Festivals

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…

Irish for a Day

In 1986, Mabyn Shingleton, her husband, TV personality Pat Shingleton, and her baby son Michael in a stroller, lined up at the Baton Rouge City Park Golf Course and headed toward Perkins Road where the couple owned Zee Zee Gardens…

Double the Music and Double the Fall Festival Fun

It’s an Acadiana tradition about to hit its golden anniversary. And even though it hit a speedbump during the pandemic, Festivals Acadiens et Créoles has returned. Twofold. The annual fall festival, which turns 50 in 2024, has been celebrating…

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…

Female-Ran Moonshadow Festival This September

  ABITA SPRINGS, La (press release) – Moonshadow Music, Wellness and Art Festival is taking place in Abita Springs on September 4 & 5 (Labor Day Weekend), and featuring performances from Handmade Moments, Mahmoud Chouki, Ray Wimley, Silk & Mortar,…

Covington Business Association Hosts 4th Kokomo Stroll

  COVINGTON, La (press release) – In the spirit of summer, the Covington Business Association presents the fourth annual Kokomo Stroll, presented by Resource Bank, in downtown Covington. Flip flops and boat drinks will be aplenty as crowds fill the…

Covington Heritage Foundation 2021 Antiques & Uniques Festival

COVINGTON, La (press release) – The Covington Heritage Foundation will host the 7th Annual Covington Antiques and Uniques Festival, April 17-18, 2021, at the Covington Trailhead at 419 N. New Hampshire St. in Covington. The two-day, juried, free event will…

Hogs For The Cause Expands Fundraising Efforts

  NEW ORLEANS (press release) – Hogs for the Cause announced it has launched a peer-to-peer socially driven community fundraising platform that can be utilized around the country—anyone, anywhere can now support families battling pediatric brain cancer. “Our current fundraising…

Literary Louisiana

It’s a literary weekend in many ways, from spoken word to live theatrical performances to the annual massive Louisiana Book Festival. First up is the annual Festival of Words Nov. 1-2 in Grand Coteau, an event that brings in three…

Falling For Fall Festivals

Forget falling temperatures. You know autumn has arrived in Louisiana when festival season kicks into gear. This past weekend I attended the 78th Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, an annual celebration held by the historic town that’s surrounded by…

SOLO Fest

  Last year, Lafayette debuted a musical event that matched local songwriters with national and international professionals in a collaborative workshop. Titled South Louisiana Songwriters Festival and Workshop (SOLO), this four-day event partnered with the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation to…

Louisiana Winter Beer Festival

  More than 40 breweries will be on tap at the Louisiana Winter Beer Festival from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in the 1000 block of Ryan Street overlooking the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse and 1911 Historic City…

Cinema on the Bayou

  I used to beg festival organizers to place one in January, something festive to enjoy inside away from the wet, chilly weather. Then came Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival in Lafayette, a multi-day event that showcases numerous independent,…

Catching Avian Visitors On Their Way South

  Louisiana is one of the last stops on the Mississippi Flyway, a highway of sorts for North American birds heading south for the winter and returning home every spring. Migratory birds are traveling this interstate right now, pausing in…

Nola on a Budget

  Long to go to New Orleans but the budget’s tight? If you don’t mind a little heat (okay, a lot of heat), then August is the perfect time to visit the Crescent City. Hotels are offering great deals, the…

Strawberry Fields

  Once you bite into a sweet, juicy Louisiana strawberry, and embrace the aroma permeating through the air, you’ll never forget it, and you’ll long for strawberry season to return.  Now is prime time to indulge in Louisiana-grown strawberries, which are…

Destination Gumbo

When a chill hits Louisiana’s thick, humid air, gumbo pots begin to simmer all across this culturally-rich state.  While the ingredients and the thickness may vary some from region to region, one thing remains: it’s traditional intrinseque magic that deeply ties all…

Bogalusa Magic

There’s certainly a lot of natural beauty and spirit oozing out of the small historic mill town of Bogalusa, Louisiana. “We are showing the world we have magic here,” exclaims Malinda White, founder and producer of the award-winning Bogalusa Blues…

Revel in the Good Ole Days

If you want to travel down memory lane, head to West Baton Rouge for an annual festival to experience a bit of the ‘good old days.’ The two-day 12th annual Oldies But Goodies Fest and Smokin’ Oldies Cook-off kicks off Saturday…

A Stomping Good Time!

It’s your chance to partake in an ancient tradition of grape stomping – only you don’t have to travel to Europe to do it. Not many Louisianians get a chance to celebrate this age-old wine-making process (and a grape harvest, for that matter).…

Life’s a Peach in Ruston

Now is the time to sink your teeth into a succulent Ruston Peach, with its nectar dripping down your hand the very moment you take a bite. But, be sure to do it in the town which celebrates this divine fruit. The city…