My Introduction to Louisiana Festivals … The Fur and Wildlife Festival

My dad is from Franklin, Louisiana. That's a small town south of Lafayette. We vacationed there when I was growing up. I was introduced to quite a bit of Louisiana culture in those years; but nothing prepared me for my first Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival.

I already knew how to eat crawfish, crab and shrimp. I knew how to make a roux and sauce piquante before I moved to Lake Charles. I had been frogging, fishing and hunting. Then I did my first remote broadcast at the Louisiana Fur and Wildlife Festival.

I saw three high school age girls up on a stage. I wondered what was happening so I walked closer to the stage. These three cute little girls looked like normal high school students you would find in any city. I did not know they were dangerous with a knife yet.

A gentleman walked up on the stage and counted down "three, two, one ... geaux! Each young lady bent down and reached into a basket and grabbed a dead animal. They then chopped the animals heads off. Then the proceeded to skillfully skin these critters and reach in the basket for the next one. I was witnessing my first girls "skinning" competition.

There is certainly nothing wrong with this. It's just not something you see everywhere and is kind of a shock when you are not expecting it. I bet these girl's boyfriends try their best not to make them mad. I guess my mouth was just wide open in surprise because the guy next to me leaned over and said "don't eat anything here except the shrimp."

Oh ... on a side note ... since then I have tried barbequed nutria. It did not taste just like chicken; but it wasn't bad.