Friends of the Arts will present a "Bayou Bash" featuring Buckwheat Zydeco on Saturday, July 13th at 8:00 p.m. at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay. Opening for Buckwheat is the Queen of Zydecko Rosie Ledet and her group. The concert is part of the Friends of the Arts’ 2002 Long Island Summer Festival, which is sponsored by Sanjay and Sylvia Kumar and marks the celebration of Friends of the Arts’ 30^th Anniversary.

The boisterous sounds of this rollicking dance party will make it impossible to stay in your seats. This lively music that People Magazine called "a swamp-boogie joy ride" is what Buckwheat Zydeco is all about. The spirited sound that was featured in the film The Big Easy will guarantee an energizing evening.

Rosie Ledet and her band have quickly become the act to watch on the Zydeco circuit. Winner of Offbeat Magazine’sOne of a small handful of women in Zydeco, Rosie Ledet’s warm stage presence, combined with the infectious Zydeco beat, makes her irresistible to audiences. She is one of the younger Zydeco players who still writes and sings some of her own material in Creole French. New Orleans style food will be available, completely capturing all the fun of New Orleans.

Thanks to fortunoff the source Friends of the Arts continues its KIDS GO FREE program, bringing music to families by providing free lawn tickets for children under the age of 12 when they are accompanied by a ticketed adult. KIDS GO FREE is valid on the lawn section only.

Friends of the Arts is a not-for-profit organization with two primary goals: to present performing arts of the highest distinction and to educate and enrich the lives of young people on Long Island.