Feature
November
3
Pacing Saturday
by Terry Trahan Jr.
Houma residents can prepare for a marathon Saturday as the city hosts a series of events that are expected to draw large crowds.
Along with holiday shopping at local retailers and catching the latest blockbuster at the movie theater, crowds will lace up their shoes before the roosters finish crowing and set out to check off their event-filled to-do list Nov 5.
For most, the day will kick off with an early morning warm-up at Southdown Marketplace, get more active with the cast of an early vote, pick up the pace while jamming to the sounds of local bands at Houmapalooza, peak with the highly anticipated college game of the season that will pit No. 1 LSU against No. 2 Alabama, and cool down by “falling back” to gain a much-needed extra hour of sleep.
Crowds searching for a unique, handmade Christmas gift or addition to their home décor go in with a game plan when the Southdown Marketplace Arts and Crafts Festival opens its gates at 8 a.m. The plan typically starts with a survey at the perimeter and works toward the festival’s core, where over 300 booths feature handmade arts and crafts.
This year, festivalgoers will be able to browse selections of jewelry, clothes, woodcrafts, furniture, pottery, paintings, photography, toys, floral wreaths, candles, gourmet food, seasonal decorations, local books, homegrown plants and more.
To get the young shoppers involved, the Kids in Motion Playhouse Discovery Museum will also co-sponsor Kids’ Marketplace on ’da Bayou, a tent filled with activities and games designed just for kids. Scheduled activities include a market and cooking exhibit, a local storyteller and puppet show, a visit from a local author, a bubble factory, old-time games and Cajun crafts.
Those wanting to fuel up for the rest of the day can also purchase traditional Cajun dishes, such as shrimp jambalaya, chicken and sausage gumbo, red and white beans, and other typical festival food.
The Southdown Marketplace remains open until 4 p.m. and includes a $5 admission fee for adults; children under age 12 will be admitted free. The fee supports the Terrebonne Historical and Cultural Society, in addition to the preservation and daily operation of Southdown Plantation House and Museum.
With shopping out of the way, local marathoners can focus on exercising their civic duties. The gubernatorial primary elections held on Oct. 22 left a few races undecided. The general elections will settle the runoffs on Nov. 19, but voters retain the right to cast their ballots early. This voting process begins Saturday, 14 days before polls open on election day.
Early voting takes place from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. through Nov. 12, except Sunday and Veterans Day, at each parish’s Registrar of Voters office. Voters need only bring a photo ID or sign a voter affidavit to vote.
By noon, Southdown Marketplace, a meal and early voting can be checked off the to-do list. To keep the rhythm going, music appreciators in Terrebonne Parish can walk from the Registrar of Voters office in the Houma Courthouse to the Houma Courthouse Square to jam out to 10 bands in 10 hours during Houmapalooza.
The Houma Regional Arts Council sponsors the biannual outdoor music festival, which celebrates indie bands in south Louisiana. After the success of the first Houmapalooza in the spring, local bands submitted applications to be considered for the fall lineup. A panel helped to narrow down the list to 10 bands that will each have an hour to perform, beginning at noon. Isle Dernière kicks off the festival, and Ben Labat and the Happy Devil will close it out with their set at 9 p.m.
The eight bands joining them in the fall lineup include Autumn High, Toast Beards, AF the Naysayer x Luke St. John, Jak Locke, Baby Bee, England in 1819, SIGHTINSOUND and Chaos of the Cosmos.
For the marathoners who enjoy both live music and a competitive football game, those two worlds will collide in downtown Houma at 7 p.m. as TVs tune to the much-hyped LSU game.
There are reasons for the hoopla. LSU will be facing its rival, Alabama, and both are undefeated teams. The matchup will also mark the first time the No. 1 and No. 2 teams square off in an SEC game during the regular season.
Nick Saban has something to do with it, too. Now the head coach of the Crimson Tide, Saban coached the Tigers for five seasons and led the team to the BCS National Championship in 2003. After coaching in the NFL for two years, Saban returned to the collegiate level and accepted the position as head coach of Alabama in 2007, thereby strengthening the rivalry between the teams.
Saturday’s game will be the 75th meeting between LSU and Alabama.
Once the final second ticks off the clock Saturday night, local marathoners will be ready for a much-needed cool down. By 11 p.m., shopping, voting, jamming and football watching should have been scratched off the to-do list. Before crossing the finish line and calling it a night, there will be just one thing left to do—rewind clocks an hour as time transitions from daylight saving time to standard time.
Then sleep.
