Circle Club
Status: Closed
Parish: Calcasieu
Location: Toomey
mentioned in Today’s Cajuns: From http://www.hechicero.com/louisiana/sundownplayboys.html: “Lionel Cormier died onstage June 5, 1971, at the Bamboo Club in Lake Charles. The occasion was the city’s annual Cajun Day, one of several events held each year to celebrate with hours of non-stop French music and hundreds of cases of beer. According to stories, Mr. Cormier’s band, the Sundown Playboys, were in the middle of La Derniere Valse (The Last Waltz) when his time came. Contrary to the sometimes-encountered belief, however, he had just finished pumping out the Church Point Two-Step when he had his heart attack.” (The Circle Club is) “an enormous aluminum building next to Interstate 10 at Toomey, La., near the Texas border. The dance hall’s partially burnt out neon sign gives the place an unintentionally French name, ‘le Club.'” Sundown Playboys played there every other Saturday night.
Mentioned in Macon Fry’s” Cajun Country Guide” as a cock fighting club owned by Delane Navarre. An internet bulletin board mentions the club as hosting a pool tournament in the cock fighting area.
Mark
I have the original Party Ball that hung on the second floor of the Circle Club. Bought from Delane Navarre. It hangs in my Man Cave in Bridge City, Texas.
Judy
Mark, any chance you still have the Party Ball from the Circle Club? You say you live in Bridge City and you guys have been through some major flooding. I live in Beaumont and am in charge of the decorations for my 50th class reunion for Forest Park High School. Just a long shot, but if you still have the ball and we could rent it, borrow it or whatever, it would be a real show stopper. I understand if you don’t have it or don’t want to let it out of your sight, just let me know. Thanks,
Richard
During the 70s, the Texas Pelican Club was a favored club for its entertainment and for those of us underage East Texas kids from 60 miles away, it was a pretty good shot at a getting inside. That wasn’t true on my first visit. About six of us, most a year or two older, and I went to see Percy Sledge at the Pelican. I was the last to enter. I was carded, so I didn’t try to get it as I was 15-16. While my friends went inside, I walked across to the Circle Club. I had heard of it from my older brothers who frequented the Big Oaks and Lou Ann’s some five or years before, but I knew little about it. I walked in the club, the first time ever inside a night club, and acted like I was a frequent guest. A band downstairs played but I wasn’t too fond of them. Upstairs, the main event happened. The guest band was Joe Frazier and the Knockouts. Yes, that Joe Frazier. I never knew anything about his music career, but they weren’t too bad. I met up with my friends afterwards at the Pelican. That was the last time I was ever carded there and I heard some pretty great entertainers at the Pelican.
Dean
Yeah man daddy is to go to the circle Club after the spare time close and the cotton k was too full