Nicholls held its 12th annual Cajun/Zydeco Music and Dance Exhibit, an event that celebrated Cajun culture April 9. Each year, Anke Tonn, assistant librarian and coordinator of the Cajun/Zydeco Music and Dance Exhibit, chooses a theme. Tonn said this year’s theme was “Louisiana Women Musicians of Cajun and Zydeco Music.”
One of the four large display cases in the library showed the history of women in Cajun and ydeco music, and two female bands played for the event this year.
Bonsoir Catin played at the opening ceremony from 9:30 to 11 p.m. Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys performed in the Cotillion Ballroom of the Bollinger Memorial Student Union from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
“I just love that people come together to socialize and enjoy the historical and cultural celebration,” Tonn said.
As part of the exhibit, the musicians were interviewed before their performances in the Cotillion Ballroom. Tonn said she likes including the interview because the audience gets to know about the artists’ personal and professional lives, instead of the band just playing music.
In 1996, when Tonn started working at Nicholls, there was a committee for library displays. The committee asked Tonn to join, and she volunteered to do a Cajun and zydeco music and dance display using some of her own resources as well as some the library already had. Tonn invited the local band Écouter to come to Nicholls and play music, and the event was such a success that the library director invited Tonn to make it an annual event.
Tonn said she received two grants from the Houma Regional Arts Council: one $500 grant to pay for the musicians and one $2,000 grant to update Nicholls’ collection with CDs, books and videos.
For the second festival, Tonn added a poster designed by Patrick Banks, a student at Nicholls. Tonn also added a lecture to give the audience historical and educational background for the second festival. This year, Ben Sandmel, writer and folklore researcher, performed the lecture.
The exhibit became part of Jubilee, which was designed to help Nicholls celebrate its 50th year. Jubilee, a festival of the arts and humanities, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, said Angela Hammerli, coordinator of Jubilee.
“It is so much fun to see people dancing,” Hammerli said. “You see many styles of the Cajun dancing, but you always see a smile on people’s faces.
