Lafayette’s own cultural ambassador at-large, educator, cultural historian, and music and television host is to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in Music Education by Offbeat Magazine during their annual Best of the Beat awards show. It proves that hard work pays off somewhere down the line if you work hard and long enough. Over the past 30 years, Ancelet has guarded the spiritual heart of Cajun culture by teaching French and folklore at the University of Louisiana, hosting the weekly live radio program “Rendezvous des Cajuns” broadcast in Eunice, writing books, articles, and liner notes for audio CDs, transcribing Cajun and Creole lyrics, and actively involving himself in the southern Louisiana community on a host of other issues.
His latest projects include co-producing a CD compilation of Louisiana folk music by women, a CD anthology of Cajun and Creole Mardi Gras music, and musical collaborations with Acadiana musicians like Sam Broussard and Wayne Toups.