THE DUTCHTOWN SOUND TRAVELS TO CHICAGO FOR DIXIE CLASSIC FESTIVAL
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THE ASCENSION
ADVOCATE
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THURSDAY APRIL 23, 2015 H
DONALDSONVILLE • DUTCHTOWN • GEISMAR • GONZALES • PRAIRIEVILLE • ST. AMANT • SORRENTO THEADVOCATE.COM
Darlene Denstorff AROUND ASCENSION
DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM
Music in the Park set for Sunday The Chris LeBlanc Band featuring Luther Kent performs at 2 p.m. Sunday as part of the Music in the Park series in Jambalaya Park. The concert, which ends at 5 p.m., is free.
Festival de la Prairie
The annual St. John’s Festival de la Prairie starts at 6 p.m. Friday on the grounds of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Prairieville. The festival, which ends Sunday, includes rides, a run, raffle, food, music and an auction. Side Effects performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The musical line-up Saturday includes Killin Time at 5:30 p.m. and Artemis at 8:45 p.m. Lil Bayou Band plays at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, and After 8 closes things out at 4:45 p.m.
St.Amant students win art contest
BY ELLYN COUVILLION
ecouvillion@theadvocate.com GONZALES — Three students, in elementary, primary and high school grades, were recognized on Tuesday by the Ascension Parish School Board as the parish winners of a statewide contest. Magnolia McCarty, a fifthgrader at St. Amant Primary, is the primary-school winner for Ascension Parish in the Louisiana School Boards Association
art contest. McCarty, whose favorite medium is graphite, also won third place on the state level. The parish winner for the middle school level, Keondra Carter, is in the eighth grade at St. Amant Middle. According to her biographical information, Carter believes “art is a way to express oneself without the use of words in seemingly endless ways.� Lorelei Gaffney, a sophomore at St. Amant High School, is
the parish winner for the high school level. In the talented art program since the fourth grade, Gaffney is looking ahead to possible careers in law or engineering. The School Board on Tuesday also honored outstanding school support employees nominated by each school in the district, as well as recognized an outstanding support employee for the primary, middle and high school grades. All of the employees, said Hu-
man Resource Director Randy Watts, “go beyond the call of duty� every day in supporting the schools where they work. Named outstanding school support employee for the primary school category is Richard Moss, custodian for the Ascension Parish Head Start program. In the middle school category, the winner is Angela Holloway, custodian, Lake Elementary, and in the high school category, the winner is Bonnie Simpson, a
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Special guest Van Broussard, right, joins the band on Saturday. Photo provided
Miss Gonzales Jambalaya Lauren Blouin, left, and Teen Miss Gonzales Jambalaya Berkley Parent pose after being crowned the 2014 pageant queens at the Gonzales Civic Center. New queens will be crowned May 2.
Senior Health Fair
The Ascension Council on Aging’ annual Senior Health Fair is set from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 30 at the LamarDixon Expo Center’s gym. Local health care providers and vendors will be on hand to provide seniors with information and services available for their health and personal needs, COA officials said in a news release. It’s a perfect time to get needed health care information and have fun doing it. For information about the Health Fair, call Nanette Daigle at (225) 473-3789.
Queen learns more about home, state during reign BY C.J. FUTCH
cfutch@theadvocate.com
Stash the Trash volunteers
Volunteers are needed for Saturday’s Stash the Trash and Neighbor Day in Donaldsonville. The Donaldsonville Downtown Development District and Mainstreet Donaldsonville host the annual neighborhood clean-up. In addition to the cleanup, neighbors are encouraged to clean and recycle goods from their yards. Tractors will be on hand to assist neighbors in disposing of old metal, trash, bicycles, tires and other large items. Dispose of tires properly from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the tire recycling trailer behind City Hall. Capital Area Corporate
school secretary at East Ascension High. Also nominated at district primary schools were Tracy Bourgeois, G.W. Carver Primary; Melissa Ammerman, Central Primary; Tanya Mitchell, Donaldsonville Primary; Leslie Buratt, Duplessis Primary; JanellĂĄ Bell, Dutchtown Primary; Johnnie Winston, Galvez Primary; Loni Bowen, Gonzales Primary, and Jackie Addison, Lakeside
Advocate staff photos by CHARLES CHAMPAGNE
Fans watch Saturday as Night Train performs with Van Broussard, right, during the Ascension Music Jam at the LamarDixon Expo Center in Gonzales. Ascension Parish’s Festivals and Cultural Council hosted the event, which featured music by Ascension Parish talent. The event was moved to the rodeo arena after a prediction of heavy rain. RIGHT: Steve Broussard performs with Night Train. FAR RIGHT: Special guest Grace Broussard sings Saturday at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.
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For reigning Miss Gonzales Jambalaya Queen Lauren Blouin, spending a year touring the state as the official representative of the Jambalaya Festival has been enlightening. She learned a lot about her own home, and even more about how it stacks up against other places in the state she’s visited in her role as ambassador for the Jambalaya Festival. “It’s so unique to who we are,â€? she said. “(No other place) has an outdoor festival centered around a cooking contest.â€? As she reflects on her year as Gonzales Jambalaya Queen, Blouin said she is glad she made the decision to start entering pageants, though it wasn’t part of her original plan. Her roommate in college was a former Boucherie Festival queen, she said, and, prodded by that friend, she decided to sign up for the 2012 Boucherie pageant. “I actually signed up the night before the pageant,â€? she said, and she won. The Jambalaya Festival PagäSee QUEEN, page 3G
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