The Red Chair visits Abbeville

The Caldwell House in Abbeville has played host to many visitors over the years.
Monday the staff opened the Caldwell’s doors to a special guest, a celebrity if you will. No, it wasn’t a star of the silver screen, but rather a red chair.
Yes, a red chair. Not just any red chair, though, but the Red Chair.
The Red Chair originated at Woods Hole Bed and Breakfast in Cape Cod when the owner took a wooden chair and painted it. She took a picture of the Red Chair on a frozen lake and put it online. An overwhelming positive response to the photo sparked a U.S. tour.
The chair is currently on the Louisiana leg of its journey across the country on its way to the Pacific Ocean. More than 100 inns and bed and breakfasts are taking part in the trip. Monday it made a visit to Abbeville. Local bed and breakfast owners gathered at the Caldwell to offer a warm welcome.
“We are just so honored to have it here,” Carolyn Sagrera, manager of the Caldwell House, said. “I can’t believe we have the Red Chair.”
It should be noted the Red Chair has a honorary name during its time in the state.
“While it is in Louisiana, we changed its name to Rouge,” Janice DeLerno, president of the Louisiana Bed and Breakfast Association, said of the Red Chair. “She has been visiting different towns in South Louisiana.”
Before arriving in Abbeville, the Red Chair made stops in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, as well as Breaux Bridge and Sunset. The chair is expected to pay a visit to North Louisiana before continuing its cross-country trip.
“We only have it in the state for a week,” DeLerno said. “We have to make the most of it during that time. We have carried that chair all over.”
Sagrera said she and the staff, as well as the other bed and breakfast owners, are grateful for the chair having made the stop in Abbeville.
“We are just as happy as can be,” Sagrera said. “I am very excited.”
DeLerno said it only made sense for the chair to come to Abbeville.
“We know what kind of hospitality is offered here,” said DeLerno, who has many years of experience in running a bed and breakfast. “It is some of the best in the state, as far as I am concerned. People here know how to throw a party and (local innkeepers) know how to invite people in and make them feel welcome.”
That is part of the Red Chair’s appeal.
“It’s a symbol of hospitality,” DeLerno said.
While in Abbeville, the Red Chair took in a few local sites. The Red Chair added to its collection photos taken in and around Historic Downtown Abbeville, including Magdalen Square and the Steen’s plant. The chair also cozied up to a table at a local restaurant.
“We wanted the Red Chair to have a Cajun experience,” Sagrera said with smile.
DeLerno is positive that the Red Chair’s entire experience in this state will leave other states and regions red with envy.
“We have been saying that the Red Chair is never going to be the same,” DeLerno said with a laugh.