Dear Editor,

I found my heart and it was right where I left it…in Big Mamou. That’s right. The whole time I was gone, (22 years), there was something missing in my life, in my soul even, and I just couldn’t put my finger on it until this afternoon. You see, I was appointed to head the Big Mamou Centennial Celebration Steering Committee whose job is to design, create, organize and put on a huge Birthday Party for the Town of Mamou when it turns 100 years old next year.

Now I’ve done this before, sort of. I was the head of the Mamou Cajun Music Festival Association for 14 years…one of the best groups of volunteers imaginable who still put on one of the best parties anywhere; and I was the president of the Mamou Mardi Gras Association for eight years – another wonderful group of volunteers that put on a great party, and they both do it annually. But, to my way of thinking, the Big Mamou Centennial Celebration has to be the biggest and best party Mamou has ever thrown and we’ll only have one chance to do it.

It was while I was wondering why I thought it had to be the, “biggest and the best,” that I realized just how much I really loved Mamou. I love being from Mamou. Mamou is different…period. It always was and will probably always be different. So how do we throw a party worthy of its 100th Birthday? That’s when the awesome responsibility of heading this celebration simply overwhelmed me, along with the realization of how many Mamouians need to be involved in designing, creating, organizing and putting on the biggest and best party Mamou has ever thrown, and that’s the purpose of this letter.

Citizens of Mamou – this is your town, this is your party and this is your opportunity to showcase Big Mamou as the real Cajun Music Capital of the World...and your town needs your help. We’re going to need a lot of people, a lot of ideas, a lot of skills and a lot of talent to throw a party worthy of the most famous little town in the State of Louisiana. That’s why I’d like to invite everyone who feels as I do…everyone who loves Mamou and loves being from Mamou to show up at the next meeting of the Big Mamou Centennial Celebration Steering Committee to be held next Thursday, May 13th, at 6 p.m. at the Mamou Teen Center.

Come be a part of the biggest and best party Mamou has ever thrown. Let’s welcome back everyone who’s ever been to Mamou…and invite all who haven’t, so we can show it off. A celebration of this size and this magnitude for such a famous little town happens only once every hundred years. We can do this, but only with the help of all the Mamouians who love this little town as much as I do. Come to the meeting and bring your ideas. Get involved! Let’s make Mamou big again.

Paul Tate, Jr.