Cajun/Zydeco Festival
14th Annual Festival to be held
at Ardenwood Historic Farm August 21

Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont will host the Annual Cajun Zydeco festival on Saturday, August 21. Come and bring the family to Ardenwood Historic Farm for a day filled with the best Cajun/Zydeco music, dancing and delicious Cajun and Creole food. Visit the farm animals, shop specialty vendors and join in dance lessons. Our 14th annual festival features, from Louisiana, the Pine Leaf Boys, as well as Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys.  Also appearing will be Bay Area favorites Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic, and another Bay Area group, Mark St. Mary Louisiana Blues & Zydeco Band. Gates open at 10 a.m., live music will play from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Enjoy the day at Ardenwood Farm surrounded by fields of organic produce, farm animals, and the historic Patterson House. Take the train from the entrance to the festival site. Bring a blanket, low-back lawn chair, sunblock, and hat. Low canopies welcome in the back or side areas (please be courteous and do not block the view of the stage). Wear your dancing shoes! Alcohol prohibited. Please purchase beverages inside festival. Fabulous food also available for purchase. NO PETS allowed.

Proceeds benefit the Park Express Transportation Program for low-income schools and groups serving senior or disabled persons visiting the East Bay Regional Parks. Additional donations welcome. Contact the Regional Parks Foundation: (510) 544-2202.

Entertainment
Three-time Grammy nominees, the Pine Leaf Boys come from southwest Louisiana and have toured internationally. Featuring Wilson Savoy (accordion, fiddle, vocals), Courtney Granger (fiddle, accordion, vocals), Drew Simon (drums and vocals), Jon Bertrand (guitars), and Thomas David (bass), the Pine Leaf Boys play traditional Cajun and Creole music.
Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic return to get the crowd dancing with a blend of traditional Zydeco music, hip-hop, blues, jazz and rock. They were voted best Zydeco group by the West Coast Blues Hall of Fame in 2008.

Rosie Ledet, raised in rural Louisiana, first started playing the accordion at age sixteen after attending a Zydeco dance. It was there she also met her future husband Morris Ledet, who plays bass in her band.
For over 30 years, Mark St. Mary Louisiana Blues & Zydeco Band has been dedicated to the preservation of French Creole, Louisiana Blues and Zydeco musical traditions. In 2007, the Bay Area Blues Society awarded the band "Best Zydeco Band”. Mark St. Mary is based in the town of Antelope in the Sacramento Delta region.

Directions

Ardenwood Historic Farm is located on Ardenwood Boulevard just north of Highway 84 (Dumbarton Expressway) in Fremont. Directions: In Fremont, exit Highway 84 at Ardenwood/Newark Boulevard.  Go north on Ardenwood Boulevard.  The entrance is just north of Highway 84 on the right.  

Tickets

Advance tickets: $16 for adults (16+ years); $2.00 children (4-15 years). Advance tickets can be purchased through August 13 at 1-888-EBPARKS or online at EBParksOnline.org. Day of event tickets: $20 for adults (16+ years) at the gate, $3.00 children (4-15 years), 3 years and under free. Free parking.

Additional information

Information: 1-888-EBPARKS or www.ebparks.org.

Special rates available at the Courtyard Marriot in Newark: (510) 792-5200

The Festival is presented by the East Bay Regional Park District and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Contact: Anne Kassebaum, Recreation Services Manager, (510) 544-2552
akassebaum@ebparks.org