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RAYNE - Not even Mother Nature could dampen the fun of the 47th annual Rayne Frog Festival, which is now in the history books following four days of traditional and new frog events.
“Despite the heavy rains we had to deal with, the festival was still a success,” states Jeremy Lavergne, 2019 Frog Festival Chairman. We want to thank y’all for the coverage and all the visitors who attended.”
“We did not have attendance that we would normally have,’” Lavergne continued, “but, the Saturday night entertainment pulled us through.”
In addition to the crowds in attendance at different points of the festival, Lavergne also thanks the many volunteers who always assist the Chamber committee.
“We were very blessed to have so many people wanting to volunteer and help us in any way possible throughout the festival,” he states. “We have never experienced that before and we are grateful for that and for everyone’s help.”
Aside from the tremendous help from volunteers, Lavergne also acknowledges the generous festival sponsors.
“I have said this so many times that it’s the sponsors that help us pull through,” Lavergne notes when taking a look back at the weekend. “Without the help from our sponsors, we would not be able to put on a festival like we do and that was especially noted this year.”
“This festival is hosted for an annual community event in order to help build tourism for our city. We host people from all parts of the country and we love it.
“As we wrap up the 2019 Frog Festival, we begin planning for 2020.
“We would like to say thanks to everyone who came out and supported the festival despite the weather conditions we faced. Hopefully, next year Mother Nature will be more kind and provide sunny skies for a bigger and better festival like we had planned for this year.”
This year’s festival kicked off with Family Night on Wednesday, May 8. The Grand Parade and official “opening ceremonies” were held on Thursday this year with events and musical entertainment continuing late into the night on Saturday.
From the frog racing/jumping contest to the annual Lions Club Frog Derby, frogs were the “catch” of the day.
And don’t forget the food. Fried frog legs were a tasty treat once again, along with traditional candied apples and cotton candy for the little ones.
The aroma of home-cooked recipes were noted during the cooking contests, in addition to the frog leg eating contests when the tasty delicacy was enjoyed.
Lavergne concludes, “We added and change a number of events this year, but the weather didn’t allow the changes to gel as expected. Hopefully next year, the festival will see those changes and updates take place for the good of the festival as a whole.”