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Amis kept Festival International alive over long history Follow Us Question of the Day     By VICTORIA DODGE and Lafayette Daily Advertiser - Associated Press - Saturday, April 24, 2021 LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - Looking down Jefferson Street toward Vermilion Street, Phil Lank watching as tens of thousands of people swayed and danced to the Master Drummers of Rwanda in July of 1987. It was Festival International de Louisiane’s first year. After months of planning, trips to Quebec, and a $125,000 budget, downtow...

Looking down Jefferson Street toward Vermilion Street, Phil Lank watching as tens of thousands of people swayed and danced to the Master Drummers of Rwanda in July of 1987. It was Festival International de Louisiane's first year. After months of planning, trips to Quebec, and a $125,000 budget, downtown Lafayette had created what would become one of the world's largest francophone festivals. Festival International was a culmination of things — Downtown Alive!, Herman Mhire, and a dying downtown. At the time, Lank was the director of Lafayette’s Community Development Department. He and ...