‘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 takes 6-8 weeks after the harvest for sweet potatoes to reach their sweetness peak. Tip: Fresh sweet potatoes should not be stored in the refrigerator; they should be cooked within a week or two after they are purchased. When grilling sweet potatoes, metal skewers speed up the cooking time.

Jackson Parish
Boys’ Worms Bait Biz
Two brothers from Quinton — Cole Burton, 5, and Clay Burton, 7 — loved catching fish so much, they built an earthworm bed for fish bait. To their surprise, the worms started multiplying so fast that they began selling them at the Ruston Farmers Market. The launch of Burton Boys Worms, which sells their packaged European Night Crawlers (great bait for everything swimming) has already attracted tackle shops, reporters and avid anglers. “Fish get hooked on our worms!” the boys exclaim (facebook.com/BurtonBoysWorms).

Broussard
Coffee on the Roof
The well-known Lafayette-based java emporium, Jet Coffee, is expanding its footprint with a spacious new Broussard location, bringing a first-of-its-kind rooftop coffee bar to Acadiana. Featuring a floating interior staircase that leads up to a chic rooftop coffee bar with charging stations, the new Jet Coffee is being constructed on a recently sold 2.5-acre property anchoring a 10,000-square-foot structure slated for the Ambassador Town Center’s Phase 2 development (facebook.com/jetcoffee).

Across the State
Holiday Trail of Lights Expands
The Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, which runs from Thanksgiving until the new year, is adding two new destinations in 2022: Ruston and Logansport. Families find cherished experiences during the annual event that features a collection of neighboring cities along I-20 and I-49 including Natchitoches and Alexandriia/Pineville, Shreveport-Bossier, Minden, Monroe-West Monroe. Read more in Traveler on page 60. (holidaytrailoflights.com).

Destrehan
Plantation’s 50th Annual Festival
Destrehan Plantation’s 50th annual Fall Festival is Nov. 12-13 on River Road featuring a mule barn that promises to captivate the antique collector with distinctive pieces from dealers throughout Louisiana. Activities for kids include pony rides, hand waxing, face painting and fall-themed arts and crafts. Savor Cajun and Creole favorites while enjoying local bands performing in the verdant picnic area (destrehanplantation.org/events/upcoming-events).