The Richard Guidry Cajun and Creole Language Fund has awarded a $2000 grant to Jimmie Louis-Marie of Myrtle Place Elementary. The grant will fund a video project featuring Les Étoiles de Louisiane, a French choral group composed of French immersion students of all ages and directed by Louis-Marie. The project is supported by Zachary Richard, a world renowned Cajun singer and songwriter.
The promotional video, entitled “Un Gombo de Culture,” intends to focus on why French immersion students should learn Cajun and Creole French, help connect the French immersion student with local Cajun and Creole musicians and storytellers, create an awareness to attract more students to join the francophone choir, and help raise funds for the school’s first musical cultural exchange project taking place in Newfoundland, birthplace of the former French-speaking principal of Myrtle Place serving as liaison for the project.
Les Étoiles de Louisiane is a choir formed to provide an opportunity for French Immersion students to develop, deepen and share their passion for Louisiana’s French language and rich musical traditions.
The Richard Guidry Cajun and Creole Language Fund was established in memory of the late Richard Guidry, who was an author, educator and state supervisor of foreign languages. Its mission is to support activities and projects that encourage, increase and improve the use of the multiple varieties of French languages and francophone cultures in Louisiana, especially the spoken use in public, the arts and education.
Any organization or individual who would like to apply may download an application by visiting www.cfacadiana.org/RichardGuidry.
