St. Bernard Parish was the hardest hit area of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina. Every
home and business in the parish was destroyed by Katrina's wrath. An entire community of 60,000 was wiped out.
But the spirits of these people prevailed. They are determined to rebuild their community. And with that in mind, International
Flood Control Systems organized a Christmas celebration for the residents of St. Bernard. IFC
hired us to create a beautiful Christmas environment in the parking lot of the St. Bernard Civic Center.
We used over 25,000 Christmas lights and concert lighting to provide ambience to a very dark area. We brought in
a beautiful 16' fresh Blue Spruce and decorated it. We decorated the Parish President's trailor. And surrounding
trailors. Keep in mind that power is not available to that area. Everything we lit was powered by generators.
We also provided the children's entertainment area with space walks, a sleigh ride with Rudolph pulling the sleigh, a
face painter, a juggler, a balloon clown and a tent with games. We provided stage lighting, staging, and a 12'
Santa to greet everyone at the entrance.
IFC organized a toy drive. Pallets of toys & hundreds of bicycles were delivered
and distributed to the children of the parish. The faces of the children when the bikes were given out were filled
with happiness and surprise. It certainly jerked a tear from me as well as every other adult there.
A performance by Rockin Dospie, Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters was the perfect compliment to the event. The party
was a huge success and everyone enjoyed the night.
