Cattle Festival has new president

There’s always plenty of excitement surrounding the Louisiana Cattle Festival, as it is one of Abbeville’s main annual attractions.
Preparation for the 73rd Annual Cattle Festival, which will take place later this fall, is well underway.
That preparation is being led by a new face. Karen Guilbeau is the new Cattle Festival President. She takes over for Francis Plaisance, who held the role for 26 years.
“I am excited for this opportunity to work together with the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Cattle Festival and our community of Abbeville to honor the hard working Cattle Producers of our State,” Guibeau said. “I look forward to working closely with the city as we move forward with bringing the festival back to the downtown area in October of 2023.”
Guilbeau, along with newly elected Cattle Festival Vice President Victoria Bourque and Festival Secretary Marcella Davis, attended Tuesday’s Abbeville City Council meeting to share their vision for the festival.
“We are very excited to move into this next year,” Bourque said. “We have met with Mayor (Roslyn) White, and she has been very supportive of us.”
There are people backing the idea of brining the Cattle Festival back to downtown Abbeville. The event has been held at the Red Barn on Rodeo Road in recent years. The event did not take place in 2020 or ‘21, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We would love to bring it downtown,” Bourque said. “That is our goal.”
Councilman Francis Touchet Jr. said on Tuesday he is fully supportive of such a move.
“I think this council has been pretty much up front about getting this festival back here downtown,” Touchet said. “Please continue working with Mayor White and the staff that we have. We want the Cattle Festival downtown. We want people back in the downtown area. I’m just so grateful you guys will be bringing it back. We’ll do what we can to help.”
Touchet did make one request if and when the festival does make the move.
“We have to be open to the suggestions of the businesses,” Touchet said of those in the downtown area. “We have to make sure to be understanding of what those requests are.”
Bourque said that they will “absolutely” take that into consideration. She said the festival wants to help Abbeville shine.
“We’re excited to move forward,” Bourque said. “We’re excited to bring community into the festival. We want to have new, innovative ideas, while staying true to the traditions everyone knows and loves about the Cattle Festival.”
That includes strengthening bonds with producers in the cattle industry.
“We have had a very beautiful response from the public,” Bourque said, “especially cattle producers. We want to get the cattle industry more involved. That’s all the way from education on the youth front, to having trade shows for our cattle producers.
“We really want to be on the forefront of whatever our industry needs and represent them well.”
Guilbeau, has been involved with the festival for many years.
“I was involved on the other side of the Cattle Festival,” she said. “I was Ms. Cattle Festival Queen. Two of my daughters were Cattle Festival Queens. My sister was an original Dairy Festival Queen, back before it was the Cattle Festival.”
Members of the current Cattle Festival royalty also attended Tuesday’s meeting. Guilbeau said the group plays a pivotal role for the festival.
“They’re our walking billboards, 365 days a year,” she said. “They are advertising for us at other fairs and festivals. They are not only promoting our festival, but our city of Abbeville.”