Gumbo Cook Off booths available

There are eight booth spaces available for teams that want to take part in the 16th Annual World Championship Gumbo Cook Off.

The event normally has a waiting list for participants, but the effects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced some teams to cancel, said cook off committee chair Debbie Denais.

"We do have some dropouts on account of the hurricane," Denais said.

Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, Miss., had scheduled to be attend, but they haven't heard from casino since Hurricane Katrina struck. Other teams dropped out to help with the relief efforts.

The Gumbo Cook Off committee expects 70 teams to participate.

Denais said the missing teams will not cause problems. Extra space can be put to use, Denais said. Cramped conditions have been a problem in the past.

The vacancies are an opportunity for teams that have been on the waiting list and have not been able to participate in the past, she said.

She said they have not made any changes to their schedule and expect to conduct the contest rain or shine. She said if it does rain, they plan to work on through it.

In the years since the cook off started, it has not been canceled because of inclement weather. Denais said it has seen heavy rain, tropical storms and other adverse weather conditions, and still been successful event.

The event takes place Oct. 8 and 9 in Bouligny Plaza in downtown New Iberia. It is a fund-raiser for the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce and other local charitable programs.

It starts Saturday with the Cajun/Creole Food Fest and Shopping Extravaganza from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be Cajun and Creole cooking in Bouligny Plaza, and the Pine Leaf Boys, the Andy Smith Band and T.K. Hulin are scheduled to perform that day. There will be no gumbo served Oct. 8.

The cook off is held Sunday starting at 11 a.m. All types of gumbo will be served by teams from Mississippi to Texas. Most teams are from the Acadiana area. The teams must prepare their gumbo without electricity. The Gumbo Police inspect each teams ingredients before cooking to ensure they are following the rules. The music lineup begins with Junior Flores and the Bayou Boys from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Geno Delafose and the French Rockin' Boogie is schedule to perform from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Tabasco is sponsoring the event.

For more information, contact the chamber at (337) 364-1836 or by e-mail iberiachamber@hotmail.com.