4-H goes to the Cotton Festival

Parish 4-H students participate in this year’s events during the La. Cotton Festival week
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Amid last week’s activities for Cotton Festival the Evangeline Parish 4-H Club has celebrated too. It was National 4-H Week. From pumpkin carving to pet shows club members stayed busy.
The week began with 4-H Members hanging posters throughout the parish to promote National 4-H Week.
Tuesday began the first activity which was a pumpkin carving workshop filled with over 25 4-H members from every side of the parish. Kids from Mamou, Pine Prairie, Bayou Chicot, Ville Platte, James Stephens Montessori, and W.W. Stewart Elementary schools were in attendance to carve spiders, jack-o-lanterns, and even a 4-H or two.
The biggest events of the week were the Cotton Pickin Pet Show and Cotton Cookery that were held Wednesday. From large dogs, puppies, cats, birds, rabbits, turtles, and even a duck or two our kids in the parish turned up in droves to show how proud they were of their pets. With over eighty entries in categories like Best Costumed Pair, Prettiest Coat, and Prettiest Eyes, club members in grades four through eight competed for the first place ribbon.
Alongside the pet show was the annual Cotton Cookery contest. This consisted of over 15 divisions within the seafood, rice, beef, sugar and bento categories with almost 50 dishes. These included crawfish, shrimp, oyster, crab, and fish in the seafood division. In the rice division, there were main dish, side dish, and dessert. The beef division consisted of low calorie, one dish meal, and quick and easy main dish. The sugar division was divided between baked and non-baked sugar items and the cookery finished out with the bento division, which is a balanced diet lunch box.
Junior Leaders led many activities for 4-H members during the festival. These included demonstrations on how much sugar is in our foods, spreading germs, fun exercise games, and a bike that helped them create spin art.
On Saturday, there was one last 4-H activity to finish out the Cotton Festival Week. A workshop called Wetland Wonders helped club members to learn more about pollution in our watershed, natural resources and how they affect our land when harvested, and conservation of Louisiana’s renewable resources. This workshop was given by 4- H Alumni Baylee Guillory and our own members of the State Science, Engineering, and Technology Board, Samuel Gil and Samuel Hollier of Sacred Heart and Jose Deshotel of St. Edmund’s. 4-H members were also joined by Eric Bush, Wildlife and Fisheries Naturalist for Chicot State Park, who brought his baby alligator, Roux, to show the attendees. The week of Cotton Festival is always filled with fun and excitement, and this one was no exception!
Thanks go out to all who support the Cotton Festival and 4-H, especially the ladies from Evangeline Bank, who help to run the pet show every year. Results are listed below.
Cotton Cookery
• Sugar Baked Division- Katlin Causey, Pine Prairie, 4th Fun Sized Apple Cake.
• Sugar Non-Baked- Ava Newman, Member at Large, 7th Nutella Mouse.
• Seafood Oyster Division- Beau St. Romain, Sacred Heart 6th, Holy Moly Oysters.
• Seafood Shrimp Division- Mena Newman, Member at Large, Shrimp Mold.
• Seafood Fish Other Division- Gavin Patin, James Stephens 4th, Blackened Catfish.
• Seafood Crawfish Division- Abby Quibodeaux, Sacred Heart 5th, Crawfish Augratin.
• Low Calorie Beef- Benjamin Fontenot, Sacred Heart 9th, Stuffed Peppers.
• Beef One Dish Meal- Mia Jones, Sacred Heart 7th, Taco Soup.
• Beef Quick and Easy- Ben Johnson, Pine Prairie 4th, Hamburger Steak.
• Rice Main Dish- Caroline Garrett, Sacred Heart 5th, Cheesy Crawfish Rice.
• Rice Side Dish- Aliese Veillon, Sacred Heart 6th, Corn Casserole.
• Rice Dessert- Ian Coreil, Sacred Heart 7th, Old Fashioned Rice Pudding.
Cottin Pickin Pet Show
Division A: Cats
• Best Groomed: 1st- Corley Fontenot, Pine Prairie 4th; 2nd- John Bordelon, James Stephens Montessori 6th; 3rd- Talaysia Burns, Ville Platte Elementary 4th; 4th Logan Bergeron, WW Stewart 4th.
• Most Obedient: 1st- Charleigh Aguillard, Vidrine 4th; 2nd- John Bordelon, James Stephens Montessori 6th; 3rd- Camille Bieber, Mamou 4th; 4th- Allison Campbell, Pine Prairie 4th.
• Best Dressed: 1st- Allison Campbell, Pine Prairie 4th; 2nd- Brooklyn White, Bayou Chicot 4th; 3rd- Talaysia Burns, Ville Platte Elementary 4th; 4th- Logan Bergeron, WW Stewart 4th.
• Best Costumed Pair: 1st- Talasia Burns, Ville Platte Elementary 4th; 2nd- Lillee Latour, Sacred Heart 4th; 3rd- Sawyer Cormier, WW Stewart 4th; 4th Elissa Berzas, Member-at-Large 6th.
Division B: Rabbits
• Shortest Ears: 1st- Ellie Johnson, Sacred Heart 4th; 2nd- Nena Brasseaux, Mamou 4th.
• Longest Ears: 1st- Nena Brasseaux, Mamou 4th; 2nd- Zavi Graser, Bayou Chicot 5th, Kaylee Hicks, Vidrine 5th.
• Best Groomed: 1st- Kaylee Hicks, Vidrine 5th; 2nd- Nena Brasseaux, Mamou 4th.
• Softest Fur: 1st- Harly Soileau, Member-at-Large 4th; 2nd- Kaylee Hicks, Vidrine 5th; 3rd- Ellie Johnson, Sacred Heart 4th; 4th- Nena Brasseaux, Mamou 4th.
Division C: Birds
• Smallest: Angel Brasseaux, Mamou 8th.
• Longest Beak: Angel Brasseaux, Mamou 8th.
• Most Unusual: 1st- Kaislyn LaFleur, Ville Platte High School 8th; 2nd- Adam Deshotel, Chataignier 4th; 3rd- Angel Brasseaux, Mamou 8th.
• Most Colorful: 1st- Adam Deshotel, Chataignier 4th; 2nd- Kaislyn LaFleur, Ville Platte High School 8th; 3rd- Angel Brasseaux, Mamou 8th.
Division D: Puppy
• Best Costumed Pair: 1st- Genevieve Norris, Sacred Heart 4th; 2nd- Calli Lejeune, Chataignier 7th; 3rd- Cheyanne Maricle, Pine Prairie 4th; 4th- Tamryn Semien, James Stephens Montessori 4th.
• Most Colorful: 1st- Macy Campbell, Bayou Chicot 7th; 2nd- Tamryn Semien, James Stephens 4th; 3rd- Aliese Veillon, Sacred Heart 6th; 4th- Adalyn Berzas, Vidrine 4th.
• Most Lovable: 1st- Brycelon Guillory, Pine Prairie 4th; 2nd- Adalyn Berzas, Vidrine 4th; 3rd- Genevieve Norris, Sacred Heart 4th; 4th- Tamryn Semien, James Stephens Montessori 4th.
• Prettiest Eyes: 1st- Tamryn Semien, James Stephens Montessori 4th; 2nd- Adalyn Berzas, Vidrine 4th; Maci Campbell, Bayou Chicot 7th.
Division E: Dogs
• Best Costumed Pair: 1st- Ada Soileau, Vidrine 4th; 2nd- Carly Soileau, James Stephens Montessori 4th; 3rd- Blayklee Thibodeaux, Sacred Heart 4th; 4th- Katherine Fontenot, Sacred Heart 6th.
• Most Colorful: 1st- Madison Schexnayder, Bayou Chicot 5th; 2nd- Ellie Hebert, WW Stewart 4th, 3rd- Baylie Bertrand, Vidrine 5th, Tarrence Burns, Ville Platte Elementary 5th.
• Best Trick: 1st- Cassius Bieber, Ville Platte Elementary 4th, 2nd- Tarrence Burns, Ville Platte Elementary 5th, 3rd- Katherine Fontenot, Sacred Heart 6th; 4th- Ava Newman, Member-at-Large 7th.
• Prettiest Coat: 1st- Carlie Vidrine, Pine Prairie 4th; 2nd- Ellie Hebert, WW Stewart 4th; 3rd- Thomas Thibodeaux, WW Stewart 4th; 4th- Ben St. Romain, Sacred Heart 4th.
Division F: Dogs Medium/Large
• Best Costumed Pair: 1st- Payton Estilette, Bayou Chicot 5th; 2nd- Amelia Fontenot, Sacred Heart 5th; 3rd- Haylee Dupre, Sacred Heart 5th; 4th- Harly Soileau, Member-at-Large 4th.
• Most Colorful: 1st- Brooklyn White, Bayou Chicot 5th; 2nd Emma Martel, WW Stewart 4th; 3rd- Brayden Ortego, Sacred Heart 4th; 4th- Jace Ortego, Sacred Heart 6th.
• Best Trick: 1st- Abram Perrodin, Bayou Chicot 5th; 2nd- Ashton Duos, Sacred Heart 5th; 3rd- Sydia Ortego, Sacred Heart 4th; 4th- Keegan Fontenot, Pine Prairie 4th.
Best Groomed: 1st- Sydia Ortego, Sacred Heart 4th; 2nd- Millie Richard, Sacred Heart 4th; 3rd John-Aaron Soileau, Sacred Heart 4th; 4th- Jace Ortego, Sacred Heart 6th.
Division G: Any Other Pets
• Smallest Pet: 1st- Haylee Dupre, Sacred Heart 5th; 2nd- Ryan Newman, Member-at-Large 4th; 3rd- Nathaniel Miller, Sacred Heart 7th; 4th- Jada Richard, James Stephens Montessori 6th.
• Most Colorful: 1st- Hunter Holden, Bayou Chicot 5th; 2nd- Nathaniel Miller, Sacred Heart 7th; 3rd- Jada Richard, James Stephens Montessori 6th; 4th- Thomas Thibodeaux, WW Stewart 4th.
• Most Unusual: 1st- Alyssa Brignac, Sacred Heart; 2nd Elizabeth Dies, Mamou 7th; 3rd- Gracie Rhame, Pine Prairie 4th; 4th- Beau St. Romain, Sacred Heart 6th.