Author: Lisa LeBlanc-Berry

Gumbo Gusto

  Recently ranked as the third most festival-obsessed state in the U.S., Louisiana boasts three competitive gumbo festivals in a single weekend: New Iberia’s 33rd annual World Championship Gumbo Cookoff features 100 teams of gumbo pros Oct. 14-15; (iberiachamber.org/gumbocookoff). Chackbay…

Summer Festing

Grab your fiddle and head to the 43rd annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival (July 22) held in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum (NSU campus) featuring the celebrated Louisiana State Fiddle Championship. Enjoy three stages of live music plus Cajun, zydeco and Native American…

Full of Hot Air

Head to the 2nd annual Bogalusa Balloon Festival (June 2-4) at George R. Carr Memorial Airfield to see hot air balloons flown by pilots from across the region with special events during the week leading up to the festival. Enjoy…

Bicentennial Festivities

Lafayette’s year-long bicentennial revelries continue with the Celtic Bayou Festival bicentennial celebration March 17-18 (celticbayoufestival.com) followed by the March 26-30 Festival International de Louisiane bicentennial celebrations (festivalinternational.org). Chartered by the Louisiana Legislature in 1823 two years after its founding, the…

Shorter Routes, Bigger Krewes

Due to New Orleans’ smaller police force, another year of shortened parade routes continues until Rex rolls on Fat Tuesday (Feb. 21). Diversity prevails, from the 1,600-member Krewe of Bacchus parading with 33 animated super-floats and 30 marching bands (Feb.…

‘Tis the Season for Sweet Potatoes

The Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission is celebrating its 70th anniversary with various promotions that feature growers. René Simone, director, says it’s been a good year for our nutritious, delicious Louisiana sweet potatoes. The Beauregard harvest usually ends in mid-November. It…

Play Well

LEGO fans, get inspired with mind-boggling life-size creations and exhibits, live shows by master LEGO builders and hands-on building activities during Brick Fest Live (Oct. 8-9), a traveling show held at the Shreveport Convention Center (brickfestlive.com).   Jeanerette First in…

Decadent Dining

The retro glamour of Baton Rouge’s swank new hotspot, the Supper Club, owned by Brandon Landry (founder and CEO of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux) is enticing diners with its seductive décor and luxuries such as Beluga caviar, baked Alaska and crème…

Louisiana Proud

New Orleans’ Oscar-winning pianist/singer/composer Jon Batiste, who took home five Grammys at the 64th annual Grammy Awards including Album of the Year (“WE ARE”) following his electrifying performance of “Freedom” (with a frolicking finale atop Billie Eilish’s table) premieres his…

Here Come the Fests

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (nojazzfest.com) makes a triumphant return April 29-May 8 after two COVID-cancellation years. Returning headliners previously slated for 2020 and 2021 are The Who, Stevie Nicks and…

In Residence

Award-winning Cajun fiddler, Amanda Shaw, has launched a new live music program every…

Full Circle for Rice Fans

Plans are underway to celebrate the life of the late Gothic novelist and New Orleans native, Anne Rice, who died after complications from a stroke in December at age 80. The event “will…

Gourmands at Haunted Plantation

Celebrated Louisiana and Mississippi chefs are converging Nov. 13-14 at The Myrtles plantation and Restaurant 1796 for the third annual St. Francisville Food and Wine Festival. New for…

Pelican Briefs: Market Marvels

Chef Cory Bahr is bringing together growers and artisans from surrounding parishes to offer their produce, meat and hand-crafted products on Thursdays for “Grow the Roe Farmers Market,” situated on a lot beside his Parish Restaurant in downtown Monroe. “We’re…

Pelican Briefs: Drago’s Sizzling Sixth

In the aftermath of Hurricane Laura, Drago’s owner Tommy Cvitanovich (pioneer of the charbroiled oyster) and his team served over 5,000 plates of free shrimp pasta in L’Auberge Casino Resort’s parking lot, consequently…

Pelican Briefs: Getting Hooked

Eleven-year-old Heath Hernandez couldn’t go fishing during the coronavirus lockdown, so he began watching YouTube videos about fishing lures. While experimenting with making baits, the Youngsville fifth grader perfected the art of making molds, adding items like glitter and ground…

Pelican Briefs: Getting Hooked

Eleven-year-old Heath Hernandez couldn’t go fishing during the coronavirus lockdown, so he began watching YouTube videos about fishing lures. While experimenting with making baits, the Youngsville fifth grader perfected the art of making molds, adding items like glitter and ground…

Pelican Briefs: Saints Takeover

Beloved New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, (a graduate of Purdue University), is on board with his partners’ plans to expand the Baton Rouge-based Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux chain to myriad college campuses, including one at Purdue. Opening 25 more Walk-On’s…

Pelican Briefs: Saints Takeover

Beloved New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, (a graduate of Purdue University), is on board with his partners’ plans to expand the Baton Rouge-based Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux chain to myriad college campuses, including one at Purdue. Opening 25 more Walk-On’s…

Pelican Briefs: Ship It, Don’t Shuck It

Good Eats chef-owner, Boyer Derise, has expanded his Baton Rouge and Lafayette-based prepared food delivery service locations with the all-new Bayou Carlin Oyster Co. The Delcambre native is now shipping grilled Gulf oysters (via dry ice) with four topping options:…

Learn It, Grow It

The LSU AgCenter’s Louisiana Farm to School Program has launched a new educational website, Seeds to Success. The project offers free educational resources on agriculture and nutrition and includes growing guides, lesson plans and info on careers in agriculture, food…

Interactive Artscape

It resembles a New Orleans courtyard, with indigenous plants for hair,” says multimedia artist Skye Erie, creator of the compelling “Garden of Legends” featuring seven statues of famous musicians in JAMNOLA’s luminous Finale Room. The quirky, 12-room interactive exhibition ranges…

Pelican Briefs: New Oenophile Alert

Total Wine & More, a wine superstore (with 205 locations in the U.S.), is slated to open soon in the former Stage retail space at 4407 Ambassador Caffery, featuring wines from every wine-producing region in the world, more than 2,500…

Pelican Briefs: Innovative Measures

LSU researchers and hospital leaders have recently created, obtained fast-track federal approval for and started running coronavirus tests at a newly minted River Road Testing Lab. The new lab testing capacities could give coronavirus test results to the most critical…

Pelican Briefs: Festival International de Louisiane

The 34th annual Festival International de Louisiane presents francophone music from 24 countries, including such headliners as Ayrad, a percussive Canadian group integrating gypsy funk with Moroccan gospel and desert rock. Lisa Stafford, the festival’s revered programming director of 20…

Great Louisiana Chef: Fifty Shades of Asia

With his rock star persona, tattoos marking culinary milestones, penetrating eyes and an easy laugh that obscures an indefatigable, serious work ethic, Chef Ryan André is at the top of his game at Soji Modern Asian in Baton Rouge. Opened…

Great Louisiana Chef: Firing It Up

As twilight gives way to darkness, and spirits wander through the Myrtles’ wintry mist, the alluring aroma of burning logs, fat dripping onto coals and ribeye steaks charring over leaping flames puts guests in a smoky trance at Restaurant 1796.…

Pelican Briefs: Da Kings of Cakes

Chef Nathan Richard of DTB (dtbnola.com) was crowned the 2019 King of American Seafood for his luscious crawfish and goat cheese king cake with cream cheese pepper jelly and Cajun caviar. “I’m serving it at DTB with optional caviar during…

Pelican Briefs

MONROE, BATON ROUGE, NEW ORLEANS, SHREVEPORT, LAKE CHARLES Prancing and Pirouettes Now on a national tour that includes five Louisiana cities (Nov. 10-Dec. 30), the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker (rated by the New York Times as a “hot ticket”)…

State of Louisiana: Pelican Briefs

NEW ORLEANS Let’s Go out to the Movies On October 16-23, the Oscar-qualifying 30th Annual New Orleans Film Festival brings screenings of more than 250 films, including new works such as “Burning Cane,” which recently won the top award, “Best…

State of Louisiana: Pelican Briefs

NEW ORLEANS Let’s Go out to the Movies On October 16-23, the Oscar-qualifying 30th Annual New Orleans Film Festival brings screenings of more than 250 films, including new works such as “Burning Cane,” which recently won the top award, “Best…

State of Louisiana: Pelican Briefs

COVINGTON Purrrrfect for Cat Lovers The 5th annual Covington Cat Party, Cat Art and Film Festival (artforcatssake.org) is Aug. 29 in Covington featuring funny cat videos, cat agility and training, fabulous feline-themed art and jewelry, unique cat accessories and furniture,…

Along the Way: The Parade of Life

By the time you read this, Mardi Gras celebrations will be wrapping up all over the state, but one of the krewes I’m in will have just started its year’s worth of events. While I love watching parades, I used…

Great Expectations

Ruby, my maternal grandmother, was a picky eater and had high expectations when visiting restaurants. Bacon had to be a level of crispy achieved only by some dark magic that enabled the cook to remove it from the pan by…

Summering

Car sickness, breweries and the grand Southern tradition of road trips

The Tree Funeral

Creative punishments and an outdoorsy childhood shape a young conservationist

Ardent Sprits

Tippling, scribbling and road tripping through the South

Docville Farm

A charming space in Violet serves as a multi-purpose event space and learning center.