo-el Sonnier.
"This area needs it," Hardy said. "Winnsboro has the Catfish Festival. Farmerville has the Watermelon Festival. There's no such thing as a Crawfish and Gator Fest, yet. It'll highlight the Monroe and West Monroe area for tourism."
The festival is scheduled April 30 through May 3 at the Ike Hamilton Exposition Center in West Monroe.
Hardy has several attractions lined up for the event and is adding more by the day.
"I've got alligator and crawfish to cook," he said. "We'll have a carnival. We'll have a petting zoo. We've got Kachuga and the Alligator Show coming. I've got some of the Swamp People coming. Marty Stuart, Cody Cooke, The Blues Brothers, Wayne Toups, Lou Marini and Jo-el Sonnier will be playing. We'll have festival T-shirts. We're having a big car show on Saturday. I've already sold 52 booths for arts and crafts. It's going to be something."
West Monroe Mayor Dave Norris said he is excited to see the event being planned.
"It's a great place to have it," he said. "It sounds like a really good event and I hope it becomes an annual event."
Hardy said the event will become annual, as he's seen an outpouring of support.
"In the future, it may even grow into a 10-day festival," he said. "It's been unbelievable. I had one of my guys put it on his Facebook and in two days he had 32,000 likes. We put it on Coney Island Facebook and it's up to 10,000-12,000 likes already. I've had a response from Shreveport saying they'll come see The Blue Brothers. I've got people from New Orleans calling to make sure it's happening. We're getting a great response."
Hardy is hoping to get area schools involved by accommodating students on Thursday for a field day where they can come and learn about the live alligators.
He also is looking forward to providing a great fair.
"This is a state fair quality show coming in," he said. "They play the state fair in Illinois. It's not a little shopping center quality fair."
Billboards advertising the fest will go up this week, and Hardy, who is covering the initial cost of the festival himself, said he hopes to draw other sponsors.
"It'll be good for the whole parish," he said. "It's going to be family-oriented, and the cost is going to be reasonable."
For more information on the festival, visit www.lacrawfishgatorfest.com.
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