Toe stompin’ music and spicy creole foods brought a crowd to downtown Port Arthur Saturday where a little fais do do at the Carl Parker Center brought back memories of a time when many Southeast Texas spoke Cajun French rather than English.

This year’s second annual Carnival Des Cajuns was a success — lagniappe for a cloudy day indoors.

“I’m glad to see Port Arthur is having this. Normally, we travel to Louisiana a lot on the weekend to hear this kind of music, so it’s great to be able to stay home,” Kathy Robinson, of Port Arthur, said.

Robinson attended Saturday’s day-long festival with her cousin, Jamie Schexnaider, of Port Neches, and Schexnaider’s friend, Clyde DeRouen, of Groves.

“We’re here for the music and the food,” DeRouen said.

All three said they were proud of their Cajun roots, and glad to see a festival that celebrated creole music and food.

“My dad was a Simon and my mom a LeBlanc,” Schexnaider said. “I grew up with this music, grew up going to the Rodair Club, it broke my heart when it closed.

Schexnaider and DeRouen were among the early birds on the dance floor — a place the pair knows their way around.

“We’ve been dancing together a long time,” Schexnaider said. “If we don’t get to dance here, we’ll get our fix somewhere else.”

For Linda Nunez of Port Arthur, the day brought back memories of her childhood, of a time when she visited grandparents here who spoke only French.

“My grandparents did not speak English. They were Broussards and spoke French. When we went to see them, Dad had to tell us what they were saying,” Linda Nunez said.

Listening to the band, Linda Nunez said she could still hear her grandmother calling her “mon cher.”

“Everybody used to say “mon cher” which means “my sweet” in English,” she said.

Her husband, Tony, admitted he was not Cajun by birth, but rather by marriage.

“I married this beautiful woman and she brought me over here. I love the culture, and as far as I am concerned this is my culture too.”

Nora Seaux spend the day visiting with people she’d known from her 10 years working at the old Rodair Club — a place where Cajun music drew people to the dance floor for a slow waltz or a faster jitterbug.

“Oh, being here today definitely brings back memories of the Rodair Club — all French music does,” she said. “I’ve seen so many people here today that I knew from there.”

Gloria Roy, one of the event organizers, said she was very pleased with the crowd, and the interest shown in the Cajun culture.

“My phone has not stopped ringing, people have been so excited about this,” she said.

The festival in addition to offering the usual crawfish , boudain and jambalaya, offered a little lagniappe, or something extra.

“We have some of the most talented musicians here. Most are Grammy nominated or Grammy award winners,” Roy said.

Sue Bard, with the Southeast Texas Arts Council, a sponsor of the event, said this year’s event was better attended since the inaugural year, when it was outside it rained all day.

“We are really, really pleased with the venue,” she said. “And, real pleased with the amount of people that showed up.”

E-mail: sherry.koonce@panews.com

Twitter: sgsturdivant