The family and I decided to go check out Chuck Fest recently. We went last year, but we didn’t really hang too long, as we had a little boy who needed some nap time. We brought Mac with us again this year, but he was only going to be there for a little bit, as he had a date night with his nanny.
We got there around midafternoon, and there were quite a few people downtown. There were kids running around, and people walking their dogs, and there was some very nice live music being played right there on Ryan St.
On Division St., right in front of the Muller’s building, was a jump house village for the kids. I really loved this, because the kids were all running around either barefoot or with socks on, and none of them had a care in the world. They were just all running together and having the best of times. It’s touching when you see children play together, because all they want to do is have fun; race, religion and politics never comes into the picture — it’s just innocence at its finest.
Lucky for me, the bounce village was directly across from the food truck area, so I got to watch Mac lose his mind figuring out which jump to check out next, and I got to eat some amazing food. On hand were trucks from Sloppy Taco, Hi-Licious, Bite Me, Casa Mañana, Cotten’s Downtown, 1910, Walk-On’s, Pujo St. Cafe, one of my favorite places, Tasterite Jamaican and others.
Some of the spots were clearly not food trucks, and I didn’t even realize there were choices other than the food trucks. I just thought they were craft vendors, until I walked completely around.
We started off with some Crab Rangoon from Hi-Licious, which I must say was quite nice. The wontons were crispy, and had no excess grease on them, and the cream cheese and crab mixture was on point.
We closed it out with some Sloppy Taco, and we killed the Ribeye Roll, which you can never go wrong with. We got the Chicken Taco, which we had never had, and I am clueless as to why we hadn’t, because it was another home run taco for a place that, in my opinion, offers some of the best tacos around — and I mean anywhere.
We walked around after Mac had left, and checked out the full layout of the event, while we enjoyed a cold beer. I feel Chuck Fest is a great annual event for downtown Lake Charles. Dave Evans created an event that brings several forms of artistry together in one event for people to enjoy; you have music and paintings, as well several forms of sculpting.
The event is family friendly without being completely G-rated. People get to bring out their pets, and enjoy some great food and live music, all the while getting to witness the greatness of the town we live in. I saw people from many different walks of life. There were different races, cultural backgrounds, styles of music and food. Not once did I see any confrontations, or see people’s children or pets running amuck. I saw an event that seemed to be a well-organized and planned event. And it showed me that, despite all our differences, we all still had a beautiful day in downtown Lake Charles. I just feel the good things that happen in this world today never get brought up, just the negative, and I just wanted to share one of the good things I got to see.
I love seeing so many different food options in one place; you have the locals from downtown welcoming outside spots into their neighborhood, so that the people visiting this event had more options than they knew what to do with. That shows you how great our community is.
I think this event will continue to grow as long as the downtown continues to experience growth. I have always said that we only have one downtown, and there needs to be a continued focus on re-establishing it and making it the once-great spot it used to be.
Pat yourselves on the back, Chuck Fest, you earned it.
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