Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum To Launch the 19th Annual Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival
On October 18 and 19, 2008, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum will present the 19th annual Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival, sponsored by Chevron, along the banks of the Tchefuncte River in Madisonville.
Painted by Mickey Asche of Picayune, Mississippi, the 2008 Madisonville Wooden Boat Festival poster reflects the rich and treasured landscapes of Louisiana’s unique cypress waterways. Featured in the painting are four bateaux, the official poster boat this year, representing a vanishing era of Louisiana’s heritage. Asche’s signed and numbered poster can be purchased from the Maritime Museum Gift Shop before the festival for $45 and after the festival for $55. Unsigned posters are $35 before the festival and $45 after the festival.
In Cajun Louisiana bateau refers to a boat with flat ends and bottom, balanced so that the fisherman can stand upright to handle nets. The bateau will be well represented at the festival this year as the “Bateau Boys” will return with their private collection of bateaux. From areas throughout southern Louisiana, their bateaux are powered by antique two-cycle direct reversible machine engines started by the flywheel. Some of the engines date from 1920 to 1940. Several bateaux are powered by the Nadler engine made in Plaquemine, Louisiana.
Nautical music and dockside tunes will fill the air from the Bud Light Stage in front of Town Hall. With music from the steel drum sounds of Coconut Dave to the Hot Brass musical gumbo performed by the United States Air Force Band of Mid-America. Always in demand, Hot Brass has just returned from a deployment to Southeast Asia where they brought a taste of home to the hard-working men and women of the U.S. military and coalition forces.
Marine and food vendors and unique artisans will line the festival grounds. On the field in front of the museum the classics of the water will meet the classics of the road as the Classic Car Cruise-In is expected to attract one hundred antique and classic cars from across the region. Of course, the St. Tammany Woodworkers Guild will be at the waterfront where children can build small wooden boats from precut pieces.
"Over the years, I have seen the festival grow from a local to a regional event," says Executive Director Dr. Jay Martin. "This demonstrates the public increased interest in preserving the Lake Pontchartrain Basin as well as savoring the food, fun, and music of our area."
The Main Street Ballfield has become as exciting as the Riverfront, as it is home to many of the popular festival venues. The Children’s Village will feature daily performances by the popular Captain Papillion, sponsored by Tulane Hospital for Children, and the opportunity to catch a live fish at KidFish, a 200-galllon stocked tank. Sponsored by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the St. Tammany Commission on Cultural Affairs, M.T. Noggin will capture the attention of children and Porta-Puppets will mesmerize them as Uncle Wayne Daigrepont presents his wonderfully wicked story of Hook, who returns to tell his side of the story.
New this year to the Children’s Village is the Playful Learning area, where children can participate in an environmental learning activity using underwater robots or ROVs (remote-operated vehicles). Maritime education comes to life as a child designs and personalizes his or her own pennant, drawing a background and then drawing his or her initial from the authentic nautical signal flag pennant. Children can contribute to the traveling quilt that tells a tale of the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse by designing a square for the quilt.
Also on the ballfield is the ever-popular Quick ’n’ Dirty Boat-Building Contest, sponsored by Captain Morgan. Enter the contest or witness the hilarious antics and cunning carpentry skills as up to 20 teams blitz build a boat with the hopes of being the first to float across the finish line. The Quick ’n’ Dirty offers great team-building opportunities for employers, families, and friends. A team consists of a four- to six-member crew. The crews bring a Mardi Gras feel to the festival as crews pick themes, name their boats, and dress up in costumes. At 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 19, Captain Morgan will lead the crews as they parade from the ballfield to the river, where the ultimate contest begins.
While on the ballfield, stop by and help to Build-A-Pirogue. Made possible by the grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts as administered by the St. Tammany Commission on Cultural Affairs, this occupational art activity is as unique as the crafts that are built. As they participate in the art of boat-building, children will learn about the historic value of the pirogue, which dates back to early Louisiana culture when these majestic craft were built to “float on the morning dew.” Admire the collection of museum-built boats—pirogues, skiffs, and bateaux! These crafts were made in classes at the Maritime Museum by students with little or no previous boat-building experience.
Be sure to visit the Merchandise Tent in front of the Town Hall for many new items this year, including coozies, hoodies (hooded sweatshirts), long-sleeved denim shirts, aprons and a great assortment of caps! The Gift Shop at the Maritime Museum will offer special sale merchandise, including collectible posters and t-shirts from past years and so much more.
The Wooden Boat Festival kicks off with Maritime Mania, the patron party, sponsored by Omni Bank. The Pirates of the Tchefuncte-themed party will be held on Friday, October 17, from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Maritime Museum. General admission tickets cost $75 each and only a limited number are available. No tickets will sold at the door. The highly coveted tickets to this popular bash are available on a first-come, first-served basis and can be purchased by calling the Maritime Museum at (985) 845-9200. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Maritime Mania guests are encouraged to dress like pirates. Ticket packages range from $250 and up and include tickets to Maritime Mania and the Wooden Boat Festival, festival posters and t-shirts, Maritime Museum memberships, and other exciting benefits, plus special marketing opportunities.
“The Maritime Museum depends on the Wooden Boat Festival for a significant portion of its daily operating budget,” says Dr. Jay Martin, Museum Executive Director. “The success of the festival will ensure the growth of the Museum’s initiatives.”
Daily admission to the festival is $10 per person, $5 for seniors over 65, and free for children under 12 and for uniformed military personnel. Museum admission is free with festival admission. Off-site parking and shuttles will be available.
For more information about the 2008 Wooden Boat Festival, to register a classic wooden boat, become a volunteer, request a food vendor or artist application, or register a Quick ’N’ Dirty Boat-Building team, call the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum at (985) 845-9200 or log on to www.woodenboatfest.org.