A hit debut for Porchfest: Conceived in sadness, festival celebrates local culture

Cloudy skies did not prevent PorchFest musicians from giving a heartfelt performance on Saturday in support of a good cause for the community.

Francis Scott Sicard’s desire to turn a personal catastrophe into something positive bonded him in a unique way with musician Hal Bruni.

Bruni’s sister told him about the PorchFest event. He initially saw it as another fun opportunity to share his talents with the community.

But all that changed after he received an invitation to play during a phone call with Sicard.

“Scott called me,” Bruni said. “And we got to talking. He said, ‘You know why I’m doing this? It’s actually for my son Jacques, who passed away.’”

“I said, ‘OK, now you’ve got to tell me about your son.’”

Bruni discovered that Sicard’s son passed away last year at 5 months of age. That’s the same age at which Bruni’s son passed away 10 years ago.

Bruni told Sicard, “As soon as I see you I’m going to have to give you a hug because we’re brothers now.

“So, then I was a lot more encouraged to be here for this because it was automatically a kindred thing for Scott and I,” Bruni said.

“I understood exactly why he was doing it and I wanted to be involved any way I could. It’s been a very special thing for us.”

Sicard is not only a local dentist but a guitar player, too.

Four-time Grammy nominated musician Cedric Watson has personal ties with Sicard. They met playing at jam sessions in Lafayette.

Watson’s first time performing in Morgan City “is for a good friend of mine, Scott Sicard, in honor of his son that passed away,” Watson said.

“I also played for his son’s funeral, you know,” Watson said.

Watson’s offering to PorchFest is to support his friend.

“We’ve been keeping in touch about this,” Watson said. “He’s been dreaming about this idea, doing the festival and everything.”

Without hesitation, “I told him, yes, I’m there,” Watson said. “I’ll play.”

PorchFest is an event that originated in 2007 in Ithaca, New York. The purpose is to celebrate a community through music and make it a communal affair for bands to play their music on neighbors’ porches.

Saturday’s event was the first of its kind in Morgan City. Porches on the homes surrounding Lawrence Park were transformed into stages for local and non-local musical talent to perform.

“I think it’s a great thing for the town,” Bruni said. “And it’s been just a wonderful experience. This is a great park we have here and it’s a great thing as well to get everyone together around the park.

“I think it’s a good thing that will only get bigger as it goes.”

Ten artists performed at the event.

Before the festival started, two running events were held . Sixty participants registered for the 3.17 mile Jacques O’Neal run and a Zumba session energized the crowd before Watson performed.