Carnival expected to be full of magic; Groves’ biggest celebration of nuts almost here
Published 10:05 am Monday, October 31, 2016
GROVES — There’s a lot going on with this year’s Groves Pecan Festival.
Food, fun, live entertainment, a parade, vendors, contests, tournaments and a carnival are on slated for the 47th annual event, set for Nov. 3 through Nov. 6 at Lion’s Park, 6200 Jackson St., Groves.
Ronnie Boneau, executive director of the Groves Chamber of Commerce and Tourist Center, is excited about this year’s festival.
Musical duo Curse and the Cure featuring Jason Touchette and Norma Hopson are scheduled to perform Friday night, and Hopson will return Saturday morning to perform the National Anthem during opening ceremonies.
Boneau said the group comes highly recommended and have performed and are scheduled to perform at Bayou Café, Pine Tree Lodge, Rodair Roadhouse, Fin and Feather Bar and Grill, Café Del Rio and The West.
“I’ve never heard anyone do Janis Joplin like her,” Boneau said of Hopson, whom he had seen at Pine Tree Lodge. “She sang “Me and Bobby Mcgee”; they (Curse and the Cure) do sing other types of songs, but this, it was like Janis came from the grave.”
Organizers are once again scheduling the crowd-pleasing Champagne Room and hoping rain won’t spoil the performance on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Lowery Carnival is coming back for a second year. Last year the group was forced to leave some of their equipment in New Orleans due to the rides being stuck in the mud at Voodoo Fest.
The carnival group is scheduled to begin arriving early next week in preparation for the Thursday opening.
A number of food vendors will be dishing out ice cream, funnel cakes, snow cones, pecan pie, curly fries, gumbo, hamburgers, barbecue, pork-a-bobs, boudain balls, nachos, pistolettes and fresh squeezed lemonade.
The treasure hunt is set to begin on Monday and due to Halloween safety concerns, the first clue will be posted on the Groves Pecan Festival Facebook page at 10 p.m., Monday, Oct. 31. After Monday, the clues will be on the festivals Facebook page nightly at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday clues will run in the Port Arthur News and they will be posted in the Chamber office porch window.
“Please note, the treasure is not in the horseshoe pit in Lion’s Park or in Celebration Park at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Coolidge,” he said.
For more information about the festival, call the chamber at 962-3631.
