Author: Claire Salinas

Around The State

NORTH   Shreveport Red River Wine Revel Cork, a Red River Revel Wine Event is a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon in early April. Restaurants from the Shreveport-Bossier area provide sumptuous food as you saunter through Festival Plaza…

Around the State

NORTH Holiday for Arts in Ruston The historic district of Ruston is at the city’s heart, which is dotted with old buildings, eclectic specialty boutiques and eateries providing delectable dining, as well as the annual Holiday Arts Tour. Sponsored by…

Around The State

NORTH Twistedly Delicious in Shreveport Sampling the menu of the Twisted Root Burger Company merits serious exploration and tasting. The atmosphere alone somehow strikes the perfect balance between the casualness of a burger joint with Bohemian ambience. On any given…

Around the State

NORTH Redbuds in Vivian By Jeanne Frois There’s no tree that symbolizes the renewal of spring other than the redbud – sprays of countless magenta flowers springing forth straight from the dun-colored leafless tree bark like a sign of redemption.…

Events and Highlights

North CHRISTMAS ON THE SQUARE IN BENTON Perched in uppermost northwest corner of Louisiana, the small, charming town of Benton hosts the Christmas on the Square Festival and Parade. This community- and family-driven festivity is produced by and for a…

Events and Highlights

    North RED RIVER REVEL Shreveport will hold the annual Red River Revel Oct.4-11. This alliterative arts festival has received international recognition and attracts 180,000 visitors over the course of its eight-day run. It’s ranked in the top 100…

Events and Highlights

NorthSteamboating in Columbia On a natural crossing of the beautiful Ouachita River, the town of Columbia, seat of Caldwell Parish, was founded in 1827. The river is named for the Ouachita Native Indians; the word Washita is an Indian word…

Regional Reports from across Louisiana

NORTHERN WORTH WATCHING ROCK OF AGES IN CARMEL Looking like a miniature Gothic cathedral atop a wooded hill, the tiny and beautiful Rock Chapel graces DeSoto Parish in a town once called Bayou Pierre. The town was re-christened Carmel (garden of…

Regional Reports from across Louisiana

NORTHERN WORTH WATCHING ROCK OF AGES IN CARMEL Looking like a miniature Gothic cathedral atop a wooded hill, the tiny and beautiful Rock Chapel graces DeSoto Parish in a town once called Bayou Pierre. The town was re-christened Carmel (garden of…

Regional Reports from across the state

Northern Worth Recalling The Battles of Madison Parish Perched high in the northeast corner of the Bayou State, Madison Parish sports a fascinating past. Located there are the Fitzhugh Mounds and the Raffman Site, ancient networks of American Indian sites.…

Around Louisiana: Cajun

PROFILE DR. BOUDIN Reading the narrative voice with which Robert Carriker tells the story of “Louisiana’s legendary link,” boudin, in his new book, Boudin: A Guide to Louisiana’s Extraordinary Link, you can immediately recognize that you are in the hands…

Around Louisiana: Greater New Orleans

CAUSE TO CELEBRATE STAR DATES Tulane University has long been a leader in studies of Central American archaeology. Marcello Canuto, director of the Middle American Research Institute at Tulane University, was among the first to discover that the Mayan writings…

Around Louisiana: Baton Rouge/Plantation Country

PROFILE BATON ROUGE’S BOXING HEYDAY The sport of boxing dates back to ancient Greece; it became an event in the Olympic Games in 688 B.C. It prevailed all through the time of the Roman Empire in popularity; Roman-style dust-ups, of…

Around Louisiana: Northern

Cause to Celebrate Exploring the Louisiana State Museum Rising almost temple-like in juxtaposition to the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport, the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, or LSEM, has been a jewel treasured by denizens of the Ark-La-Tex region ever since…

Around Louisiana: Central

CAUSE TO CELEBRATE A SPIN THROUGH THE TRACE One cozy Saturday afternoon last summer, I read, en boudoir, a collection of short stories by Eudora Welty from her book The Wide Net and Other Stories. These stories are all primarily…

Around Louisiana: Northern

Fork in the Road Sage Dining in Monroe Visit Restaurant Sage during the holiday season, and you’re likely to be treated to the glow of a roaring heath – a sagacious prelude to the repast that awaits you. The upscale…

Around Louisiana: Central

Cause to Celebrate Christmas On Bayou Rouge My first recollections of Christmas began when my family lived in a shotgun cottage in Uptown New Orleans, and our next-door neighbors were the Austins who hailed from Cottonport in Avoyelles Parish. Mrs.…

Around Louisiana: Greater New Orleans

Fork in the Road Kitchen Witchery in New Orleans There was a rather charming fad during the 1970s when shops sold “kitchen witches,” oddly appealing crones with floral babushkas and full skirts sitting on a broom stick. It was said…

Around Louisiana: Cajun

Cause to Celebrate Christmas at the Zoo The Zoo of Acadiana is a free-range sort of place, filled with a sampler of God’s creations, including kookaburras, tigers, alligators and giraffes. Although the expression “this place is a zoo” has frequently…

Around Louisiana: Baton Rouge/Plantation Country

Profile Dash’s Beloved She was the sweet young daughter of Jed Clampett on the uproariously funny series The Beverly Hillbillies, whose plaintive blonde beauty and sweet ways with critters stole the heart of Hollywood leading man and movie star Dash…

Around Louisiana: Greater New Orleans

PROFILE FOREVER EMELINA At 70 years old, Emelina Edwards can squat with a 100-pound barbell on her back for 10 repetitions (after a warm-up of 90 reps). Age aside, the accomplishment of this feat for Edwards is doubly amazing: Decades…

Around Louisiana: Baton Rouge/Plantation Country

PROFILE Beating the Alternative in Angola Chief, the “bad” wolf-hybrid pooch who was terrorizing a peaceful New Roads neighborhood, is going to prison. But his paws won’t be cuffed, and he won’t spend his days pacing in a small cell…

Around Louisiana: Central

LOUISIANA-GROWN CUCUMBERS I have to admit to a personal objection to the use of the term “cuke” when referring to that delicious addition to any salad (or a perfect stand-alone side-dish sliced with oil, vinegar and a sprinkling of dill)…

Around Louisiana: Cajun

PROFILE EPICURIAN ENGINEER When Ema Haq migrated to the Bayou State from his Bangladesh homeland in 1983, he was a 19-year-old youth bent on becoming an engineer. His dream was to work on oil rigs, and he graduated from the…