Arthur Drolette had a passion for Dixieland

Arthur Drolette liked all kinds of music, but he was dedicated to Dixieland.

As a founding member of the Fresno Dixieland Society, Drolette helped raise scholarship funds for young musicians and, for more than 30 years, was a driving force behind the annual Sounds of Mardi Gras festival, which draws bands and fans from across the country.

Drolette died June 24, at the age of 89. A celebration of his life will be held 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, at Sequoia Brewing Company at 1188 E. Champlain Drive, just a few days after what would have been his 90th birthday.

“He had a great interest in traditional music,” says friend and FDS member Ron DuBois.

Drolette didn’t play music himself, DuBois says, though society members once gave him a kazoo as a joke. But he had a passion for Dixieland and wanted to see it grow in Fresno.

In the 1970s, fans had to drive out of town to hear Dixieland, a form of traditional jazz from the 1930s and ’40s. Three Rivers, which has its own traditional jazz club, was a popular stop at the time and it was there that Drolette and others came up with the idea for the Mardi Gras festival.

“They decided they could have their own festival,” says FDS president Linda Shipp.

The group held the first event Feb. 4, 1984, with just one band, the Blue Street Jazz Band. They made $75. It was a small amount, but it was enough to merit a second round.

Over the years, the festival grew into a weekend-long celebration with a dozen bands, plus dinner and dances, a parasol parade, costume party and a king and queen coronation. At its height, the festival could draw 1,000 people.

At times, it’s been a struggle to keep the festival going, Shipp says, but the last two years have seen sell-out crowds and organizers expect the same for the 2016 festival, which takes place Feb. 11-14 at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Fresno. It will be dedicated to Drolette.

“We want his legacy to remain,” Shipp says.

Before coming to Fresno in the 1970s and establishing himself with the society, Drolette served in the U.S. Navy in WWII and spent more than 30 years working for RJ Reynolds in the South Valley. He was in sales and became almost family to many of his clients, DuBois says. The man had a positive personality that was infectious.

“He was the the most positive person I’ve ever known,” DuBois says. “He passed that feeling along to a lot of people.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Arthur Drolette had a passion for Dixieland."