LAFAYETTE PARISH (BROUSSARD) — Families turned out in force this weekend for the annual Community Fair in Broussard, a two-day event held in front of St. Cecilia School and Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.
This year’s theme, “Once Upon a Time,” brought a storybook feel to one of the parish’s largest fundraisers.
The fair featured carnival rides, children’s games, raffles and a variety of local food booths. Parents and kids lined up early Sunday to take part in the tradition.
“[My daughter] Conway loves to ride the roller coasters, and [my other daughter] June loves to ride the motorcycles — mom and dad like to eat the gumbo,” Mike Crowson said.
The Crowson family are parishioners at Sacred Heart of Jesus and also have a daughter who attends St. Cecilia.
“It’s just a great fundraiser for the church community and the school community,” Crowson said. “We couldn’t be prouder of our church parish or our school.”
Denise and Selina Hebert worked side by side to prepare the loose-meat sandwiches that have become synonymous with the event.
“It’s just your holy trinity, your seasoning, and a lot of love,” Denise said as she described the hours of cooking and simmering that go into the fair’s famous filling. “They transfer it to our pot and we do the same thing here.”
Take two pieces of Evangeline-made bread, add a spoonful of the seasoned ground beef, and you have the simple staple that’s been served for generations.
The tradition dates back to when the Sisters of Divine Mercy first introduced the sandwiches as a school fundraiser.
Over the years, that modest effort has grown into a community event that draws crowds from across Lafayette Parish.
“My mom was one of the first students at St. Cecilia,” Denise said, noting her own lifelong connection to the school as a former student and now an instructional strategist.
That bond grew even stronger last year, when Denise was forced to miss the fair for the first time.
“Last year was the first year I missed the fair because I had an appendicitis attack — and when they did the CT scan, they found a mass in my pancreas,” she said.
The mass was cancerous. After a year of treatment, Denise celebrated a milestone this weekend.
“Yesterday was my one-year anniversary of detection, and I finished treatment October 1,” she said.
Now back behind the booth, Denise says returning to the fair feels like coming home.
“Broussard is our home. St. Cecilia and Sacred Heart are our home,” she said — a sentiment echoed in every sandwich served.
