DAPHNE, Ala. — Daphne Civic Center director Margaret Thigpen said this year’s Zydeco Festival was a success even though natural disasters prevented some prospective attendees from Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri and northern Alabama from attending.

“It went pretty good, considering. Unfortunately, the floods in Mississippi and Louisiana hindered some of that traffic, the tornados in northern Alabama hindered our Birmingham club from coming in so our numbers weren’t exactly where we wanted them, but for the most part the feedback was positive…” Thigpen said.

The Daphne Civic Center was filled with music all weekend for the civic center’s seventh annual Gulf Coast Zydeco Music and Crawfish Festival. Zydeco music originated in southern Louisiana and was greatly influenced by Cajun culture. Zydeco bands typically include accordions and washboards among the ensemble.

Thigpen said she was still trying to figure out the exact number of ticket sales for this year’s festival, but she estimates 1,000 people attended over the weekend. This year was the first year that a three-day pass was offered, and she said it made it difficult to determine an exact number of attendees. Last year, 700 people attended the festival, which then lasted for two days.

All of the expenses are not in for the festival, so Thigpen is not sure how much money was made from the festival.

Thigpen said now that Zydeco 2011 is completed, work can begin on Zydeco 2012.