Lumberjack Show kicks off Sawmill Festival

The 25th Annual Cypress Sawmill Festival begins Friday and continues through Sunday at Kemper Williams Park & Campground near Patterson with proceeds from the festival supporting the Louisiana State Museum-Patterson.
Festival Chairman Steve Bierhorst encouraged people to come to the All American Professional Lumberjack Show at 10 a.m. Friday, which will be free of charge.
After the first Lumberjack Show Friday, admission to the festival is $5 per car for the rest of the day Friday and $10 per car Saturday and Sunday each day. A weekend parking pass is available for $20. Lumberjack shows will be also held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Arts and crafts booths open at 3 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The street fair, which includes rides and games for kids of all ages, opens at 5 p.m. Friday and at noon Saturday and Sunday. Carnival ride bracelets will be offered each day at the festival for $25 each. Friday’s carnival ride session is from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday’s session is from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday’s session is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Food and drink booths open at 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
On Friday, KQKI radio station will partner with the festival to host the Country Showdown from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
At 8 a.m. Saturday the Sawmill Festival softball tournament will be played. The tournament will continue at 8 a.m. Sunday.
The Cypress Sawmill Display, inside the Louisiana State Museum — Patterson, will be available for viewing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Old Engine Display, presented by the Bayou Old Time Engine and Power Association, will show antique engines and machinery starting at 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Sunday.
On Friday through Sunday, the festival will feature the following bands:
—Friday: Ruff-N-Ready Band, 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
—Saturday: The Beau Young Band, noon to 2:30 p.m.; Gregg Martinez & the Delta Kings, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Blue-Eyed Soul Revue, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; and South 70 Band, 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
—Sunday: 90 Degrees West, noon to 2 p.m.; Nik-L-Beer Band, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Jamie Bergeron and the Kickin’ Cajuns, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
A fireworks show will be held at 9 p.m. Saturday. No weapons, ice chests, glass containers, dogs or golf carts are allowed on festival grounds.
The Cypress Sawmill Golf Tournament originally scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday has been canceled due to weather, Bierhorst said. The Fun Walk that was tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday has been canceled, too, Bierhorst said.
Proceeds from the festival go to help Louisiana State Museum — Patterson, Festival Assistant Chairman Jeffery LaGrange said at Tuesday’s Patterson City Council meeting. The festival was started to try to begin a museum, LaGrange said.
Mayor Rodney Grogan stressed the need to support the museum. Last week, Grogan attended a special call meeting with Secretary of State Tom Schedler and learned that “two major state museums, one in Baton Rouge and one in Shreveport,” are going from three days of operation per week to one day a week, Grogan said. That trend is occurring across the state, Grogan said.
“Part of keeping these museums open is the numbers of people that visit the museum,” LaGrange said. “That’s another thing with the festival is we get numbers of people in the door to sign the book, and then the state sees those numbers and that helps keep the doors open.”
Cypress Sawmill Festival founder David Bourdier said the reason the museum is free to the public is because the money raised from the festival goes to the festival foundation. “Our foundation pays the state each month so we do not have to charge anyone to go to our museum,” Bourdier said.
For more info on the festival, visit www.cypresssawmill.com.