It’s that time again, The Southdown Marketplace Arts & Crafts Festival. This year’s event will take place once again on the grounds of the Southdown Plantation, Houma on April 8. This event is known for celebrating creative arts and crafts, community tradition and economic development.
The even has been a tradition in the Houma-Terrebonne community for 25 years. Each Spring and Fall, thousands of area residents and visitors flock to the Southdown Plantation grounds to shop at hundreds of arts and crafts booths, eat their favorite Cajun foods, tour the historical museum, and enjoy neighborly visits with one another. The Terrebonne Historical & Cultural Society will once again hold Southdown Marketplace on April 8, 2006, keeping with the festival’s usual date of the Saturday one week before Easter. Gates are open from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with a gate admission fee of $4.00 per person. Children under 12 are admitted free.
Southdown Marketplace is a celebration of creative arts and community tradition and a driving force for the area’s economic development. The Festival is sponsored by the non-profit Terrebonne Historical & Cultural Society, Inc. which owns and operates the Southdown Plantation House/Terrebonne Museum property. The Society receives no federal, state, or local funding, and relies on the semi-annual Marketplaces as the main source of revenue. Income from festival admission fees, booth rentals, and food concessions is used for the daily operation of the museum as well as the continued maintenance of the historic buildings and grounds.
The festival also has economic importance as a sales outlet for the vendors and a source of state and parish sales tax revenues. Museum Director Karen Hart states: “Southdown Marketplace plays a significant role in our local economy. About 20% of our vendors are from Terrebonne Parish, so money is going to those local residents. The show provides sales tax to the state and parish, too. In 2005, Terrebonne Parish collected a total of more than $12,000 in sales taxes from the two Marketplaces. Our hotels, B&B’s, campgrounds, and restaurants also benefit from non-local vendors who stay overnight before or after the festival.”
Since its beginnings in 1980, the Southdown Marketplace has grown from a handful of local vendors to one of the region’s largest shows with 300 booths covering the grounds. Still, with more 30,000 square feet of shopping area, the focus remains on showcasing original, handmade arts, crafts, and creative products. About 85 % of the artists and crafters for the upcoming show are from Louisiana and about 60% are from the greater Houma-Thibodaux-New Orleans area. Other vendors represent Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Missouri. Vendors are quite dedicated to the show and about 85% of them return each time. There is a evidently a loyal customer base, too, with attendance at the show usually ranging from 6000-8000 people. There is always room, though, for new products and new people.
Museum Director Karen Hart states, “Despite the hurricanes, the November 2005 Marketplace had a record-breaking attendance with close to 10,000 visitors. We know that Houma’s population increased after the storms, and we think that people were ready to get out and do something fun and familiar. Although attendance at the Spring show is usually a little lower than the Fall, we expect to have another strong day. We are pleased that so many extra people discovered Southdown Marketplace in November and hope that they return to enjoy the April festival day.”
Southdown Marketplace offers a causal, family-friendly, alcohol-free atmosphere for men, women, and children of all ages. There is something for everyone! Shoppers can find a variety of hand-made crafts and fine arts including jewelry, clothing, woodcrafts, furniture, pottery, paintings, photography, toys, dolls, metalwork, florals, candles, bath and body goods, gourmet food items, pet products, seasonal decorations, and much more. There are also books by local authors, home-grown plants, antiques and collectibles, and children’s hands-on art projects. The Cajun Food Court is always a big hit with gumbo, corn soup, red beans, white beans, shrimp jambalaya, beignets, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, chili fritos, sweet potato and apple pies, and ice cream. Hungry shoppers should buy early since the food usually sells out. Pints and quarts of many items are also available for take-out.
Southdown Marketplace will be held rain or shine on Saturday April 8, and gates are open 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Limited parking is available on-site, but free shuttle bus service is offered from the bayou-side parking lot of the Houma Civic Center near the library. Five admission gates are located on all sides of the Southdown property: at the Museum Drive main entrance, at the Pavilion entrance near Harvest Cathedral, at the Veterans Park pedestrian bridge, along Regal Row, and along the old mill road off St. Charles Street along Little Bayou Black. Southdown Plantation is located at 1208 Museum Drive near the corner of LA Hwy 311 and St. Charles Street, with easy access from U.S. Hwy 90 via exit #200. For more information, call 985-851-0154 or visit www.southdownmuseum.org.