South Louisiana has been blessed by successful festivals in recent weeks that have buoyed spirits and reminded residents of exactly what makes this place so special.Another is on tap for this weekend.
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation will host its 17th annual Back to the Beach Festival at Lake Pontchartrain’s Laketown at the end of Williams Boulevard in Kenner. The change of venue was necessitated by storm damage to the usual site at the Orleans Parish lakefront.
The foundation promises this year’s event will be bigger and better than ever, offering residents a change to forget their cares and look out on the beautiful lake the organization has played a pivotal role in restoring.
The event kicks off Saturday at 3 p.m., and 15 minutes later, The Boogie Men will take the stage to entertain festival-goers. The band schedule for the rest of the night is Amanda Shaw & The Cute Guys at 4:50, The Benjy Davis Project at 6:40, Rockin’ Dopsie & The Zydeco Twisters at 8:30 and Bag of Donuts at 10:20.
There will also be a 1 mile and 5K Fun Run Saturday at 7 p.m. (Call 504-467-8626 for more information.)
The grounds reopen Sunday at 10 a.m., and the live music gets kicked off by The Mixed Nuts at 1:00. At 2:30, emcee Don Dubuc will give out the Fishing Rodeo awards, and that’ll be followed quickly by the Sewell Cadillac-Chevrolet Car Show Awards at 3:00. Bobby Cure & the Summertime Blues then take the stage at 3:25, followed by Bucktown All-Stars at 5:20 and The Topcats at 7:15.
The event will also feature arts and crafts and delicious festival food.
Admission is $7 per adult, and $3 per child under 12 or senior citizen over 65. Proceeds benefit the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.