ZYDECO RAY FEATURED AT KAPLAN ARTS COUNCIL

Zydeco Ray will be the featured entertaniment at the Kaplan Art Council brunch to be held on March 15 at the American Legion Home in Kaplan from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
Zydeco Ray, also known as Ray Hebert, is one of the last musicians still performing whose history can be traced directly back to the indigenous black Creole music of Southwest Louisiana called la-la.
Born into a large family of sharecropers near New Iberia in the 1930’s, Hebert started out playing the frottoir (rubboard) as a youngster in the pre-zydeco days of lantern lit la-la house parties and dancehalls.
Music was called la-la because they didn’t have zydeco during that time. Clifton Chenier came out with that term.
Today Zydeco Ray and his band the Creole Night Riders can be found packing dance floors around this area most weeknds. Despite approaching his 80th birthday, Hebert still follows in the grueling tradition set by his idol, Clifton Chenier of playing the entire night without a break routinely singing and performing on his feet for three to four hours nonstop.
With his trademark toothpick and dark sunglasses, the lanky and good-natured but tought-as-nails zydeco veteran shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon.
The featured artist for the event is Gregroy “Klebe” Meaux. Also on display will be the student art.
Tickets are $15 a ticket which includes a breafast buffett.
The fundraiser proceeds are dedicated to the annual student graduate scholarships and the summer art activities.
Tickets can be purchased by calling Melissa Guidry at 643-1806 or Eva Dell Morrison at 643-2894.