Nervous, pretty much sums up how I felt before the very first Freetown Press hosted event “Freetown Jiration” held this past Sunday. Hopeful, was my enthusiasm for what was to come at the 7:30 p.m. mark when everything we had been tirelessly planning was to finally become a reality. Overwhelmingly impressed, is how I felt following the dance-instructed-event turned community pow-wow. Freetown, you guys are one-of-a-kind.
The set-up began at around 4 p.m. after I got off work. The crew consisted of a couple Freetown Press contributors as well as some new faces eager to assist our cause. After analyzing the venue at which everything would be held (Thanks for the spot Kyle and Dustin), we proceeded to collect necessary materials to make this night an unforgettable one for the community. Now, “materials” in Freetown terms isn’t just your ordinary run-of-the-mill items (cake, those kazoo thingies and pointy hats) reserved for normal community events. We had to prepare for a monster tonight, a monster that guzzled alcohol, expected that southern BBQ to be on point and the dance lesson to be engaging and extraordinary. We all quickly mobilized into teams and fled throughout Lafayette frantically collecting massive amounts of meat(Albertson’s Grill Pack is a LIFE SAVER), wine and beer(Marcellos Wine market 3 for 10 deals THREE BOWS),sound equipment for the dance instructor Britlyn Delahoussaye, and last minute advertisements for the folks who missed our multitudes of Facebook and Instagram posts for the event.
Fast-forward to 7:15 p.m. and everything was basically perfect, what Britlyn and I had envisioned days before tonight was finally coming to fruition and it felt great. Thinking back, I can remember looking around and finding myself to be the only one actually looking up. Everyone had put out so much effort in the past few hours there was absolutely no sound, save for the constant crackle of beer cans popping open and the occasional “cheers muthaf**ka.”
At 7:30 p.m. our first participants began arriving in the backyard. This was also the signal for Ryan to fire up the BBQ pit and get the food cooking for our sure to be starving guests. What excited me most about the following 30 minutes was the flurry of new faces that absolutely poured into the backyard. Maybe it was the smoke from Ryan’s BBQ getting to me but this moment felt surreal, the energy was out of this world and the look of pure happiness on Britlyn’s anxious face told me the night was going to be a success. Around 8:00 p.m. is when the announcement was made to the forty or so people in attendance that the first part of the Latin Meringue Dance Session was set to begin. We all eagerly separated guys from girls, not so eagerly from our cups of alcohol; those stayed in our hands. Then watched as Britlyn laid the foundation for the night, explaining to all of us that we would be masters of meringue by the end, we just had to trust her. And we did. And before we knew it everyone’s hips were swingin’ like Shakira and steppin like they’d been doing this their whole life. Except for a few, none of us had done this before, Britlyn was just that clear and concise with her words and motions that people quickly caught on to the flow of the dance.
On a side note I’d like to give major props to all the ladies in attendance. I couldn’t help but laugh when we realized y’all outnumbered the guys 3 to 1. Which actually played a huge roll in the success of the night. When it came time to find dance partners a bold few of you charged through the crowd and grabbed hold of some of the more hesitant men in the back. I’ll never forget the relieved look on some of those guys’ faces when they realized they finally found a dance event they wouldn’t be wall flowers at.
Part One of the instruction ended just as Ryan’s BBQ was coming off the pit. The crowd quickly flocked to the food table; but I had other intentions. One of my main contributors to Freetown Press and to the success of this event, Adam Bercegeay (Bercy Berce) was somewhere in the crowd mingling with guests and I had to find him, I had to thank him. It didn’t take long to make eye contact with Berce, and we quickly rushed and embraced each other as proper bro’s do nowadays. “Your the shit!” I drunkenly yelled, “No, man, you the man” Adam replied while laughing, (Adam’s favorite word in the English language is man, and he’s the “man” for that).
About a dozen sliders and cups of wine later Britlyn announced the beginning of PART TWO of her instruction, just as the skyline was beckoning down the quickly setting sun. With crickets in full chirp and Trevor’s 90 feet of Christmas lights overhead, we began just as earlier, to swing to the Latin Beat pumping out the PA system on the stage. It was incredible to see everything finally coming together. Couples finding that one step they all easily flowed to, each pair unique in their own rhythm, but all the same in the size of each and everyone’s smiles. I don’t think anyone noticed Britlyn ending the lesson for the night, I know Morgan(my girlfriend) and I didn’t, it was just too much fun, too much excitement knowing how to dance something so seemingly complicated, harmoniously rhythmic …..and beautiful.
I won’t go into detail on the rest of the night. Just imagine the wildest Freetown party you’ve ever been to, then picture everyone at that party actually having a unique bond with each other, not afraid to talk to each other, not afraid to dance every single worry in their life away. It was a crowning moment in my life and for the community. As always….
Thank you.
Photo Credits: Zoe Louise Huval
Special Thanks to: Cody Bourque, Morgan Stone,Trevor, Ryan LaFleur, Britlyn Delahoussaye, Adam Bercegeay, Dustin Gaspard, Kyle Monceaux and Zoe Huval
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