Sicilian Celebration will be held in Abbeville on Saturday

Sicilians have played an important role in the culture of Abbeville and Vermilion Parish.
On Saturday, that culture will be celebrated.
The Sicilian Celebration will take place on Saturday, March 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sam Guarino Blacksmith Shop Museum and Heritage Center located at 304 S. State Street in Abbeville. Admission is free.
“This will be our third year,” said Debbie Garrot, who helped get the event going in 2019. “We were supposed to have it in 2020 and ‘21, but those had to be canceled. We were excited to be back last year, and we’re really excited for this year’s celebration.”
The official opening will be at 11:30 a.m., with the performance of both the U.S. and Sicilian anthems.
Cooking teams will be preparing authentic Sicilian and Italian entrees. Teams will begin serving samples at noon. Samples can be purchased for $1 a piece.
“We will have five cooking teams,” Garrot said. “They are going to prepare Italian-Sicilian entries.
“They will be judged on that.”
Judging for the cooking contest will take place at noon.
Along with the cooking contest, the celebration will include tours of the Blacksmith Shop Museum and blacksmith demonstration, a photo booth, live music, as well as imported wine and beer available for purchase. Cookbooks and souvenirs will be available for purchase.
“We will have more vendors this year,” Garrot said, “so there will be a variety.”
There are plenty of sponsors helping make all of this possible.
“We’re so grateful to our sponsors,” Garrot said.
Families with Sicilian heritage are grateful, too.
“They’re so proud that their families are being recognized,” Garrot said. “They should be proud. They are a part of who Abbeville and Vermilion Parish is. They have contributed so much to the area.”