FROZEN ALLIGATOR CAJUN BAYOU HERITAGE FESTIVAL
FEBRUARY 9, 2002
OHIO THEATRE TOLEDO, OH
Blue Suit Productions presents the 6th
Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival February 9, 2002 at 6:30 pm at the Ohio Theatre in Toledo. Tickets are available in advance at Boogie Records and the Ohio Theatre box office. Adult ticket prices are $12.00 in advance and $15.00 at the door; students tickets are $8.00 in advance and $11.00 at the door. The Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival is a Mardi Gras celebration that brings the traditional culture of the Louisiana bayou to the frozen north for one night. Performing this year are Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas and Donna Angelle and her Zydeco Posse. Spicy gumbo and red beans and rice will be served and, because there is always a strong urge to dance at this event, there will be Cajun & Zydeco dance lessons at the intermission. To encourage audience members to celebrate Mardi Gras in costume, beads and masks will be sold at the performance. The sounds, sights and tastes of authentic Louisiana make the Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival the best way to celebrate Mardi Gras in the frozen north.
The music: Zydeco music, born in the bayou swamps of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas is the combination of traditional country Cajun music and Rhythm & Blues. The Cajuns (from "Acadian") were
the French colonists of maritime Canada who were deported by the English in the mid-eighteenth century and emigrated to (still French) Louisiana. They settled in the bayous of southwest Louisiana. The Acadians, now
Cajuns, recruited free blacks of New Orleans to help populate the area and, as the Acadians had never owned slaves, they shared the cleared land and co-existed peacefully. Cajun music (dominated by an accordion, fiddle
and guitar) was performed by both white and black (and Creole) populations of the bayou region until the 1950s when the late Clifton Chenier synthesized the traditional style with Rhythm & Blues and called it Zydeco; the name
was taken from the Cajun word "zarico" (French, haricot) for snap beans, a dietary staple. Chenier was widely recognized as the King of Zydeco. Zydeco music is typically led by an accordion, coupled with a
rubboard and backed by a R&B rhythm section. It is an extremely infectious style of music and nearly forces toes to start tapping and hips to start swaying. To this end, the Ohio Theatre has a large stage which will
accommodate dancers. The Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival has always brought the best bayou music to Toledo and 2002 is no exception. Nathan & the Zydeco Cha-Chas will be the
headlining performers this year. Nathan Williams cut his teeth at his brother's legendary club El Sido's Lounge in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he took in Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco. In fact, his standard
instrument is the piano accordion, which is the hallmark of the older zydeco bands. Williams has recorded seven albums on Rounder Records and was the hit of the first Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival in
1995. Also performing will be Donna Angelle & her Zydeco Posse, who will be making her first appearance in Ohio at this year's Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival. Angelle, a native of St. Martin Parish,
Louisiana, plays both accordion and bass as she combines traditional zydeco with soul and blues. Donna has recorded for Maison de Soul and J&S Records, labels that specialize in authentic Louisiana music.
As always, the best gumbo north of the bayou will be served (along with beverages) during the Frozen Alligator Cajun Bayou Heritage Festival. Reasonably priced, this bayou culinary treat will ensure that all senses are
tuned in to the spirit of the celebration. This year there will increased amounts of delicious and authentic food for the audience. To help those who feel the urge to dance - and zydeco brings out
these urges in everyone - the dance instructors from Allons Dancer! of Ann Arbor will once again teach some simple and authentic Cajun and Zydeco dances between sets.