FOUNDATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF CREOLE CULTURAL HERITAGE<\/p>\n
N E W S L E T T E R<\/p>\n
First Edition
\nSeptember 21, 2004<\/p>\n
Creole Family Picnic – Sept. 5, 2004, Culver City Park, Culver City, California<\/p>\n
Our very first event was an encouraging success. Eighty-one people were present, who enjoyed the scentilating zydeco music of Bonne Musique band, leader B.J. Deculus. The attendees also enjoyed a tasty meal of ribs, chicken and links, baked beans and potato salad, catered by Phillips Barbeque of Los Angeles and Inglewood, Ca. along with a garden salad and a variety of desserts and sodas. Many thanks to the members who worked to make this a success and friends and relatives who pitched in to help.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons why there were not more people attending the picnic was that the information was not printed in the July edition of the Bayou Talk Newspaper, due to the editor\u2019s inability to print the flyer from the computer copy, and this inability was not related to the organizer of the Creole Family Picnic; but the Creofest at Acton, CA on August 29th was published and thus more people knew about it. The editor of the Bayou Talk Newspaper later confused the Creole Family Picnic with the Creofest (of August 29th at Acton, CA) in its August 30th edition of the Bayou Talk newspaper stating that the Creofest had been changed to the Culver City Park in Culver City, Ca on the 5th of September. Because of the mixup of the 2 events,the organizer for
\nFPCCH panicked by thinking that there would be a lot of people coming to pay at the gate, and ordered more food, which was later found to be unnecessary since the overflow at the gate did not happen, thus causing an over- purchase of food. (which did not go to waste and was given to the participants to take home)<\/p>\n
The many beautiful people present at the picnic were welcomed by the Founder, Marion I. Ferreira, and thanked for helping us to further the Creole Cultural Cause.<\/p>\n
The Special Creole Award for 2004, in the form of a gold plaque, was presented to Baron Richard Augustine\/Commeaux, owner and operator of the famous website \u201cFrenchCreoles.com\u201d. out of appreciation for all that he has done to further the Creole Cultural Cause. An additional praise goes to Mr. Commeaux for sponsoring the zydeco band for the event.<\/p>\n
Other Awards were given to the oldest persons at the picnic which were Marie Metoyer Ledet (81) and Olga Dupre Perkins (87), both of Los Angeles, CA. The youngest person present was beautiful little Serena Guyot (2 1\/2), daughter of our President, Caesar Guyot of Laguna, Nigel, CA. The most tickets bought were (9) by Ann Howlett of Culver City, CA. The first tickets bought were (4) by M.B. Connors of Pasadena, CA. The most tickets sold (4) were by Allen Verdun of Los Angeles, CA.<\/p>\n
Yours truly, the Founder, purchased auto bumper stickers to sell at the picnic at $2 each. The very colorful bumper stickers of purple and gold reads in bold print \u201cCREOLE CULTURE\u201d and on the second line \u201cHELP SAVE IT\u201d. The third line gives the name and address of the organization FPCCH and the post office address.<\/p>\n
The people at the picnic and the readers are encouraged to purchase the auto bumper stickers and place them proudly on the rear of their auto to show Creole Pride and to keep the Culture Alive. They and the reader are also requested to order a Membership Application form to the organization, Foundation for the Preservation of Creole Cultural Heritage, and sign up by contributing $25 per family each year to the organization whose main purpose is to keep the Creole Culture Alive through dissemination of Creole history, current information and events such as the Creole Family Picnic and its many future planned events.<\/p>\n
The Founder of FPCCH, Mrs. Marion I. Ferreira, has made it a point to attend the
\nfollowing Creole Events to help her gather Creole information –
\n*1981 – The Western Family (Metoyers et al) Reunion in Alexandria, La,
\n**1983 – Sponsored the First Metoyer-Cane River Descendants Reunion in Los Angeles, CA
\n*** The Western Family (Metoyers et al) Reunion held in Long Beach, CA
\n****The Western Family (Metoyers et al) Reunion held in Seattle, Washington
\n*****The Creole Family History Convention in Montebello, CA – July 2002, at which time she had an exhibit on Mother Henriette Delille\u2019s Cause for Canonization as the First Native Born Creole American Saint.
\n******The Creole Heritage Center Convention in New Orleans, LA, October 2003; where she also has an exhibit on Mother Henriette Delille\u2019s Cause for Canonization as the First Native Born Creole American Saint.
\n******* The Creole Heritage Center Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada – May 2004.
\nWhere she was given The Creole People\u2019s Award by the Center for her 23 years of dedication to the Cause of the Creole People.
\n******* Note: This convention was written up in the Australian Website of George deLaMar, a French Creole from Rodriguez, an Island just off South Africa, who attended the Las Vegas Convention. He also wrote an article entitled \u201cThe Resurgence of Creolism in the USA. His article addressed the needs of the Creole People as follows –
\nFor Creole People to feel comfortable in being Creole
\nFor Creole people to study common grounds issues created due its unique position with the global community .
\nFor Creole People to find answers to questions regarding their ethnic and cultural displacement globally.
\nFor Creole People to trace the development of their culture.
\nFor Creole people to meet and greet their foreign relatives and establish points of contact.
\nFor Creole People to find their global roots.
\nFor Creole people to find their comfort zone.<\/p>\n