Located about an hour and half south of New Orleans is the Kenny Hill Sculpture Garden. From 1988 to 2000 Kenny Hill built a scuplture garden on land he rented on the bank of Bayou Petit Caillou in Chauvin (pronounced: Show-Van), Louisiana. He was later evicted for non payment of rent and left the land and disappeared leaving his 100 magnificent sculptures behind.
It is now run by Nicholls State University, with help from money donated by Kohler Foundation Inc. Nicholls Art Studio is located across the street and contains pictures and newspaper articles about the sculpture garden. This is a beautiful spot, located right along Bayou Petit Caillou.
On a side note, Caillou means stone in French. It is said that the ballasts on ships were filled with stones used to stabilize them before being filled with cargo. After being filled with goods the stones were discarded into the Bayou. Thus, Bayou Petit Caillou, means there was a small pile of stones filling the Bayou and the nearby Bayou Grand Caillou, had a lot of rocks in it, thus their names.
In late Spring the Blessing of the Fleet celebration takes place at the Sculpture garden, to bless fishing vessels before the start of shrimp season. Vessels pass by on the bayou decorated in colorful flags. On this day, there are food and craft vendors and live music. It was not busy this year (due to the weather) and Nicholls State University was providing free boat tours of the Bayou Petit Caillou on a first come, first serve basis.
If you can’t make the festival, the sculpture garden is worth visiting on any day.
Where:
Terrebone Parish
5337 Bayou side Drive
Chauvin, LA
Fees:
Free
Tips:
There are no restrictions specifically pertaining to dogs on the website. Call to ask. During the festival, which is in a small space, it would be advised not to bring a dog, due to the crowds.
Picnic:
There are several stone benches in the park to sit on. If you are vegetarian, bring a picnic as the food at the festival is typical, hamburger, hot dog, sausage, and cracklins fare.
Links:
https://www.nicholls.edu/folkartcenter/park.html
