• Island cradled in the waves: Prince Edward Island
• Grand reunion makes festive time
• Exhibits in Port Allen celebrate Congrès Mondial 
• Congrès homecoming 
• Congres '99 kicks off, Carnival style
• A descendant helps to remember an Acadian freedom fighter
• Broussards relive past

                        Though Rod Henry was about 2,500 miles from his Canadian residence 
                        Saturday, he was at home as well.

                        Henry, of Bathurst, New Brunswick, spoke of the similarities between Acadians
                        of Canada and those in south Louisiana while working at a genealogy table during the
                        Henry/Lirette/Surette reunion at the East Park Recreation Center in
                        Houma.

                        "We are all very friendly, down-to-earth people," he said of
                        Terrebonne Parish-area family relations in Canada. "We have a lot
                        of the same backgrounds. A lot of us grew up on farms and we had
                        to work for a living. Nothing came easy."

                        Like many others who are in the area this week and next for
                        festivities surrounding the Congrès Mondial Acadien en Louisiane
                        1999, Henry is staying with "family." Actually, he is staying with
                        Hymel Henry in Houma.

                        "You get Hymel beside me and you can tell we're distant cousins,"
                        he said. "But, you wouldn't believe how distant."

                        It's Rod's first trip to bayou country. A human link binds the Henrys
                        of Canada to the Henrys of Terrebonne Parish. The ancestor is Jean
                        dit Lebieux, who lived in Canada during the mid-1700s. 

                        Along with Henry, thousands of visitors converged on Terrebonne
                        Parish Saturday for the first weekend of the Acadian Congress.
                        Four family reunions were held in the Houma area. The event at the
                        East Park Recreation Center exceeded organizers' expectations.

                        "I'd say we probably had double what we thought we'd have," said
                        Roger Henry, the reunion's coordinator. "We've already had more
                        than 350 people and we were expecting between 200 and 250."

                        Clowns, Cajun music, dancing and arts and crafts entertained the
                        families beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing until 8 p.m.

                        Jerry Buquet, one of four local Shriner clowns at the reunion, had
                        children lining up for his services.

                        "The kids can't get enough balloons," he said. "We've been making
                        them swords, dogs and cats and things."
 

                         They are spending the week in Houma and next week in Lafayette
                        for more Congrès' festivities. But, while visiting Houma, they are
                        sampling the local flavor.

                        "We're trying a new restaurant everyday," he said.

                        DOWN THE BAYOU

                        A few miles away, in Bourg along Bayou Little Caillou, the
                        Bourg/Bourque/Belliveau reunion was in full swing at the St. Ann
                        Community Center.

                        The Mardi Gras Mambos, a Chauvin-based women's marching club,
                        were leading revelers in a second-line parade. The out-of-towners
                        were easily spotted because their second-line moves were stiffer
                        than the actions of their south Louisiana kin.

                        "They enjoyed themselves just as much as we enjoyed them," said
                        Sylvia LeBoeuf, a Mambo marcher.

                        Participating in the festivities were Paul and Maggie Parks, who are
                        visiting from Los Angeles. Paul said he is a cousin of the Bourgs
                        and he wanted his wife to experience the local culture.

                        "We figured we needed to come here to see what reality is really
                        like," he said. "It's not reality in Los Angeles."

                        "It's nice to see what I married into," Maggie said.

                        While the trip to south Louisiana was the first for Maggie and the
                        first in 10 years for Paul, both said they would return.

                        "The color and flair of this area will bring us back for sure," Paul
                        said.

                        Sheryl Collins, the reunion's coordinator, said the event brought out
                        more people than they expected, as between 650 and 700 people
                        showed up throughout the day.

                        "The turnout was great," Collins said. "We had people from 16
                        states and three Canadian provinces. The visitors are all receptive to
                        everything. They are talking about how good the food was and how
                        welcoming the local people have been."

                        Further down Bayou Little Caillou in Montegut, the Naquin/Vautor
                        reunion had already cleaned out the food in the kitchen of the local
                        recreation center.

                        Marsha Naquin, who is Naquin family president, said about 300
                        people attended the reunion, which featured chicken sausage
                        gumbo, shrimp jambalaya, white beans, bread pudding and French
                        Bread.

                        "We did real well," Naquin said. "We had more people than we
                        expected and we ran out of everything."

                        Over near Bayou Dularge in Theriot, the Theriot/Crochet reunion
                        attracted almost 600 people, according to Nadine Boudreaux, event
                        organizer.

                        "We expected about 500," she said. "I know the Knights of
                        Columbus cooked for 500 people. And they ran out of white beans,
                        so that tells me we went over 500."

                        Boudreaux, who is from Belle Rose, said more than three years of
                        planning went into Saturday's reunion.

                        "It was a long time coming," she said. "Everything we worked so
                        hard for paid off today."

                        Judging by the reaction of some participants, Boudreaux's work
                        indeed paid off.

                        "It's been unbelievable," said Shirley Robichaux of Lake Charles.
                        "We've had so much fun. I don't think it could have been more
                        organized than it was."

                        Baskara Wardaya, a native of Indonesia who is studying at
                        Marquette University in Milwaukee, accompanied Robichaux's
                        daughter to the festivities and had a different perspective on the
                        gathering.

                        "This is great because it is a family event," he said. "In today's
                        society there is not a lot of emphasis put on family. So, this is
                        important."

                        The trip is Wardaya's second to south Louisiana and he said he
                        enjoys the culture.

                        "For a long time the Cajun culture has been left aside mainstream
                        American culture," he said. "It's time for the Cajun and Acadian
                        cultures to show their strengths because they have so much to
                        offer."

                        PRACTICE LEAP

                        By the end of the day the reunions were over, but the fun wasn't.

                        About 75 people gathered outside the Houma-Terrebonne Civic
                        Center to watch the Canadian Skyhawks parachuting team practice
                        for today's grand opening ceremony.

                        Against a setting sun, 14 jumpers, most with maple leaf
                        parachutes, glided down to the field behind the Civic Center. Some
                        were carrying Acadian flags, others were painting the sky with red,
                        green and yellow smoke. 

                        The parachutists looped and broke into formations, all to the
                        amazement of those in attendance.

                        "It was cool," said Stephanie Thibodaux of Houma.

                        Shirley Watkins agreed.

                        "I've never seen anything like this and I'm 70 years old," she said.

                        One parachutist had a special gift for Watkins. After he returned to
                        earth, he unzipped his jump suit and handed Watkins a teddy bear
                        she had given him earlier in the day. The bear was autographed by
                        the entire jump team.

                        "It's wonderful," she said. "He said he would autograph it and I could
                        tell my grandchildren that bear had been up with the Skyhawks."

                        The team's leader, Capt. John Scott, who has made about 1,300
                        jumps, said he was amazed by Saturday evening's crowd.

                        "We didn't expect anyone here," he said. "It was just a practice."

                        Matt Gresham is a staff writer at The Courier. He can be reached at
                        857-2204 or by e-mail at hdcnews@nytimes.com.