Around the Area
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON)
The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON), located next door to CoCo Marina, was formed in 1979 to increase society's awareness of
the environmental, economic and cultural value of Louisiana's coastal and marine environments by conducting research and education programs
directly relevant to Louisiana's needs in marine science and coastal resources and serving as a facility for all Louisiana schools with interest
in marine research and education.
LUMCON
LUMCON
Cecil Lapeyrouse’s Grocery Store
Cecil’s will make its 100 year anniversary in 2014. This eclectic grocery store has everything from local art, souvenirs, snacks, bait, gas and
more. It’s unique architecture makes it a fun place to visit and the store’s workers can offer a lot of guidance for things to do in the area.
Cecil’s is located at 7243 Shoreline Drive in Chauvin, La 70344. It's about 5 minutes from CoCo Marina, Inc. The phone number is 985.594.3054.
Cecil’s is located at 7243 Shoreline Drive in Chauvin, La 70344. It's about 5 minutes from CoCo Marina, Inc. The phone number is 985.594.3054.
Chauvin “Blessing of the Fleet”
South Louisiana communities hold the floating processions every year to ask for God's blessing to watch over the fishermen, and for a prosperous
shrimping season. The Blessing of the Fleet is an annual event that is practiced in fishing communities world-wide. As a genre, these blessings
share several common traits: one or more priests perform the actual blessing; fishermen gather in their newly outfitted boats to receive the
blessing; and family members unite in making whatever preparations are dictated by local tradition.
In the town of Chauvin the event is called the "boat blessing." This Cajun community has continued the ritual since its adoption in the late 1920s or early 1930s (1). Although present-day participants still hold many of the religious beliefs of the originators, various changes have resulted in a parade of boats' taking visual precedence over the blessing. When the first blessings were held in Chauvin, the tiny boats were not much larger than row boats. The shrimpers came up the bayou to St. Joseph's Catholic Church for the blessing, where they tied up five deep across Little Caillou (the bayou waterway that opens into the Gulf of Mexico seventeen miles south of Chauvin). At its inception the priest conducted an outdoor mass on the bayou side, then blessed the boats as they passed in review. Later, the mass moved indoors, and an elaborate processional took place from the church across the road to the docked boats. Pictures from the late thirties show a number of brightly robed priests, altar boys, and other dignitaries leading the human procession to a makeshift altar. Each boat passed by and the occupants knelt to receive the blessing; then they returned home (Duplantis-Pelegrin 1987). Today the blessing is only the beginning of the event, which is organized by a church-sanctioned, volunteer group, the Boat Blessing Committee.
For the residents who live along Little Caillou, the hallmark of the blessing is the boat parade. It starts with the priests boarding the lead boat at St. Joseph's Catholic Church just north of Chauvin proper. The lead boat begins the procession down the bayou. One by one, the other boats are blessed as the lead boat passes, and those who want to participate fall in behind the last boat in the procession. By the time they reach Boudreaux Canal where they turn to go into Lake Boudreaux, there may be as many as 200 boats in the parade (E. Prospere 1987). That turn is where most observers gather to watch the parade. For the boatowners the party that follows the blessing and parade is the high point of the day. They anchor in the lake and "let the good times roll." That is when the family and friends who have joined them eat, drink, and dance the afternoon away on the trawlers. For more information, visit their website and Facebook page.
In the town of Chauvin the event is called the "boat blessing." This Cajun community has continued the ritual since its adoption in the late 1920s or early 1930s (1). Although present-day participants still hold many of the religious beliefs of the originators, various changes have resulted in a parade of boats' taking visual precedence over the blessing. When the first blessings were held in Chauvin, the tiny boats were not much larger than row boats. The shrimpers came up the bayou to St. Joseph's Catholic Church for the blessing, where they tied up five deep across Little Caillou (the bayou waterway that opens into the Gulf of Mexico seventeen miles south of Chauvin). At its inception the priest conducted an outdoor mass on the bayou side, then blessed the boats as they passed in review. Later, the mass moved indoors, and an elaborate processional took place from the church across the road to the docked boats. Pictures from the late thirties show a number of brightly robed priests, altar boys, and other dignitaries leading the human procession to a makeshift altar. Each boat passed by and the occupants knelt to receive the blessing; then they returned home (Duplantis-Pelegrin 1987). Today the blessing is only the beginning of the event, which is organized by a church-sanctioned, volunteer group, the Boat Blessing Committee.
For the residents who live along Little Caillou, the hallmark of the blessing is the boat parade. It starts with the priests boarding the lead boat at St. Joseph's Catholic Church just north of Chauvin proper. The lead boat begins the procession down the bayou. One by one, the other boats are blessed as the lead boat passes, and those who want to participate fall in behind the last boat in the procession. By the time they reach Boudreaux Canal where they turn to go into Lake Boudreaux, there may be as many as 200 boats in the parade (E. Prospere 1987). That turn is where most observers gather to watch the parade. For the boatowners the party that follows the blessing and parade is the high point of the day. They anchor in the lake and "let the good times roll." That is when the family and friends who have joined them eat, drink, and dance the afternoon away on the trawlers. For more information, visit their website and Facebook page.
Chauvin Folk Art Sculpture Garden
Little is known about the reclusive Kenny Hill, a bricklayer by trade, born around 1950. In 1988, he settled on some property on the bayou in Chauvin,
Louisiana—population 3,400. Hill pitched a tent as his home and, over time, built a small rustic home that demonstrated an interesting
use of space and attention to detail. Then, in 1990, without explanation, he began transforming his lush bayou environment into a fantastic
chronicle of the world as seen through his eyes.
More than 100 primarily religious concrete sculptures densely pack the narrow, bayouside property of the Chauvin Sculpture Garden. These sculptures are a profound mixture of Biblical reference, Cajun colors, and the evident pain and struggle of the artist’s life. Most figures—black, white, male, female, child, or solider—are guided, supported, or lifted by seemingly weightless angels. The unique angels, some inviting passage, others prohibiting, vary from blue skinned, bare-footed, and sightless to regal celestial figures clad in medieval garb with the black boots of the local shrimp fishermen.
The most prominent piece is a 45-foot-tall lighthouse, composed of 7,000 bricks, with figures clinging to the outside: cowboys, soldiers, angels, God and Hill himself. A walk through this sculpture environment is an emotional experience, evoking a sense of deep spirituality but also personal pain. Chauvin Sculpture Garden is located at 5337 Bayouside Drive. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
More than 100 primarily religious concrete sculptures densely pack the narrow, bayouside property of the Chauvin Sculpture Garden. These sculptures are a profound mixture of Biblical reference, Cajun colors, and the evident pain and struggle of the artist’s life. Most figures—black, white, male, female, child, or solider—are guided, supported, or lifted by seemingly weightless angels. The unique angels, some inviting passage, others prohibiting, vary from blue skinned, bare-footed, and sightless to regal celestial figures clad in medieval garb with the black boots of the local shrimp fishermen.
The most prominent piece is a 45-foot-tall lighthouse, composed of 7,000 bricks, with figures clinging to the outside: cowboys, soldiers, angels, God and Hill himself. A walk through this sculpture environment is an emotional experience, evoking a sense of deep spirituality but also personal pain. Chauvin Sculpture Garden is located at 5337 Bayouside Drive. For more information, visit their Facebook page.