Enjoy Cajun music, food Aug. 5 at McHenry County Historical Society

The McHenry County Historical Society welcomes Dennis Stroughmatt et L'Esprit Creole for a special celebration of Cajun music and food on Friday, Aug. 5.

Victoria's Sweets and Eats food truck will serve some bayou favorites from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., leading up to the 7 p.m. concert inside the museum, at 6422 Main St. in Union. A donation of $10, payable at the door, is requested for indoor seating to see the show live. The society also is hoping to do a pilot Facebook Live broadcast of the performance.

Stroughmatt has become an ambassador for the Creole French heritage of North America, helping to preserve its language, music, and stories. He is a frequent speaker for language conferences, including the keynote speaker at the National Conference of the American Association of Teachers of French, and workshop leader at conferences on Colonial American French, the National Honor Society, and the Festival Internationale de Louisianne, to name just a few.

Stroughmatt et L'Esprit Creole has a reputation for keeping listeners enthralled and dancers moving with a mix of contemporary blues, swamp pop, and traditional Cajun and zydeco dance tunes. The trio's performances are filled with emotion and energy that literally jumps from the band as they give voice to the story of the French Creoles who, more than 300 hundred years ago, settled in the Wabash and Mississippi River corridors.

Fingers and bow flying, Stroughmatt and the band take listeners on a musical odyssey using songs, stories, and even language in the traditions that have been passed down for generations. For more on the band, visit www.creolefiddle.com.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.