Now that Mardi Gras is over, you’ve gotten festivals out of your system, right? Or are you hungry for more?

Mardi Gras is just a taste of things to come. As we get closer to spring, the days get a little longer and the temperature gets a little warmer.

Before you know it, festival season will be in high gear with celebrations going on every weekend. But maybe you’re ready for something deeper than the usual dance-eat-and-drink-til-you-drop festival.

How about gatherings that are not only fun, but teach the history and details behind our rich Cajun and Creole cultures? Imagine learning traditions of music, dance, cooking and language at the feet of the masters.

That’s the goal of Louisiana Folk Roots, a heritage preservation group located at 118 W. Vermilion St. in downtown Lafayette.
Throughout the year, Folk Roots hosts a variety of workshops, festivals and other events to remind us that south La. culture is more than just looking cute on the dance floor.

LFR activities culminate with the Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Heritage Week, set for April 10-16 at Chicot State Park in Ville Platte.

The scenic hills, lakes and cabins of Chicot are the perfect setting for a week of classes, demonstrations and dances attended by locals and enthusiasts from around the world.

Registration and more information is available at the Web site at www.lafolkroots.org. If you can’t take a week off to camp out, you can still attend the nightly dances and Roots Heritage Festival on April. 16.

Dance admission is only $5 and free for LFR members. The schedule include the All-Star Band with instructors and Balfa Toujours (April 10), Geno Delafose (April 11), Roddie Romero (April 12), T-Salé (April 13), Keith Frank (April 14) and Curley Taylor (April 15). The April 16 festival includes Kevin Naquin, Corey “Lil Pop” Ledet, the Magnolia Sisters, the Creole Cowboys with Jeffery Broussard, D’Jalma Garnier and Cedric Watson and Steve Riley.

Besides Heritage Week, there are one-day workshops from now through March at the LFR office right here in Lafayette. For a mere $6 ($4 for LFR members), you can learn from experts in their field.

-Herman Fuselier