Breaux Bridge – This Saturday at noon at The Coffee Break here there will be a drawing for Bayou Teche Brewing’s LA-31 Bière Pâle Pirogue, the proceeds from which will add thousands to the cash prizes for the 130-mile paddle race down Bayou Teche Sept. 17-19.

Teche Federal Bank has put up $2,500 in guaranteed prizes, and the Town of Berwick is matching that, making first-place overall worth at least $1,000 before the raffle proceeds are figured in.

Also, any cash prize not claimed because no one finished in that category will be added to the grand prize for the fastest team to make it from Port Barre to Patterson.

The deadline for early entry in Tour du Teche is Sept. 12. Late entry is $100 per paddler. Late entries will be taken  until 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Lions Club meeting hall adjacent to boat landing on Bayou Courtableau in Port Barre. 

Raffle tickets are now available for a chance on the LA-31 Bière Pâle pirogue, a cool boat named for a très, très cool beer on behalf of a history-making race.

Tickets are a dollar apiece.