Louisiana Life - September/October 2022

Outdoorsy Escape

  On a recent visit to Memphis, I had the pleasure of exploring not only the music scene in Blues City but also top-notch accommodations, decadent restaurants and other fun attractions. Just a short flight from New Orleans (or a…

Fromage De Tete

One Saturday morning when I was a kid and we were staying for the weekend with relatives near Moreauville in Avoyelles Parish, I was awakened early — way early — to prepare for the morning’s big event, a boucherie. I…

La Nouvelle Louisiane

  Best New Restaurant Winner Chef Eric Cook (the talented chef and owner also behind the popular New Orleans restaurant, Gris-Gris) opened his second restaurant, Saint John, in the French Quarter last fall. As to be expected from Cook, the…

What’s the Truth Behind Haunted Louisiana?

The Myrtles For years, owners have marketed The Myrtles Plantation in St. Francisville as “America’s most haunted house.” Several apparitions apparently haunt The Myrtles, but the most famous is Chloe, an enslaved woman who purportedly had her left ear…

Spooky Season

Looking for Trouble Dark and Shallow Lies How can a teenager just disappear in a town full of psychics? That’s the mystery that 17-year-old Grey tries to unravel in “Dark and Shallow Lies.” La Cachette, Louisiana is known to be…

Grape Expectations

Savannah Ray left her home in Ouachita Parish one weekend and returned with a dream. Her husband, Michael, says, “She went to Sonoma Valley and thought it was pretty.” With timing that comedians spend years honing, he gestures toward…

Candle with Care

At A Glance Hometown | Charenton, Louisiana Age | 49 Occupation | Candlemaker, shop owner, Fifolet Candle Makers Web | fifoletcandles.com   Blink and you’ll miss the small, knee-high roadside “Candle Shop” sign out front. But off the main…

Passing it On

With assimilation and time many of Louisiana’s Native American folkways faded into history. Handmade tribal crafts gave way to mass-produced items purchased at local box stores. But somewhere deep in the DNA of tribal members, the old ways remain…

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…

Coming Home

The Bayou St. John area (officially Faubourg St. John) in New Orleans is known for its historic residences. Pitot House, the Old Spanish Custom House and The Sanctuary, all facing the bayou, are among the architecturally and culturally significant…

Rock of Ages

Brian Schwieger begins his tour of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas by displaying a history book he studied in the 11th grade. The National Park Ranger from Tennessee learned how President Dwight D. Eisenhower and U.S.…

A Kebab by Any Other Name

Kebab, kabab, kebob, shish kebob, souvlaki, shashlik or a variety of other terms refer to pieces of meat, poultry, fish or vegetables, threaded on skewers and grilled. “Jim Beard’s Barbecue Cookbook,” published in 1958, calls it skewer cookery. Whatever term…

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…

Traveling Around Louisiana

Food festivals abound, highlighting BBQ, Food Trucks, German food and drink, gumbo, gratons and more. Meanwhile fall festivals celebrating pumpkins, sugarcane, and wooden boats bring families together for good times while celebrating local culture. Carnival rides and haunted houses…