Lafayette celebrates Hottest Night of the Year

Photo by Denny Culbert

        It’s hot in August in the South. Not that wamby pamby heat Northerners think is hot. Down here, it’s DANG HOT.

            But why sit around and complain, y’all? Won’t make it any cooler.

            In downtown Lafayette, Louisiana, which was just named the “Happiest City in America,” they celebrate — naturally — the “Hottest Night of the Year” with a cool party. This year’s event will be Friday, Aug. 29, 2014, at the city’s downtown Parc San Souci. The fun includes a ferris wheel, live music by The Flamethrowers, food and more from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

            The craziest part of this family friendly hot festival is the annual pickup pool party. Participants bring their pickups — and you know South Louisiana has plenty of those — line the truck bed with a thick plastic liner and fill it up with water. Viola, an instant pool. Of course, in the land of Mardi Gras, these original pools come highly decorated.
             For those sans pickup pools, Parc San Souci offers a splash fountain, popular among youths any night of the summer, which in South Louisiana goes on for months. But hey, the heat’s not so bad when you have plenty of festivals to keep you entertained.