Fourth Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show set for April 19-21, 2013
- Thursday, 31 January 2013
Contact: Roger Stouff
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This spring, owners of classic and modern wooden vessels of all sizes will converge on Franklin, Louisiana for the fourth Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show.
What started as a spur-of-the-moment idea around a breakfast table at a local restaurant has become the fastest growing venue for classic and antique wooden boats in the Southeast, set along a unique venue in deep southern Louisiana in a city with more than 400 registered historic homes and a Main Street known for its charm.
Roger Stouff and Gary Blum welcomed the owners of 40 boats to Franklin in 2012 and expect even more during this year’s show April 19-21 in association with the Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival. Both are held on the grounds of Parc sur la Teche in downtown Franklin.
“It was just a passing thought,” Stouff said. “The 2010 bear festival was a few months away and one of us said, ‘Hey, why don’t we do a wooden boat display?’ To this day, neither of us will admit whose idea it was because we have too much fun blaming each other,” he joked.
But that first show came together and a dozen boats showed up, three of which were from outside of St. Mary Parish. The show ran that Saturday only but as Blum recalls, “When we went to pick up our own boats Sunday morning, people were still coming to see them. We ended up staying until late that afternoon letting festival-goers see the boats and talking to them about the boats.”
What started as a hair-brained idea suddenly became a possible success. The duo decided to give it one more try, for the 2011 festival, just to “make sure it wasn’t a lark,” Stouff says.
It wasn’t. That year, 28 boats were on the bayou side and in Bayou Teche at Parc sur la Teche.
The success of that show cinched the deal: The Bayou Teche Wooden Boat Show continued and surpassed its record the next year again.
“How could we not?” Stouff said. “Gary and I didn’t start this because we needed something else to do, that’s for sure. We did it because we’re a coupla guys who own and love wooden boats, and love meeting and talking with other people who love wooden boats, whether they’re our guests participating in the show or the good people who come to see the boats. The common thread there is still…wooden boats.”
Both say their relationship with the main festival has been cordial and beneficial. “I think we’ve helped them by bringing in people who might not otherwise have made the trip from Oklahoma or Alabama or Mississippi down here to see this festival,” Blum said. “By the same token, they’ve helped us by helping promote our event and accommodating us whenever we needed anything.”
And word-of-mouth has spread news of the event. “Participants left here and praised the show and the city among other wooden boat clubs and owners,” Stouff said. “It’s a legacy. Wood is an organic material, it has cellular structure and membrane. It is, even in its cut, dry state, more similar to us as human beings than any other boat building material. It has warmth and a tactile feeling of life. From the first time primitive man crawled on a fallen log and floated across a lake or river, wooden boats have been in our blood. They’ve been around tens of thousands of years longer than fiberglass or metal boats.”
Blum said attendants at the shows were overwhelmed by Franklin’s southern hospitality, beauty and of course, waters. “Many of them had been here before,” he said. “And every single one not only said they’d be back, but they’d spread the word about this community and this show. That can only be good for Franklin and the surrounding area.”
The two organizers have founded the Louisiana Maritime Heritage Foundation, LLC to foster and promote appreciation for these classic and antique vessels.
There is no entry fee for participants, and all wooden vessels are welcome. For more information, visit www.techeboatshow.com or email
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. For information about the Bayou Teche Bear Festival visit http://www.bayoutechbearfest.org
GO COAST: LOUISIANA MARATHON AIRS STATEWIDE ON WLAE & LPB THIS SUNDAY JANUARY 20TH STARTING AT 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) is broadcasting a four-episode, 2-hour marathon of Go Coast: Louisiana on Sunday, January 20 beginning at 5 p.m. It will air statewide in New Orleans (WLAE-TV), Baton Rouge (WLPB), Alexandria (KLPA), Lafayette (KLPB), Lake Charles (KLTL), Shreveport (KLTS) and in Monroe (KLTM).
During the this rare TV marathon, Go Coast’s Tom Gregory fishes Lake Pontchartrain with John Besh, reenacts a Civil War Battle, discovers the heat of the Tabasco factory, and swashbuckles his way through the pirates of The Contraband Days Festival. That’s just a few of the adventures Tom has as he travels the Louisiana Coast.
The program’s host, Tom Gregory, won an Emmy in the Best On-Camera Talent category for Performer/Narrator from the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Go Coast: Louisiana also received a nomination for the Best Magazine Program. The series was also nominated for Emmy for Best Magazine show. The series was produced and written by Gregory and was developed by LAE Productions.
The featured parishes in the marathon include St. Tammany, Plaquemines, Iberia, Cameron and Calcasieu. For more information on the Go Coast: Louisiana series, visit www.gocoast.tv
GO COAST: LOUISIANA NOMINATED FOR TWO EMMYS
- Thursday, 25 October 2012
New Orleans – The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced its 36th Annual Emmy nominations on October 17th, and Go Coast: Louisiana received a nomination for the Best Magazine Program. The program’s host, Tom Gregory, was also nominated for Best On-Camera Talent – Performer/Narrator.
Also nominated were Eric Carle, Director of Photography and Editor and Carolina Loreto, Chief Editor and Associate Producer. The series is produced and written by Gregory and was developed by LAE Productions.
The Emmy nominated episode was the premiere episode of the 12-part TV travel series. Go Coast: Louisiana aims to do for the rest of south Louisiana culture what chefs like Justin Wilson, Paul Prudhomme and John Besh have done for its cuisine.
NATAS Suncoast chapters includes 3 of top 20 TV markets in the nation and TV markets in: the entire State of Florida; Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and New Orleans, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; Thomasville, Georgia and Puerto Rico. The 36th Annual Suncoast Emmy Awards ceremony will take place Saturday, December 1, 2012 at The Westin Beach Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale.
GO Coast will premiere statewide on Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) at 9:00PM on Monday, October 29, with back-to-back episodes (St. Tammany and Plaquemines) from 9:00-10:00pm. It will air in Baton Rouge (WLPB), Alexandria (KLPA), Lafayette (KLPB), Lake Charles (KLTL), Shreveport (KLTS) and in Monroe (KLTM).
GO Coast’s Iberia Parish’s episode will on LPB on Monday November 12 at 9:30pm.
For more information on the ‘Go Coast: Louisiana’ series, visit www.gocoast.tv
New Kayak Racing Pitstop in preperation for the Tour du Teche
- Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Breaux Bridge, LA -- Bayou Teche Experience is celebrating “9 months in business”
as the Teche Outfitter with a first Kayak Racing Pitstop, a pre-race briefing by veteran
kayak racer Brad Rex. In order to be better prepared for the 135-mile race down Bayou
Teche in October, the Breaux Bridge-based racing kayak dealer with rental & shuttle
service organizes a Prep and Outfitting Workshop free of charge to all Tour du Teche
participants. “Every racer needs a pitstop. Due to our unique location downtown at the
Bridge, our support of the Tour du Teche and our tremendous admiration for kayak
racer Brad Rex, we are very happy to serve as the catalyst and invite the Tour du
Teche community to stop by and learn more,” says Cory Werk, owner of Bayou Teche
Experience and himself a USCA-certified kayak instructor. The very unique Pitstop is
designed that you enter to learn and leave to race. “How to get your equipment to work
for you, and not against you,” says Brad Rex with confidence. This question and many
others will be addressed by Brad Rex on Sunday, September 23, 2012, at 3:00 pm at
Bayou Teche Experience, 317 East Bridge Street in Breaux Bridge. Be there! For more
information and RSVP, contact 337-366-0337 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .