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• Congres '99 kicks off, Carnival style
• A descendant helps to remember an Acadian freedom fighter
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                        Following years of planning and a day of family reunions, grand
                        opening ceremonies for Congrès Mondial Acadien en Louisiana
                        1999 kick off today.

                        The two-week event is expected to be the largest gathering of
                        Acadian people since English soldiers began deporting Acadians
                        from Canada in 1755.

                        Though the official opening ceremony at the Houma-Terrebonne
                        Civic Center does not begin until 6:30 p.m., several other activities
                        are scheduled earlier. A Mass in French begins at 8 a.m. on the
                        grounds of the Southdown Plantation House, located on the corner
                        of La. 311 and St. Charles Street. Breakfast will be served before
                        and after Mass.

                        The celebration then moves downtown to the Mardi Gras
                        Promenade at the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum. 

                        The downtown festival along Bayou Terrebonne will feature Cajun
                        and Zydeco music, dancing in the streets and samples of traditional
                        south Louisiana foods. A parade float will be staffed by costumed
                        members of the Krewe of Terreanians, offering people a brief chance
                        to catch a string of Mardi Gras beads.

                        The event begins with a 10 a.m. welcoming address, followed by a
                        short performance by 5-year-old singer Tabitha Avet at 10:15 a.m.
                        At 10:30 a.m. the Eschete Family Ties Cajun-Swamp band will
                        perform. At

                        1:30 p.m. the Pacific Dove Medallion, donated by comedian Bob
                        Hope, will be dedicated. At 2 p.m. the Dakota country band will
                        perform. The Mardi Gras Promenade ends at 5 p.m.

                        The official opening ceremonies get under way at 6:30 p.m. at Civic
                        Center. Houma band Couche Couche, with special appearances by
                        local musicians Vin Bruce and L.J. Foret, will perform until 7 p.m. 

                        That performance will be followed by a landing by the Skyhawks -
                        the Canadian Armed Forces Acrobatic Parachute Team - who are
                        jumping from their C-115 Buffalo aircraft.

                        From 7:20 p.m. to 8 p.m. the Canadian group Bois Joli will perform.
                        Delegates of the United Houma Nation and the Micmac Grand
                        Council will follow with a blessing of the event.

                        At 8:15 p.m. the band Deuce of Hearts takes the stage for about 30
                        minutes. Then a short ceremony to welcome dignitaries begins.

                        Then the rest of the evening is all music, with Canadian group Les
                        Mechants Maquereaux at 9 p.m., local artist Waylon Thibodeaux at
                        10 p.m. and Jo-El Sonnier at 11 p.m.

                        "Very, very high energy," Sheryl Collins, a Houma resident who did
                        much of the scouting for the musical lineup, said about the
                        scheduled performances. "We felt the whole thing should be high
                        energy since it's the opening ceremony."