Around The State
Jefferson Parish: The Bicentennial
If I would tell you that Jefferson Parish is the second most populous parish in Louisiana, that might not be a surprise. The assumption would be that neighboring parish, Orleans, is the largest. Ah, but here is where the assumptions…
It's Tennessee Williams Festival Time!
On Sunday, March 23, crowds gathering beneath the Pontalba balconies facing Jackson Square will repeatedly hear the heart-wrenching scream, “Stellllaaaaa!” during a shouting contest emulating Stanley Kowalski’s climactic, drunken scene from “A Streetcar Named Desire,” presented by the Tennessee Willilams…
There's An Event For Everyone This Carnival Season
It’s true New Orleans gets the most attention when it comes to Mardi Gras and no one would argue that it’s the biggest and — perhaps depending on who you ask — most notorious. But celebrations big and small,…
Holiday Spotlight on Shreveport-Bossier and Minden
Starting this month, Shreveport-Bossier and its neighboring town of Minden take part in the annual Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, spotlighting holiday…
News: Ballet, Music and more
Baton Rouge | Ballet From the Bayou After 30 years of enchanting Baton Rouge audiences with the acclaimed holiday classic, “The Nutcracker — A Tale From the Bayou,” the show’s creators and original choreographers, Molly Buchmann and Sharon Mathews, have…
Gulfport, Mississippi Sparkles for the Holidays
Coastal Mississippi offers the world’s longest man-made beach — miles of sand framing the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There’s plenty to enjoy along the coast, from Bay St. Louis and Waveland at one end to Pascagoula bookending…
A Guide to Louisiana's Football Towns and Teams
BATON ROUGE | LSU & Southern Baton Rouge practically doubles in size when the LSU Tigers fill up Death Valley stadium with ticket holders and the parking lots on campus and beyond with tailgaters. On the north side of town,…
Spooky Festivities and More Around Louisiana
The first annual Natchitoches Louisiana Bigfoot Festival (September 7) features an enthusiastic gathering of fans, devoted researchers and investigators sharing documented field knowledge of the ever-elusive, hairy bipedal creature. It’s held near Kisatchie National Forest, known for hundreds of Bigfoot…
Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association and Keep Louisiana Beautiful Partner with Local Auto Dealers on the Roadside Litter Prevention Campaign
BATON ROUGE, La (press release) – According to the Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) 2023 litter study, there are 143.8 million pieces of litter on Louisiana roadways and an average of 10,178 pieces of litter per mile on our interstates. Litter…
Fishing in Venice
You can tell by the sudden, unusually violent squeal of the line spinning out that this time we’ve hooked a big one. That, of course, is the goal of fishing offshore from Venice, Louisiana: to hook big ones, particularly big…
News Around the State: Bears, Essence Fest and more
Louisiana’s first black bear hunting season was unanimously approved by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for the first time since 1987 (five years later, Louisiana’s black bear was put on the Endangered Species List). The 16-day lottery-based…
Exploring the Creole Nature Trail
Staff at Adventure Point in Sulphur change the spices in the Louisiana culinary corner once every six months. You smell the exhibit long before you see it. It’s Proustian, an aroma that invokes memories of crawfish boils past. This is…
Hurricane Protection via Coastal Conservation
Thanks to a generous grant administered by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, construction is underway for Phase 2 of the Houma Navigation Canal Lock Complex, led by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Terrebonne Levee…
Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge
Cat Island is home to a 1,500-year-old Champion Bald Cypress, the largest bald cypress specimen in the United States. At 96-feet tall, 17 feet in diameter, and 56 feet in circumference, it’s the largest tree in…
Krewe de Canailles
Acadiana arguably hosts the second-largest Carnival celebration in Louisiana with the requisite balls, parades and special events akin to its massive cousin to the east. But a group of Lafayette residents thought something new was called for, something intimate,…
Freedom Summer
Sixty years ago this month, hundreds of African Americans supported by pastors and the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) entered the Forrest County Courthouse in Hattiesburg to register to vote. Later that summer of 1964 the protest evolved into…
Holding Down the Fort
(Left) This plaque on the grounds of Fort Jackson commemorates Louisiana’s first Mardi Gras. Across the Mississippi River from what later became Fort Jackson, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville camped with his party on March 3, 1699,…
Impromptu Soups for Cold Louisiana Weather
Often listen to music when I cook. Lately, my choice has been “The Complete Million Dollar Quartet,” an impromptu jam session that took place at Sun Records in Memphis on December 4, 1956, with Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee…
Mardi Gras Updates
Due to a police shortage, New Orleans is spending millions of dollars to add law enforcement to keep Carnival safe in 2024. New rules: Only 34 parades are allowed in 2024, no more silly string or mylar confetti canons…
Hog Wild
“There are two types of people in Louisiana,” says Shane Kessler. “Those that have a hog problem, and those that are about to have a hog problem.” Outside of Grand Ecore, Kessler turns onto the Campti Cutoff and glides along…
Eateries to Explore
An entire social media universe recently emerged about the unprecedented surge of New Orleans’ hip, new, in-demand Uptown eateries, most notably among fans trying to land a table at Osteria Lupo. A…
Holiday Shopping Hotspots
It’s the most wonderful time of the year to shop and Louisiana delivers. We’ve compiled a few shopping districts throughout the state offering everything from antiques and collectibles to clothing and furniture.…
Bringing an Ecosystem Back
Wafer Creek, the landmark for which the ranch was named, runs through an intact bottomland forest. For more than a century, it has been left mostly uncut, meaning that Wafer Creek Ranch thrives in its natural…


