The Acadiana community is invited to celebrate the life of Mickey Shunick beginning at noon Saturday.
The family of 21-year-old UL student Mickey Shunick, who was killed in May by Brandon Scott Lavergne, is inviting the community to celebrate her life this Saturday beginning at noon at Parc International downtown. Gates open at 11:30 a.m.
The Shunick family is emphasizing that the event is a celebration of her life, as well as a show of thanks to everyone who worked so hard to bring the missing student home. IDI Workspace Solution will make a public art wall available for anyone to share art inspired by Mickey. The Little Paint Brush Art Studio will be providing children with an opportunity to create their own butterfly bracelets.
Beer and soft drinks will be sold, and food will be available for purchase from Carpe Diem Gelato, BiBi's Patisserie, Freetown Fries, and Zeus. T-shirts with a new, celebratory graphic, will be sold by Absolutely Monogramming and Gifts for the cost of printing.
The Community Celebration in Honor of Mickey Shunick will begin with several friends sharing their memories of Mickey. The Acadiana Symphony String Quartet will join us on stage during the formal remembrance. City-Parish President Joey Durel will join family and friends in recognition of law enforcement officers, volunteers, donors, university officials, the district attorney's office, Texas Equusearch, Special K-9s and the community as a whole. Finally, the Shunick Family will give a personal statement to the community.
Afterwards, there will be live performances from three of Mickey Shunick's favorite local bands. Whole Damn Town performs first at 1:15 p.m., followed by imagineIAM at 2:15, and closing with Rareluth at 3:30. The celebration ends at 4:15 p.m. with a public bike ride following the route Mickey took the morning of May 19.
Attendees are encouraged to either ride or bring their bicycles to Parc International to join the ride. A free "bike corral" will be managed by Bike Lafayette. The ride will conclude with the permanent placement of a "ghost bike" at the end of St. Landry Street, and 90 live Monarch butterflies will be released as a tribute to Mickey. UL Lafayette President Joseph Savoie will join her family and friends for the dedication of the ghost bike.
The Shunick Family requests that the public continue on to the UL football game where Mickey will be honored with her family present, and the game will be dedicated to her strength and bravery. "This day will honor Mickey's life and her impact on this community. This brave, young woman inspired us to action and we want her legacy to be that which will continue to inspire love and kindness toward one another," says Barbara Alexander, a friend of the Shunick family.
For information on the public art wall, contact [email protected].