I have never seen anything like it in my life.

People converging on a small hamlet of a town, people who come together to celebrate something as lowly as a crayfish.  People eating them in any fashion (even fried!), and people dancing to music I had never heard of until I went to this festival.

My name's Niko.  I'm visiting friends in America for a month; they live in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Turns out this isn't far from where the festival took place.  They invited me to come along, so I had no other choice.

I didn't know what to expect.  We got to the venue around four; already the festival grounds was crawling with people.  The smells that tickled my nose were unlike any odours I had ever experienced:  it made my mouth water; I was soon very hungry.  It smelled good!!

There was music heard on several stages: rock, country, jazz, even zydeco and Cajun.  Very fascinating, that Cajun music:  accordion, fiddle, laced with drums, guitars, steel.  Some of the participants were quite young:  the youngest I'd seen was a little boy not more than three sawing away on a tiny fiddle.

And the way those people danced:  I thought they were going to tie themselves into knots; they were twisting and turning like pretzels.  It was very interesting.  I didn't know you could dance to Cajun music, but my friends told me you could dance to anything you wanted, in any fashion.

I just shuffled my feet a bit, as I'm not much of a dancer, but I had a good time, nevertheless.

The weather was most uncomfortable:  hot to the point of being boiling.  It wasn't long before I was sweating; it was as if I'd run a race, I was that soaked.  It was disgusting.  Dancing only made me hotter, so I just quit and decided to watch my friends dance, along with all the other people.

They don't have anything like this in Finland, is all I can say.  My friends took lots of pictures of me at the festival; now I can e-mail my friends back home and tell them what I've done while here. 

I did get some of that Cajun music: CD's by people like Bosolay, Wayne Toops, Bellton Reeshart, Hunter Hays, and others.  (Wrote that from memory; spelling probably wrong.)  I am going to familiar myself with this Cajun music; maybe I will learn to play it?  Where do I get a Cajun music accordion?  I'd love to have one if it's not too costly, maybe teach myself to play.

Then I can come back to the Crawfish Festival, maybe play there??  :)

There was a girl there, also a boy, who played this Cajun music, too.  I almost forget about them.  I think they were about thirteen; I don't know, but they were good.  I wanted to get a CD from them, but they were gone.  Couldn't find one, much to my disappointment.

Maybe someone can send me one??  :)

I got lots of sooveneers at the festival.  I also have pictures.  I will be giving them to my friends when I get back home to Finland.  I wanted to let them know I was thinking of them.  I hope they will like what I got them.

Well, I am going to go now.  Time to go to work.  (I work at a factory; have to be there at five.  It's now four.)  I will write in here again; you haven't heard the last from me, Niko Parkennin!  Until later, Nakemiin!

~Niko, your new Finnish Cajun music fan-friend.  :)