What would an anniversary of the ambush of Bonnie & Clyde be, without the Authentic Bonnie & Clyde Festival in Gibsland, LA?? I'd attended the last 2 festivals, but could not make this year's event. Apparently many regulars were absent as well, for a variety of good reasons. None the less, the festival which experienced a drop off of attendance from it's previous record setting year (you can't have a 75th anniversary every year)-- was still a great time for all who attended.
The top photo is one of the best I've ever seen taken at Gibsland. That's Bonnie's niece Rhea Leen Linder (aka Bonnie Ray Parker)-- and Clyde's nephew Buddy Barrow, standing along with an image of Bonnie & Clyde in The Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum. The 2 ladies, looking to take pics of their own, are Dixie Lee Sedgwick who played Bonnie in her one woman show-- and Tonya Holly from Cypress Moon Studio's upcoming The Story of Bonnie and Clyde. Many thanks to Shelley Mitchell, for sharing these photos.
The top photo is one of the best I've ever seen taken at Gibsland. That's Bonnie's niece Rhea Leen Linder (aka Bonnie Ray Parker)-- and Clyde's nephew Buddy Barrow, standing along with an image of Bonnie & Clyde in The Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum. The 2 ladies, looking to take pics of their own, are Dixie Lee Sedgwick who played Bonnie in her one woman show-- and Tonya Holly from Cypress Moon Studio's upcoming The Story of Bonnie and Clyde. Many thanks to Shelley Mitchell, for sharing these photos.
7 comments:
I attended the 2010 Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Festival and had a wonderful time! It was my first time attending the festival, although I had traveled there in March 2010 and met w/ Boots Hinton and gave him a photo of me dressed as Bonnie. I had a seamstress design the popular dress that Bonnie wore during her playful act of holding a gun on Clyde in that famous photo.
Now I am in the process of having my seamstress design the dress in black, as Boots told me that was the color of the dress. My first dress was the color burberry and beautiful. I was late getting to the costume contest judging, but I will definitely be there on time next year and Tonya Holly will not have a chance on winning then!
I would have loved to have gone, and I just might, someday! I live in California, however, and trips back east aren't easily come by...
I DID pass by the main road that turns off to where the marker is. I was traveling with others, and when I saw the "Historical Monument" sign I got all excited and begged to turn off and go see the site, but my fellow travelers (we were on the way from Jacksonville, FL to California and had stopped to visit a friend in Bossier City, LA) said that it was TOO FAR OUT OF THE WAY, and they refused to indulge me my little whim. Well, when you're driving about 3000 miles, anyway, I don't see where 18 more miles (I think the pointer to the marker said it was 9 miles down the road, but it's been awhile and I don't recall the exact distance) makes any difference!
After last year's Big Blow-out 75th-Anniversary event, this year's attendance was admittedly a bit sparse. But I can assure all, it was no less exciting.
This year marked my 10th consecutive year going to the festival. I only wish I'd known of it sooner! No matter how many times I go down to Gibs, it still gives me chills, the good kind. The spirits of Bonnie & Clyde still live down there - you can feel it in the air!
The Friday night Historian's Meeting is definitely the place to go for those "in the know". You get it all first there, from the most knowledgable sources around. I hang on every word! The reenactors are dedicated to bringing the utmost authenticity to their "performances" all day Saturday, with the ambush as the grand finale. History truly comes alive. Dinner on Saturday night with old and new friends is always a highlight, as well. And to top off all the fun, late night outdoor gatherings always inspire more "inside" talk of our favorite outlaws!
This year, of course, we diehards were treated to a Sunday bonus. The dedication of the Henderson Jordan Memorial Park - at the exact former location of Conger's - was an event to remember. Because I peeked under the cardboard covering of the plaque on Friday night, I think I was the first to even notice the absence of Prentiss Oakley's name. Although I was (and still am) dismayed by this unbelivable error, I was still honored to have been there for the occasion. Both Sheriff Jordan's now-elderly children were in attendance, making this a most rare opportunity to see them in person. Also, the reception afterwards at the Train Depot Museum across the street gave us who were there another rare opportunity: to view their Bonnie & Clyde exhibits, as they are usually closed on Sundays when the festival is over. I'd seen it before, but it's been some years ago. As always, I made it home completely exhausted, but thrilled to have been a part of it all.
Btw, some pretty cool pics here --
even if I do say so myself!
Thanks for the first-hand account, Shelley! It's just sort of wistful thinking on my part, but I would like to attend - it's just a couple thousand miles away, and sort of hard to get to! It's great seeing the photos and hearing from folks who were there, though.
You are most welcome, BarefootOkieGal!
Interesting how you are an "OkieGal" living in California; whereas I am a California girl living in Arkansas! I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but I've lived here for many years now. As much as I love and miss L.A., one of the main drawbacks to living there - for me - is not being in close proximity to where B&C lived - and died. It is nice being able to go down to Louisiana - or even over to Dallas - on occasion!
Glad you enjoyed my festival report and photos. I've had a major fascination with B&C since my childhood in L.A. - and I can't think of anything I'd rather do than attend this festival each year! If you ever have the opportunity, I would highly encourage you and others with an interest in all this to get down there somehow. Bienville Parish truly provides visitors with a tangible window into the past, because in many ways, so little has changed since the days of Bonnie & Clyde!
Well, Shelley, I'm TECHNICALLY a California Gal, having been born and raised here, but my mother and all her many siblings were born and raised in Oklahoma, and just from spending time with them, I've got a very pronounced "Okie" accent - then I lived in Florida for 7 years, which just added another layer of strangeness to my accent. My mom's family always referred to themselves and their kids as "Okies" - as in, "Shut the door, Okie!" and so that's how we refer to ourselves!
I consider myself fortunate, though, because we did so much travel when I was younger - my dad grew up in Nebraska and Iowa, and we'd visit there, and we'd visit relatives in Oklahoma and Arkansas, and because of all the driving we did, I've had an opportunity first-hand to drive some of the little backroads down which Clyde would speed in a stolen Ford V-8, and while I haven't been in Louisiana for awhile, I visited someone once and got to drive around a bunch of backroads out there, too. Matter of fact, I think that's one of the first things I ever remember hearing about Bonnie and Clyde; someone making a comment while we were poking down a gravel-and-dirt "lumber road" that was a shortcut from one main road to another somewhere in either Oklahoma or Arkansas, and one of my relatives said they'd heard Clyde Barrow was a speed demon but they'd bet that he wouldn't even try to take that road over 40 MPM...
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