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Across Lake Pontchartrain on the North Shore, cooler breezes blow and a slower pace of life prevails. The Tchefuncte River is a scenic spot, and the tiny town of Madisonville–   population 748 – drips small-town quaintness and calm, at the point where Tchefuncte River enters Lake Pontchartrain. Madisonville was founded in 1800 and it was a native American village even before that. It was an important port for New Orleans before the Civil War, and the 1838 lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places.

For something you don’t get to see very often, take a trip this October 10, 11 and 12 to Madisonville to the Wooden Boat Festival. Every year the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum pays tribute to the hand crafted wooden boats of the Gulf Coast and it’s a beautiful sight. Over 30,000 attendees visit the shores of the Tchefuncte River to enjoy three days of food, music and, best of all, wooden boats! No clattering aluminum-mast boats are allowed, just graceful, elegant wooden boats of all kinds, from pirogues to sailboats, to covet. There’s a Children’s Village and a Quick ‘n’ Dirty Boat-Building competition, with costumed participants who name their boats – a little like a Mardi Gras float, but really floating!

The “parade” rolls, or floats, rather, at 2pm on Sunday, October 12, 2014.  If you’ve ever craved the seafaring life, you’ll enjoy chatting with the colorful folks who converge on this tiny town with their beloved wooden boats. All admission fees support the work of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum and the restoration of the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse. Ship ahoy!