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LICI Holds First Abbeville Red Iris Bloom Event Held at Palmetto Island State Park

April 9, 2024 Abbeville, LA


The Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) held its first annual Abbeville Red Iris Bloom Event this past Saturday in Palmetto Island State Park. The Friends of Palmetto State Park Board of Directors approved LICI's iris bloom event being held at the same time as their Sir the Pot event.

Some of the marketing for the day included both events.


The two events were held at the same time on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Since the Stir the Pot event is held annually on the Saturday after Easter, its date changes yearly. It does not always coincide with the Abbeville Red irises blooming in the park's nearby boardwalk swamp. "This year's event was expected to occur while the irises were in full bloom," LICI's president, Gary Salathe, says. He adds that having any iris bloom event is stressful because the exact date of when the irises will be in full bloom is not always predictable, "but this year it worked out perfectly, to our great relief!"

The Abbeville Red irises were in full bloom for LICI's Iris Bloom Event.


Salathe also wanted LICI's event to be on the same day as the Stir The Pot "because we wanted to help our partners in the iris restoration project at the park, the Friends group, have a big turnout for their fundraiser." He estimates that at least 200 "iris lovers" attended the Stir The Pot event and paid the $10 per person entrance fee that likely would not have attended without LICI's iris bloom event. Similarly, he believes that many of the people who came out for the wild game and seafood cook-off were introduced to the Abbeville Red iris for the first time. "It was a win-win deal for both groups," Salathe says.

The Stir the Pot event is a classic South Louisiana festival with a seafood and wild game

cook-off between teams and live music.


While the Stir The Pot event was a typical Louisiana bayou country festival with plenty of food to eat and music to dance to, the LICI iris bloom event was staid by comparison. "Our event was somewhat different,” Salathe said as a gross understatement. “It had an educational focus on the Abbeville Red iris and the swamp it inhabits. The two events being held simultaneously, attracting people of different interests, worked out great!" he added.

Patrick O'Connor is seen giving his presentation on the Abbeville Red iris in the park's meeting room during the LICI iris bloom event. The meeting room is conveniently

located only about 150' from the boardwalk swamp.


Nationally recognized Louisiana iris expert Patrick O'Connor was invited by LICI to give a presentation during the iris bloom event. His talk was on Louisiana irises in general and the Abbeville Red iris in particular. He spoke to a full house.

LICI's president, Gary Salathe (in black cap), is seen on the boardwalk during the iris bloom event, talking to people interested in learning more about the threatened Abbeville Red iris and preserving its native habitat in Vermilion Parish.


One of the many attendees of the iris bloom event was Mayor Roslyn White of Abbeville, La. She was given a special tour of the irises blooming along the boardwalk at her request. She said she came out to learn more about the importance of the Abbeville Red iris to people worldwide as part of her initiative to increase eco-tourism and cultural tourism for her city and parish. "We predict great things will come from her adding this special iris, whose only native habitat in the world is near Abbeville, to the list of things the city and parish have to offer visitors, " Salathe says.

Some of the many people who came to Palmetto Island State Park to see the irises blooming are shown during LICI's Abbeville Red Iris Bloom event on April 6, 2024.


Salathe was pleased with the turnout for LICI's first iris bloom event at the park. He said it is very likely that LICI will do it again in the spring of 2025, with a target date of Saturday, April 5th. Salathe expects to confirm that this event will be held sometime this fall.




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