Head downtown this weekend for a twofer. Saturday, April 22, is the Downtown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival and This is Home Fest. Never have the two unrelated festivals joined forces.

Both kick off at 11 a.m. at the Lake Charles Civic Center. Food and fun will wrap up around 10 p.m.

The Downtown Crawfish Festival is the major fundraiser for The Eljay Foundation for Parkinson awareness. Eligha Guillory is president.

“After a three-year hiatus, we’re expecting a great turnout because this is a cause people want to get behind because they know someone who has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s or they have been diagnosed with the disease themselves. Do you realize how prevalent Parkinson’s is? In the little time it takes you to read this article, someone else will have been diagnosed,” Guillory said.

Funds help continue national research initiatives and local support groups, equipment lending and the revamp of the nationally recognized Rock Steady Boxing program.

This is Home Fest

This year, the Downtown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival is being combined with the This is Home Fest, a get together that promises its own brand of “rock steady” through the sharing of music and culture that celebrate local and global artistry.

Samantha Fish featuring Jessie Dayton and Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie will headline, playing on two separate stages during the event (another twofer). In addition to these headliners, see Kate Watson, Yvette Landry, Ole Lonesome, Swampland String Band, Bonavox, Gerard Delafose & the Zydeco Gators and Brandon Ledet. There is no admission to see entertainers.

In addition to crawfish and good music, the combined festivals will have a kid’s zone, food truck plaza and art vendors.

Samantha Fish is an award-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist able to “capture her inner world in combustible riffs, visceral rhythms and spine tingling vocal work,” according to her online bio.

Geno Delafose was born in Eunice. He is a zydeco accordionist and singer and part of the generation responsible for helping create the sound known as nouveau zydeco, according to his online bio.