A campaign to protect his Parish from treacherous Pentecostal invaders prompts Father Steve Sibille to organize the biggest event ever in Opelousas, Louisiana: the First Annual Grand Prairie Rabbit Festival. Obsessing about the Pentecostal Reverend (Brother Paul) merely hardens Father Steve’s determination, and the priest uses every weapon in his arsenal, playing to his community’s greatest strengths. One of these is accepting the notion (in good faith) that “sinners will be sinners” and that minor vices are actually things people quite enjoy and don’t intend to stop doing altogether. These vices, in fact, are often some of the glue that holds St. Pete’s Parish together. With the aid of friends Mark Johnson and Vicky Carrier, Father Steve plans an event formidable enough to conquer the opposing forces. In the process, however, Steve becomes closer than he ever intended to Vicky, a long-time friend and volunteer.

From the beginning, Father Steve is a different kind of priest than you might expect: he curses, moans and even has human urges that make him seem a lot like many of the rest of us. His friends are less than pillars of virtue, too, so the three together make quite the trio! Vicky Carrier is a community activist and a long-time volunteer for the Church. She’s a delightful young woman who’s more than just your average volunteer as she’s always hanging out with Father Steve and doesn’t treat him with any particular reverence. The fact that Vicky’s late father was a priest himself seems to give Vicky a whole different view on the priests’ vows. Father Mark Johnson is quite the character as well, a charming guy who befriends Father Steve early on. Mark is himself struggling with the priesthood, having joined probably for the wrong reasons. Mark is gay and can’t reconcile his beliefs with the Church’s; he struggles a great deal with the constant battle to suppress part of himself and to relinquish his life to the solitude of the priesthood. Father Steve ends up being Mark’s best friend through all this, and both Mark and Vicky become the key to making the festival a huge success.

The festival requires a great deal of work and planning, taking many months to put together. But it’s sure to be an event like no other, with draws for all kinds of families in the community. They’ve planned a petting zoo with live rabbits for the kids, a cookout with scrumptious food, exciting carnival rides, and as much alcohol as the community can possibly drink. There will even be a giant elephant available for riding, a fine creature who answers to the name of Gertie. To raise money for the carnival, Father Steve plans other events, including one called “the real monstrosity cookout.” All these Parish events are quite enjoyable and funny, and in the background is Brother Paul, “one-upping” whatever Father Steve comes up with.

Much to the dismay of Father Steve, a romance between himself and Miss Vicky is inevitable. Vicky seems to actually want to be irresistible, and Steve’s long-time friend, Miss Rita, is definitely on her side. Miss Rita is a 100-plus-year-old black lady, a member of Steve’s family who lives in a local nursing home. During Steve’s visits, the old woman uses as much melodramatic coercion as she can, even going so far as to claim that it is her last dying wish to see the two together! Vicky seems to have no objection whatsoever to this idea, leaving Steve to uncomfortably fend for himself. The lovable yet feisty Miss Rita is my favorite character --- a person whose antics keep everyone around her either smirking or on their guard.

THE FIRST ANNUAL GRAND PRAIRIE RABBIT FESTIVAL succeeds nicely at being a light-hearted, enjoyable story yet with some challenging concepts in the background. Many of these are approached sympathetically, with approaches to racism and sexual preference immediately coming to mind. But the book focuses to a much greater extent on the ways in which Christians approach each other and also other congregations. Perhaps the greatest focus of all is the ways that people choose to view human vices. Yet the book never comes off as entirely serious and is always enjoyable to read. From the beginning, author Ken Wheaton does a fabulous job of acquainting readers with his great community and also integrating his writing with authentic Louisiana culture. He also provides a number of his personal mouth-watering Cajun recipes, explained in detail and defended with great zeal. These recipes all sound delectable, and we’re eager to try many of them out!