New Orleans Artist Carlos Lopez and His Oyster Paintings
“Why, then the world’s mine oyster.” Shakespeare said this first in “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” New Orleans artist Carlos Lopez has made the oyster his world, too, not in prose but in his…
Things to Do
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…
Peachy Keen
The Louisiana Peach Festival has been around since 1951. The surrounding area is known for its wealth of peach orchards and the event has grown exponentially since its inception. It now includes a kid’s fishing tournament, tennis tournament, rodeo, parade,…
Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes
Stroll through the historic downtown of New Iberia and you’ll find gracious live oak trees, beautiful historic homes and the Shadows-on-the-Teche plantation, spots where James Lee Burke used in his best-selling novels and the cement Grotto of Our Lady of…
Relive the siege at Port Hudson
My first battlefield experience was Bull Run in northern Virginia, the first full skirmish of the Civil War and one that would repeat itself years later. Listening to the park ranger talk of flanks and advances while staring at…
Eating Our Way Through Shreveport
Go ahead, twist our arm! The 318 Restaurant Week, a citywide promotion of local restaurants organized by the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau and its partners, returns March 18 through 23 at more than 50 participating restaurants. Lunch and…
Artist: Louisiana Monsters
The South Louisiana landscape is filled with mythical symbols of the people and cultures that have struggled to survive in an increasingly industrial world that has swept across the state over the last century. Baton Rouge artist Jonathan Mayers, alias…
Calendar: Festival International de Louisiane
Festival International de Louisiane April 24-28 // Lafayettefestivalinternational.org Held in downtown Lafayette, the 5-day, Festival International de Louisiane sees over 300,000 festivalgoers celebrating international music and the connection between Acadiana and its French roots. The festival features performance art, music,…
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…
No Man’s Land
When the United State purchased Louisiana from France, practically doubling the size of the country, their next-door neighbor had a few issues with the deal. Spain, which owned the territory that’s now Texas, disputed the boundary lines on its…
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,…
Chasing Eagles
Years ago, on a visit to Toledo Bend I spotted a bald eagle’s nest in a remote spot of South Toledo Bend State Park. When January rolled around this year and I was in bad need of a nature…
Calendar: Carnival Time
GREATER NOLA Sunday, Jan. 6 Krewe of Joan of Arc. 6 p.m. French Quarter. New Orleans. Phunny Phorty Fhellows. 7 p.m. Uptown. New Orleans. Saturday, Feb. 9 Krewe of Chewbacchus. 7 p.m. Marigny. New Orleans. Saturday, Feb. 16 Krewe Bohème.…
Neutral Strip Bicentennial
The story of Louisiana’s Neutral Strip, condoned by international agreement, was created in 1806 and ended with a treaty whose Bicentennial we celebrate this year, but the desperate decades of a “No-Man’s-Land” ruled by highwaymen and marauders had begun long…
Bienvenue, Papa Noel
While most of the United States anxiously awaits the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, in Louisiana children look for Papa Noel. To help the French Santa find their stockings hanging by the chimney with care, we light bonfires…
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