On Thursday, September 7th, the 2023 Zwolle Tamale Fiesta Poster was unveiled to a capacity crowd in the activity building at the festival grounds in Zwolle. Following the greetings by Board of Directors’ President, Chris Loupe, a prayer was offered, and the Pledge of Allegiance was said He reflected on the years of service by Mrs. Phyllis Murdock to the fiesta and community. He pointed out the memorial table set up in the building with pictures to visit in her memory.
Mistress of ceremonies Mia Curtis was introduced to begin the events of the night. She began by introducing the 2023 Fiesta Royalty for this coming year. Those introduced were King-Sylvester Martinez, Queen-Landri Leach, First Lady-Linnie Sepulvado, Teen Queen-Kaylee Chreene, Junior Miss-Reba Springer, Deb Miss-Carmen Pearce, Little Miss-Chesa Bell, Petite Miss-Savvy Tyson, Toddler Miss- Brynlea Kelly, Tiny Miss-Kalani Willias, Baby Miss-Everlynn Rivers and Royal Pages Gabe Killingsworth and Bryce Rivers.
Following the intro- ductions, a brief break was taken to allow the crowd to enjoy the refreshments that were provided for the event. Next, poster artist, Gene Guidry, of Lafayette was introduced and allowed to express a few remarks about his opportunity to create the poster for the fiesta this year. The crowd was pleased to see him, as that he was a former resident of the area. He and his wife Jeanie were glad to be a part of the unveiling to enjoy the introduction of his poster.
The Kyle Marinez family were introduced as poster sponsor or the 2023 year. Kyle, his wife, Valerie and sons, Peyton, Paul, and John came forward to express their enjoyment to be part of the fiesta and the community. They were thanked for supporting this event as members of historically important families of the community.
The 52-Card Raffle for the Georg Rodrique “Blue Dog” poster entitled “Three Amigos “, was conducted by Chris Loupe who identified the winner as James “Howie” Hill. Mr. Hill was in attendance as a friend of artist, Gene Guidry. He was please to win this artwork.
The time finally arrived to unveil the poster. The crowd was waiting with great anticipation to see the poster. Fiesta Royalty went up upon the stage to do the honors of unveiling. Once they were in place to remove the serapes that covered the artwork framed posters, the unveiling took place to the applaud of the crowd. The comments and response indicated great appreciation, for the work done by Mr. Guidry creating this year’s poster.
At this time, the Kyle Martinez Family was asked to return to the front of the stage to receive their specially framed poster as sponsors. They expressed their enjoyment to be a part of the fiesta and appreciated this gift from the fiesta for their support. Also, to be awarded was the door prizes, the framed poster, and a Tamale Fiesta Gift Basket, loaded with fiesta souvenirs. Winners included for the poster, Staci Anderson, the gift basket was won by sponsor, Valerie Martinez.
Cindy Ezernack, Souvenir Chairman came forward to introduce the T-Shirt for this year. The shirts included one with the fiesta poster on a blue shirt, the second had the words “Fiesta” embellished down the figure of the Fiesta Man Logo on a green shirt and the third shirt was a blue shirt with the Flags of Freedom monument represented on front and back.
Serving as auctioneer for the remaining featured posters was Don Burket, Sabine Parish District Attorney. His job was to auction the Original Artwork, Number 1 poster, and 37 Anniversary Poster to the highest bidder in the crowd. The crowd enjoyed the auction process that would include bids from businesses, banks, individuals and visiting candidates as Mr. Burket encouraged the highest of bids possible. The results of the auction of the posters resulted in the Zwolle Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5187 purchasing the original artwork for $3100, with a donation to the bid by Anna Garcie. The Number 1 poster was purchased by 7th District Representative, Larry Bagwell for $1200. The Anniversary Print was bought by Ms. Sarah Harris for $1000. The auction was a great success for the fiesta and will allow funds to support future activities or the community.
The evening was enjoyed by all as everyone left with their copy of the poster and reminisced about this Fiesta event and all that are yet to come for this year.