Cattle Festival begins Friday in Abbeville

All the hard work put into the 66th Annual Louisiana Cattle Festival will bear fruit on Friday.
The opening ceremonies will officially kick off the festivities at 6 p.m. The ceremony will take place on the main stage near the Vermilion Parish Courthouse in downtown Abbeville.
Saturday will continue the fun, with the Cattle Festival’s Grand Parade set to roll down Charity Street at 1 p.m.
“We are looking forward to the whole festival,” Cattle Festival President Francis Plaisance said. “You work all year on it and you really anticipate it.
“It is here now and we are ready to move forward with it.”
The festival’s booths, fair and music lineup will open after the 6 p.m. ceremony.
Among those on Friday’s music lineup will be Geno Delafosse from 10 p.m. until midnight and Robbeaux from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday will feature Jaryd Lane, from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., as well as Warren Storm, among others.
Construction of the street fair early today will affect some buildings in the downtown area. Abbeville City Hall will close at 12:30 p.m. Friday, while the Vermilion Parish Courthouse will be closed all day. Both will reopen to regular hours on Monday.
The Grand Parade will bring its share of people to Abbeville on Saturday.
“The parade is going to start at 1 p.m. sharp,” Plaisance asserted.
He said what will follow will certainly be exciting.
“It’s going to be a huge parade,” Plaisance said.
There will be 30 large floats, with marching bands and other vehicles joining the route. That route will take the parade west on Charity Street, then go around the Vermilion Parish Courthouse and down South State Street, where it will end near Jim’s Tire Service.
Louisiana Attorney General James “Buddy” Caldwell will serve as grand marshal. Baxter Black, who is serving as Cattle Festival king, will also be along for the ride.
“All of our honorees will be in the parade,” Plaisance said.
It literally rained on the parade last year. Heavy showers did not slow the event, however, as it rolled to its normal completion.
“We are certainly hoping the weather will cooperate this year,” Plaisance said with a laugh. “The rain was no damper last year and we are hoping for the best this year.
“We want everyone to come out and enjoy the parade.”
Enjoy, but also be safe the entire weekend.
“We truly appreciate the help we get from local law enforcement,” Plaisance said. “That is from both our city police as well as our (Vermilion Parish) sheriff’s office. We just ask that everyone cooperate and be safe.
“With that, everyone will have a good time this weekend.”