Step-N-Strut Trail Ride was one of Avoyelles' largest events of 2017

There were beautiful horses and ugly traffic on the roads between Marksville and Mansura the first weekend in November, but the Step-N-Strut Trail Ride was deemed a success by its promoters and the hosting agencies’ leaders.

The 19th annual Step-N-Strut was a lot about horses, a lot about zydeco and soul music and a lot about fun.

“It was a big success for the community,” organizer Dave Lemelle said. “We had a few hiccups, but the people’s responses were very positive. They loved it.

“I had several people tell me that this is exactly what Step-N-Strut has needed. They loved this area,” he continued. “Many of them asked me if this would be Step-N-Strut’s new home. Of course, I can’t say it will be our permanent home yet until we meet with the Paragon and the municipal officials.”

Lemelle said the event organizers “about broke even.”

A heavy rain just prior to the first day forced promoters to haul in eight loads of limestone and five loads of topsoil and concrete to enable trailers and RVs to park on the campgrounds on Tunica-Biloxi Tribe property.

“We spent probably $5,000 in extra site preparation,” Lemelle said.

The promoters’ biggest disappointment was a statement released by Tunica-Biloxi Tribal Police Chief Harold Pierite that the Sunday trail ride had been canceled.

“That was not the case,” Lemelle said, “but the word got out on Facebook and a lot of people from Texas and other parts turned around or didn’t come.

“In the past, Sunday morning has been bigger for us than Saturday,” he continued. “So we lost out on some additional visitors because of that.”

ESTIMATED ATTENDANCE

Because the event was canceled last year, had to be moved inside the year before and was being held in a new location this year, the organizers were expecting a little over 3,000 visitors per day, or about 10,000 “visitor days” over the three days of the festival.

“We ended up having between 7,000 and 8,000 over the weekend,” Lemelle said.

In past years, the festival has attracted over 4,000 campers and RVs and over 10,000 visitors per day on the grounds.

Paul Scott, another Step-N-Strut organizer, said the event definitely benefitted the local economy.

“Even if WE didn’t make money, the parish made money and the businesses on and around La. Hwy 1 made money,” he said. “Every store did good and the hotels and motels did great.”

Scott pointed out that most of the event-related purchases were made with out-of-parish dollars.

“These people came from South Louisiana, North Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi,” Scott said. “Mississippi really turned out for this one. We even had some who came from as far as Georgia.”

Since many of those attending Step-N-Strut came in gas-guzzling pickups and RVs, the gas stations also benefitted from the three-day trail ride/music festival.

“There was some slow traffic on La. Hwy 1, but we got that worked out,” Scott said. “That is to be expected with any large event.”

There was a brief period of excitement -- or panic -- at the end of Saturday night’s outdoor concert when a loud “pop” sent visitors scurrying, in fear that it was gunfire.

That incident is still under investigation and it has not been determined whether it was a reveler firing a shot into the air, someone lighting a firecracker or a sound system problem.

“It has not been officially determined what caused the noise,” Lemelle said. “Our sound people said it was the PA (public address) system. I tend to believe that was the case because there were so many people at the concert that if a shot had been fired, someone would have been hit.”

Lemelle said there were numerous versions told of what happened -- some very imaginative -- but there were no injuries and it did not affect the event.

“I think the police may have over-reacted a bit,” he added.

Scott said Avoyelles Parish made Step-N-Strut feel welcome right from the beginning with a “Welcome Party” at Bailey’s in Marksville on Nov. 2. Zydeco performer Gene Delafose was special entertainment for that party.

“We had never had something like that before,” Scott said. “We were very warmly accepted and everyone had a good time.”

Despite the possible impact of the “cancellation” notice, Scott said there were about 300 horses in the mid-day Super Ride through Mansura on Sunday. There were many observers along the route to watch the riders go by.

The amount of trash left behind on the campgrounds caused some local concern early in the week, but those misgivings were eased when observers witnessed Step-N-Strut promoters making good on their promise to clean up the site after the guests were gone.

LOCAL COMMENTS

Mansura Mayor Kenneth Pickett said the overall event went well and “everybody was having a good time.”

Pickett rode in the Super Ride and said it was a well-organized event with no problems.

He said Step-N-Strut visitors purchased food, beverages and gas in Mansura businesses, which helps the local economy and the town’s income.

Marksville Mayor John Lemoine was also impressed by the event.

“I think it was a big success,” Lemoine said. “There was a lot of people out there and there was a lot of people buying food, gas, water and such at the stores.”

Lemoine said he will be interested to see the sales tax figures when November’s collections are reported to the City Council.

He said there were no festival-related problems reported in Marksville. Although there may have been some traffic slowdown at times during the weekend, “I would say there was a lot more positive than negative that came out of it being here.”

Tunica-Biloxi Vice Chairman Marshall Sampson said the event “definitely drew a large crowd to our property. We had only a few minor incidents during the weekend -- probably nothing more than we have on any weekend.

“Security was tight and professional,” he continued, “ and everyone had a good time. The vendors did well.”

Sampson said from an economic standpoint the event was successful. The tribe is always looking for events to utilize its property that will help the economy of the parish.

Paragon General Manager Michael Hamilton said the weekend event “was overall good for us. There were no negative issues related to the Step-N-Strut.”

He said the casino will be studying a variety of financial numbers to determine the economic impact of the event for the casino.

The casino did its part to make the many Step-N-Strut participants feel at home, with staff decked out in Step-N-Strut T-shirts on the Friday and Saturday of the event.

Avoyelles Tourism Director Wilbert Carmouche said he was impressed with the number of people the event brought into Avoyelles Parish.

“I see it as an economic boost for the community,” Carmouche said. “It brought a lot of people to see Avoyelles Parish and what we have to offer here.”

He said he hopes those out-of-parish visitors were so impressed with what they saw that they will return even without the incentive of the Step-N-Strut.

“I have seen several posts on Facebook from people saying it will return next year, bigger and better,” Carmouche said. “It will be interesting to see what the promoters, the casino and the tribe decide about that.”

One question that will certainly be asked and answered during those discussions is whether Avoyelles can handle an event that is too much “bigger and better” than this year’s Step-N-Strut, or was this about as big as the parish can stand?

It will also be interesting to see what local officials and Step-N-Strut promoters decide about that.