This weekend I got a parental visit…after over a year of living in my new place…I was excited, but they always talk about how I am ALWAYS on the go so I didn’t really make plans for us. Instead I gave them a couple of options to see how they would respond. Since they wake up (and go to sleep) with the chickens, it made more sense to do an early morning event as compared to any late night events. I keep hearing about this WORLD FAMOUS ZYDECO BREAKFAST, so we decided that we would try it out.

First, if you’re going to a place called Breaux Bridge, Louisiana to a restaurant called Buck and Johnny’s you know you are in for some excitement… We arrived just before 8:30AM on Saturday morning (this event is only on Saturdays and the doors open at 8AM) and was greeted with a sign that indicated it was a $5 entry fee and you must be 21+ to drink. My first thought was entry fee for breakfast?!? This will be interesting…

We entered and the tables adjacent to the dance floor were already taken, but there was still plenty of space in the bar area (with a glass window separating the 2 spaces). A few customers told us that there was space upstairs so we climbed the stairs and parked ourselves at a 4-top table on the edge overlooking the dance floor and stage. Just as we settled into our seats the music started. It sounded like a mix of folk music and blues, weird to me, but nice music. People began to gather on the dance floor and just have a jolly good time.

Here’s a clip of what you get at the zydeco breakfast:

Here is what I learned about Zydeco:

• It’s a music genre that is native to Southwest Louisiana from the early 20th century.
• It’s an infusion of Blues, R&B, and music from LA Creoles and the Native people of LA
• Some common instruments include:
  • The vest frottoir also known as the zydeco rubboard was designed as a percussion instrument specifically for zydeco music. There is one in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian institution.
  • The guy we saw on Saturday was getting down on an accordion. I think that was the first time that I saw one in action in a very long time (maybe I saw one way back when we used to go to Renaissance festivals in school).
  • Other staples include: Cajun fiddle, spoon and triangle, guitar, bass guitar, and drums.

It was a breath of fresh air to see people out early on a Saturday morning just having a great time, dancing and fellowshipping with one another. I can’t wait to learn a few of the line dances and go back to cut the rug.

-Stassi