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About a thousand people turned out for the festivities of the Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival despite the occurrence of the nearby oil spill. Part of the proceeds from the festival will be used to aid needy fishermen.
Although the timing for a seafood festival was bad amid the 39th day of the worst oil spill the U. S. has ever seen it went on as scheduled. Louisiana is a place dedicated to seafood and used the festival as an opportunity to take their mind off the disaster at hand.
The festival which has been held annually for the last six years was originally organized to celebrate and support the local fishing industry. This year however even though that industry is close to a standstill the festival was still held and part of the earnings will go to help fishermen in need. Keith Hinkley, a Plaquemines Parish councilman stated “We cannot turn our backs on the local fishermen”.
Gail Wardlow a resident of the area stated that the parish was like her family and “Everybody tries to support each other,” she said. “People are tough here.” Nicol Breaux, 41 sported a yellow shirt with the words “Dredge Baby Dredge” on the front and an oil soaked pelican with broken eggs on the back. She belongs to a group of concerned citizens under the same name. For the remainder of the afternoon however her only goal was to enjoy the food and festivities saying simply this: “It could be the last time we eat it”.
Breaux may have been a repeat attendee of the festival but for Theresa Holland this was her first time and she stated that even if the food had been limited she still would have attended. “They could have had hot dogs and I would have still come in support of this parish,” said Holland, 53, a software support representative from St. Tammany Parish. “It’s because of the gulf spill that I’m here.”
