The 2009 Lao "Bpee Mai" or "Songkran" traditional New Year Festival was held during the weekend of April 10, 11, 12 at the Wat Thammarattanaram Buddhist Temple in Broussard (New Iberia), Louisiana. With greetings such as "souksan van peemai" or "sabidee pimai" -- meaning "Happy New Year" -- hundreds of joyous Lao and Thai residents and visitors celebrated for three days at the temple grounds, adjacent to the Laotian community of Lanexang Village. Highlights included a beauty pageant and Saturday parade with floats as well as traditional music, food (terrific Bar-B-Q!), and imported vendor products. Other traditions of the celebration were the splashing and tossing of water and spraying of shaving cream, mostly by the younger revelers.

Bobbie and I were urged by our Thai and Loatian friends at the Thai Cuisine Restaurant in Lafayette, Louisiana to put up a booth offering Bobbie's custom designed jewelry and sample their culture. La and Thou escorted us to the festival on Saturday morning, assisted us in selecting a site and setting up our tent/table, and even helped with customers. Others came by later... Sheila, Yai, Amy, and others. Our neighboring Laotian booth operators even helped to take down when we quit for the day. What a great time we had! Didn't sell much but we had a fantastic day filled with friends, traditional food and music, and a wonderful exposure to a marvelous culture. These photos show some of the sights and events of our day there.

Click the Slideshow button and sit back and enjoy. Your comments about the Lao New Year Festival will be appreciated.