Country Roads Magazine "The Road Trip Issue" April 2024

6 Road Trips Introduction

Lost and found by James Fox-Smith

11 REFLECTIONS

NEWS & NOTEWORTHIES

Cinderella , community theatre, and prep for the Great American Eclipse

IT’S UPON US!

Spring festival season brings live music stages and crawfish boils across the region

36 GOIN’ TO SAN ANTONE

We’re still dreaming about the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and all the Tex-Mex we didn’t have time to try.

by Alexandra Kennon Shahin

43 A GUIDE TO TEXAS FOSSIL HUNTING

Bison teeth, ammonites, and crinoids galore

by Kristy Christiansen

47 VENTURING INTO THE VALLEY

A road trip following the Brazos River

by Ted Talley

On the Cover

“SUNSHINE BRIDGE AFTER SUNDOWN,” 2020

Photo by Philip Gould

50 Cuisine Culture Events

The day before sending this issue to press, I (your Managing Editor, Jordan LaHaye Fontenot) am gearing up to head westward—to Fredericksburg, for a weekend spent with old friends and new. My car’s tank is full, my bags are packed. I already know I won’t get much sleep tonight—never quite having outgrown that childhood anticipation for a morning departure. The road, it’s calling.

Long promoting driveable adventures and experiences, Country Roads’s “Road Trip” issue celebrates those further-afield destinations that require a bit more time spent in the car—an embrace of the in-between, the liminal world of the “on the way to somewhere,” the space between home and adventure. The somewhere matters, of course, and we hope this issue provides plenty of inspiration for your next landing spot. But in Gould’s capture of the iconic Sunshine Bridge, part of his Bridging the Mississippi series, we recognized the spirit of the drive. The on the way.

So, where to next?

PULITO OSTERIA

New York-style Italian in Belhaven

by Susan Marquez

53

56 SOUPÇON

New international restaurants in NOLA, a brewery in Laf & more by CR staff

54 ON THE JEFFERSON HIGHWAY

From pine to palm by Cheré Coen

58 SOMETHING’S HAPPENING DOWNTOWN

A wave of revitalization in Clinton by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

61

ON STAGE IN MONROEVILLE

In Harper Lee’s hometown, the Mockingbird Players re-enact her magnum opus by Chris Turner-Neal

63 OUR GEORGIA COUSINS

The Acadians who landed in St. Mary by Cheré Coen

Escapes

66

ONE NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI

Meridian introduces an Aussie to the Magnolia State by Alexandra Morris

These are not your grandma’s quilts by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot Outdoors OUR SUSTAINABLE GARDEN On behalf of the wasp by Jess Cole

70 Perspectives SPLENDIFOROUS FIBERS

Discover Mississippi’s best places to drive in and chow down .

Ready for a delicious road trip? All across Mississippi, you’ll find mouthwatering temptations at colorful roadside food stands, pet-friendly drive-ins, and even gas stations that serve up everything from seafood po-boys to smoked ribs. Plan your journey today at VisitMississippi.org/RoadBites.

#WanderMS

Pig & Pint | Jackson, Mississippi

Reflections

FROM THE PUBLISHER

One Monday morning twenty-something years ago my wife and I were on the road from Dallas to St. Francisville, driving home after a weekend visiting friends. At least, home is where we thought we were going. We left downtown Dallas at dawn and drove into the sunrise congratulating ourselves on having beaten the morning traffic as the exurbs of Mesquite and Rose Hill gave way to the scrubby oaks and nondescript pastureland of East Texas. Anyone familiar with that road trip knows that the landscape doesn’t deliver many landmarks to relieve the monotony until the highway reaches Louisiana, so as we passed a huge reservoir, then turnoffs for towns with names like Fate and Hendrix, my wife admitted surprise at not having noticed them during the drive over just a couple days before. She was not surprised enough, however, to reach for the Rand McNally Road Atlas which, in those preGPS days, was in the seatback pocket of every car.—which might have saved us a considerable teeth-gnashing when, three hours later, a huge sign reading “Welcome to Arkansas” confirmed that my sense of direction had failed us again.

Since my gut instinct usually compels me to set off 180 degrees in the wrong di-

rection, she should have been relieved not to find herself in Carlsbad or Oklahoma City for lunch that day instead of Tex arkana, which turned out to have pretty good barbecue. And while the arrival of the smartphone has reduced the amount of time I spend driving around searching for familiar landmarks, it is still not rare for me to turn confidently onto a high way, only to discover that my faulty sense of direction has betrayed me again.

Over the course of our marriage, I have gotten us lost scores, possibly hundreds, of times. I have led her the wrong way into cul-de-sacs, rough neighborhoods, and strangers’ backyards. We have been lost in cities, woods, and on lakes. I have sailed downwind instead of up, cycled uphill instead of down; and once, when she was learning to ski and as night fell over an unfamiliar resort, I led her down a “short cut” that steepened inexorably into a black-diamond, ice-encrusted chute that plunged thousands of feet to the valley floor miles from the ski village. The descent took hours because my wife—who fears heights—did most of it on hands and knees, crawling backwards and swearing at me all the way. It’s astonishing we’re still married.

Having now spent much of my adult life getting lost in North America—the result of taking a wrong turn in Ireland and ending up in Louisiana—I’ve developed a theory. The direction my instinct tells me to go is usually the opposite of the correct one. So, perhaps my chronic

the toilet water goes around the oppo site way, and Vegemite is considered a reasonable breakfast food. What disorienting effects might coming of age in such a place—where the normal laws of physics clearly don’t apply—have on one’s internal compass? Discussion with other southern hemisphere expats supports this theory. Country Roads’ newest team member, Camila, came to Louisiana from Ecuador, and cheerfully admits to being notorious for getting lost at the slightest provocation. Despite having lived in Baton Rouge for years, Camila continues to rely on her phone to find her way between even the most familiar destinations.

In these days of smartphones, in which we never permit ourselves to be lost, I sometimes wonder what else we fail to find. When my wife and I first knew one another, we spent two years working our way around Europe and Australia. This being the pre-smartphone early nineties, we mostly traveled with an out-of-date copy of Let’s Go—Europe as our only guide, and consequently spent a lot of time hopelessly lost in unfamiliar foreign capitals. Some of the most memorable experiences from those years—in a basement tavern in a Czech side street where leather-aproned barmen carved slabs of beef from a spit turning over a fire, a religious festival in a Greek village on the wrong side of the island, a tiny museum of medieval torture devices halfway up a Tirolean mountain—happened precisely because we were lost, wandering aimlessly, with some entirely different destination in mind. Now that our own kids are setting out into the world, I hope that once in awhile they might leave their phones in their pockets, allow themselves to take a wrong turn in an unfamiliar city and just see where the road leads. When J.R.R. Tolkien wrote “Not all who wander are lost,” I think that is what he had in mind.

—James Fox-Smith, publisher james@countryroadsmag.com

Curtain Call

AFTER 48 YEARS, MOLLY BUCHMANN AND SHARON MATHEWS TAKE THEIR FINAL BOW AS ARTISTIC DIRECTORS OF THE BATON ROUGE BALLET THEATRE

W“We wanted to be sure that there was a place in Baton Rouge where if you wanted to [study to become a professional dancer], you had everything you needed to build a good foundation, so that you could go on,” said Buchmann. “That was our goal.”

It was under the two directors’ guidance that BRBT became a year-long professional dance company, presenting an entire season as well as summer classes. Sharing the responsibilities of choreographing, running the studio, and tending to the organization and board behind BRBT—the two women built a deeply-held trust and collaborative relationship that has sustained itself, and the company, for almost fifty years now.

productions—beginning with Arthur Saint-Léon’s Coppélia, a production funded by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. “This was really new and big at the time, to do a full ballet with guest artists,” said Buchmann. BRBT was the first dance company in the city to hire a full symphony orchestra for a production, and to present male dancers on stage. And then, of course, Buchmann and Mathews were the driving force behind one of Baton Rouge’s most beloved traditions, The Nutcracker: A Tale from the Bayou —which has been performed annually since 1982.

month, it will be the end of an era for Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre (BRBT). After forty-eight years serving as artistic directors for the award-winning capital city dance company, Molly Buchmann and Sharon Mathews will officially pass the torch to a new generation of creative leaders.

Since stepping up to lead the company in 1976, Buchmann and Mathews have fostered a culture of progress and opportunity within the world of dance in Baton Rouge.

“It took a lot of work, not only from us, but also our families, our husbands in particular” said Mathews— who recalls the important role Fred Buchmann and her late husband Bill Mathews played in transforming an old office space on Government Street into the company’s first true studio in 1993. “If we had not had their complete support, this just never would have happened.”

Forward thinking for their time, the two women ensured that Baton Rouge’s dancers were on the cusp of the growing movement towards contemporary styles of dance, in addition to classical ballet. “The world of dance was changing,” said Buchmann. Early on, BRBT was presenting shorter, more modern dance performances with choreographers like Will Eldridge and Amelie Hunter. On the classical side, Mathews and Buchmann presented some of the first full-length ballet

Culture is Alive in Central

Ayear ago, Central’s former Family Fitness Center was in the thick of a massive renovation. Dozens of volunteers were painting every inch, raising the ceilings, installing carpets donated by a local business, repairing the roof, installing the buildout with donated wood from the local lumber company. Professional theatre lighting and sound equipment was being installed thanks to a grant from the City of Central. And after a mere three months and over five hundred volunteer hours, the Sullivan Theatre presented its first performance of Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Elusive Ear on June 2, 2023.

“It’s been a true community effort,” said Dave Freneaux.

Now, this April, Sherlock Holmes is returning to the stage as the Sullivan Theatre’s sixth production, this time with The Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé. “It’s just amazing to me how quickly it all came together,” said Freneaux. “There’s probably a couple hundred people

that are associated with us now, just either volunteering, taking on one of the designer positions, working backstage, etc.”

Though the theater itself was assembled rapidly, the earliest seeds for the concept were planted just over a decade ago, when Freneaux and likeminded residents founded the Central Cultural Foundation—an initiative devoted to investing in and promoting the arts in the city. “There is a lot of history and culture,” he explained. “But there were no arts, no real place to gather and do things as a community.” Over the last few years, though, those plans were put on hold as the city faced the massive flood of 2016, followed shortly by the pandemic.

Towards the end of 2022, Freneaux decided he was done waiting. He found the Fitness Center, a 6,000-square foot building available for rent, secured a good deal, and presented the idea of a venue for arts and culture in Central to the Cultural Foundation. “And

This spring’s production of Cinderella will be BRBT’s sixth performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s most famous composition. The show holds a special place in Mathews’ heart especially. BRBT’s first production of the show featured her choreography, with her eldest daughter Anna Schmaltz dancing as Cinderella, and her youngest daughter Rebecca Acosta as the Fairy Godmother. Fifteen years later, the 2018 performance featured her grandson and granddaughter. “My husband was very sick at the time,” she recalled. “But he made a special effort to come and see his grandchildren perform. And it is kind of bittersweet, because that was the last performance he saw before he passed.”

This year’s production will again feature Mathews’ choreography, with her and Buchmann’s successors acting as lead artistic directors. “Rebecca [Acosta, Mathews’ daughter] and Jonna [Cox] have been with us for many years, and as they step into our roles, it’s very comforting to know that we have these two lovely young women, to know that the ballet is going to be in really good hands,” said Mathews. “They’re really going to continue the legacy.”

Of course, it will be hard for Buchmann and Mathews to stay too far away. “We are going to always be around to offer help or advice,” said Mathews, “whatever they need.” —Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

The Baton Rouge Ballet’s upcoming performances of Cinderella will take place April 20–21. batonrougeballet.com.

they gave permission,” he said.

In addition to acting as the home to Central’s blossoming community theatre, the Sullivan is also host to the Art League of Central, which occupies the lobby, and the Central Historical Society—which has a room dedicated to the preservation and display of articles, photographs, and documents regarding Central’s history. The local high school has used the facility for its drama productions, as well as a dance school in town for their recitals. “We’re trying to expand and maybe do community movie nights for kids and stuff,” said Freneaux. “Just trying to get something to do in Central, somewhere to gather. It’s important. We’re trying hard to give Central its own identity as a city, through the arts.”

—Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

The Sullivan Theater’s upcoming performances of Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Fallen Soufflé will take place on April 5–14. sullivantheater.com.

ALMOST A YEAR SINCE ITS PREMIER, THE SULLIVAN THEATRE ACTS AS A HOME FOR THE ARTS

Photo: Buchmann and Mathews, photographed in the mid-1970s, courtesy of BRBT.

Traveling Towards Totality

GEARING UP FOR THE GREAT NORTH AMERICAN ECLIPSE THIS MONTH

On April 8, if you’re not paying attention, you might find yourself suddenly hshrouded in shadow—the birds will go silent and the insects will scream. Certain flowers will spontaneously close their petals. And here in Louisiana, tiny crescents will appear all over the sidewalks. Whatever you do, don’t look up.

Not unless you have eye protection, that is.

We recommend, instead, that you mark the date on your calendar and fully prepare for this celestial wonder (get yourself some eclipse glasses). It won’t happen again, on this scale, for another twenty-one years. Dubbed the Great North American Eclipse, this astronomical event will have the moon fully blocking the sun along a 4,200 -mile-long, 115-mile-wide path across North America, from the Pacific Coast of Mexico all the way to Newfoundland, Canada, lasting over four minutes. It will be visible to over 35 million people (compared to the roughly 12 million who could view the 2017 eclipse).

“Outside of a meteor storm, a total solar eclipse is the most immersive astronomical experience,” explained Merrill Hess, the Public Information Officer at the Baton Rouge Astronomical Society. “The entire environment undergoes changes that you can see and feel. The quality and character of light in the landscape changes, temperatures drop, animals become active, and projections of the crescent Sun are projected through any small opening [an effect described as a ‘pinhole camera’]. Those are only a few phenomena that occur.”

Louisiana, alas, is not on the “path of totality”—

which means we won’t experience the true “nighttime during the day” effect of a total eclipse here. However, from most cities viewers will observe a partial eclipse with 80–99% obscuration of the sun. Shreveport and the surrounding Ark-La-Tex area will be as close as you can get, just outside the path of totality. “We will get about 98% coverage here in Northwest Louisiana which will dim the sky a little bit,” said Robert Bailey, Vice President of the Shreveport Bossier Astronomical Society. “It will not be safe to view without proper solar filters or special solar telescopes.” Bailey recommended name brands Thousand Oaks Optical or Lundt, and said to avoid knock-offs and third party retailers such as Amazon to avoid damage to your cameras or your eyesight.

thousands of eclipse pilgrims making their way along the path of totality. Many of these cities are even hosting eclipse festivals and viewing parties. Find a listing of some that we found most intriguing on our website at countryroadsmag.com.

—Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

If you’re looking for an excuse to make a road trip and witness the phenomena in full, several major cities on the eclipse’s path are a half-day’s journey from most Louisiana homebases. These include Fredericksburg, Waco, and Austin, Texas; as well as Conway, Jonesboro, Hot Springs, and Little Rock, Arkansas. This is not to

To see a map of the eclipse’s path of totality, and a simulation of what it will look like in your city, visit eclipse2024.org. Other resources include greatamericaneclipse.com and shadowandsubstance.com.

Photograph of the 2017 eclipse, taken by Robert Bailey. See more of his work on Facebook at his page Bailey Photo, and expect some phenomenal photography of this year’s Great North American Eclipse later this month. .

Enter to win a getaway to Ridgeland! Giveaway includes: a two-night stay at a Ridgeland hotel, Kayak rental on the Ross Barnett Reservoir, $200 in restaurant gift cards, & an Explore Ridgeland swag bag with local goods.

Scan QR code to enter:

APRIL 2024

Events

GETTING WARMER

FESTIVAL SEASON IS UPON US—GRAB YOUR SUNHAT AND YOUR DANCING SHOES FOR THE MUSIC AND FOOD-FUELED DAYS THE SOUTH DOES BEST •

APR 2nd

GET GROWING

LOUISIANA NURSERY SEMINAR

Prairieville, Louisiana

Pollinators make the world go 'round, and the Louisiana Nursery invites you to take a deep dive into their world at their upcoming seminar, "Turn Your Garden into a Pollinator Haven." Leading the talk will be horticulturist Isabelle Morgan from the Audubon Nature Institute, who will shares insights on planning and planting a garden with a "pollinator-first" approach. 6 pm–7 pm. louisiananursery.com. •

APR 3rd - APR 11th

FESTS ON WHEELS CYCLE ZYDECO

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Cycle Zydeco is a festival with a simple agenda: eat, dance, drink, and bike to the next location. Live zydeco music and Cajun and Creole cuisine await along the way. For route descriptions and registration, visit cyclezydeco.org. •

Apr 4th, 27th & 30th

THE BLUFFS ARE ALIVE NATCHEZ FESTIVAL OF MUSIC Natchez, Mississippi

Every May since 1991, the Natchez Festival of Music has been making Mississippi musical, staging a monthlong whirlwind of operas, operettas, Broadway musicals, jazz, and special concerts in historic venues around the Bluff City. This month, catch the following shows that make up the event, and keep an eye out for more to follow in May:

April 4: Spring Pilgrimage Concert: Speakeasy—Music from the roaring '20s at Magnolia Hall with Burnley Cook. 7 pm. $25.

April 27: Dancing on the River featuring the Mobile Big Band Society and Chip Herrington at Natchez City Auditorium. 7 pm. $40.

April 30: Rossini, Puccini, and Martinis at the Historic Natchez Foundation. 7 pm. $25.

natchezfestivalofmusic.com. •

APR

HOPS TO IT BOOT BREW FEST

Eunice, Louisiana

It's time for Boot Brew Fest—a hearty gathering of homebrewers from across the region at Lakeview Park and Beach. Featuring education opportunities for burgeoning brewers, plus plenty of samples to sip on, the event ends properly: with a Cajun barn dance and awards ceremony. $10 admission; $40 for full festival access; $65 VIP. Must be twenty-one years old or older. bootbrewfest.com. •

APR 5th - APR 6th

CINEMATIC SOUNDS BRSO PRESENTS

THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra brings the music of the big screen to life with their latest presentation, The Music of John Williams. Williams' masterful compositions have been featured in iconic

Image courtesy of French Quarter Festival.

Events

Beginning April 5th - April 6th

films like Harry Potter, Star Wars , and Indiana Jone s. Resident Conductor David Torns will lead the orchestra at the River Center Theatre on April 5 from 7:30 pm–9:30 pm, and at the Grand Settlement at Shoe Creek in Central on April 6 from 6 pm–8 pm. Tickets start at $19. brso.org. •

APR 5th - APR 6th

GOOD READS

BOOKS ALONG THE TECHE

LITERARY FESTIVAL

New Iberia, Louisiana

music from the Bunk Johnson Brazz Band and a spread of local seafood. Saturday events include storytelling, children's word and picture workshops, a symposium with the festival's "Great Southern Author," Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar, a James Lee Burke Symposium, a Dave Robicheaux walking tour, a 5K run, and much more. Tickets are available for various events at bontempstix.com. booksalongthetecheliteraryfestival.com. •

APR 5th - APR 6th

APR 5th - APR 7th

FLORAL FUN

FLOWER FEST

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Nestled off of the Mississippi River, the tiny community of Pointe-Marie in Baton Rouge will once again spend the first weekend of April decked out in a wildly colorful collaboration between human artistry and nature's impeccable touch. All in the name of flora, local chefs, musicians, artisans, and locals will come together to indulge in a lush vision of creative community—all while raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It all kicks off with the "Once Upon a Dream" gala on Friday—hosted by Southern Linguistic TikTok star Landon Bryant, famed local photographer Jody

APR 5th - APR 7th

WELL READ

DELTA MOUTH

LITERARY FESTIVAL

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Since 2009, the annual Delta Mouth Literary Festival has been a flagship event for the literary arts in Baton Rouge. The Louisiana State University Department of English joins together with The Southern Review, New Delta Review, and the English Graduate School Association to bring together nationally acclaimed writers, artists, and performers from across the state and throughout the nation for a three-day event that includes readings, panels, music, and a unique gathering of Baton Rouge’s creative community. The lineup of writers attending this year includes Carolyn Hembree, Kewku

artist Matt Jones' exhibition, Veneers & Vignettes: Staging the Mountain West, will be on view from April 5–12, with a reception on April 6 at 6 pm and a gallery talk on April 7 at 2 pm. Sculptor Cecelia Moseley's exhibition, Overlay: Language Uncovered, follows from April 17–25, with a reception on April 20 from 6 pm and a gallery talk on April 21 at 1 pm. Free. lsumoa.org. •

APR 5th - MAY 31st

ART SHOWS

LYNN WOOD EXHIBITION AT BACKWOODS GALLERY

Saint Francisville, Louisiana

An exhibition of recent paintings in a variety of styles by prolific St. Francisville artist Lynn Wood are on display at Backwoods Gallery. Meet the artist during an opening reception on April 5 from 5 pm–7 pm. For more information, call Joe Savell at (225) 721-1736. •

APR 6th

PLANT PARTIES

FESTIVAL DES FLEURS

Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette's biggest garden show and sale promises plants, supplies, pottery, tools, gifts, and more. Displays by the bonsai, orchid, and daylily societies; door prizes and children's activities abound, too. Proceeds benefit the Ira Nelson Horticulture Center at ULL . 8 am–4 pm at Blackham Coliseum. $4; $5 at the door. Free for children under twelve. festivaldesfleurs.org. •

APR 6th

MUSIC & ART CROSSTIE ARTS AND JAZZ FESTIVAL

Cleveland, Mississippi

Head to the heart of the Mississippi Delta for this 56th annual Crosstie Arts & Jazz Festival, celebrating Cleveland's legacy of creativity and community spirit. 9 am–4 pm. crosstiefestival.com. •

APR 6th

BIO BASH FÊTE DE LA NATURE: BIOBLITZ Arnaudville, Louisiana

Celebrate the natural beauty of Acadiana at the Atelier de la Nature reserve in Arnaudville for its annual Fête de la Nature. Throughout the day, scientists will head an official BioBlitz—encouraging guests to search the property for species of birds, reptiles, insects, plants, fungus, and other flora and fauna they might find. The Culinary Institute of Baton Rouge will be onsite; and live music will be provided by Wayne Singleton and Same Ol' 2 Step. Food and music from noon–2 pm; Bioblitz events lasting all day long, from 6 am–11:30 pm. Admission is free, but proceeds from

the lunch and beverages will benefit youth educational programs at Atelier de la Nature. Register at eventbrite.com. Details at atelierdelanature.org. •

APR 6th

ROCKET MAN POINTE COUPEE PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

New Roads, Louisiana

The Arts Council of Pointe Coupee's annual Performing Arts Series for 2024 is hosting the Elton John Tribute Band at 7 pm at the Poydras Center. $30; $10 for students. artscouncilofpointecoupee.org. •

APR 6th

GO WILD ZIPPITY ZOO FEST

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

My, oh my, what a wonderful day— celebrate BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo at its annual spring festival. The zoo opened on Easter Day in 1970, and it's been helping families go wild ever since. Expect singalongs characters, storytimes, animal meet and greets, zookeeper chats, and more. 9:30 am–5 pm. Admission applies. brzoo.org. •

APR 6th

FLYING CABBAGE ST. BERNARD IRISH-ITALIAN ISLEÑOS PARADE

New Orleans, Louisiana

The St. Bernard Irish Italian Isleños Community Parade & Marching Club will celebrate the region's thrilling convening of culture in "da parish" along Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette and Arabi. Forty-three floats and 300,000 pounds of produce are coming your way. 11 am. stpatricksdayneworleans.com. •

APR 6th

PADDLE PARTY

TOP OF THE TECHE

Leonville, Louisiana

Tour du Teche—a non-profit organization organized to restore outdoor recreation along the Bayou Teche Corridor through St. Landry, St. Martin, Iberia, and St. Mary parishes—calls all paddlers to tackle the Top of the Teche, a 7.7-mile canoe race from Leonville to Arnaudville. Open to all sorts of paddle-driven watercrafts, for paddlers ages ten and up. Boat checks begin at 7 am at the Leonville Boat Launch. $30 per person. tourduteche.com for full details. •

APR 6th

DINNER TIME

FARM TO TABLE DINNER

Covington, Louisiana

Join the Covington Heritage Foundation for a night under the stars celebrating

Events

Beginning April 6th - April 8th

local culture and cuisine. The dinner features chefs Jarett & Rachel Eymard and produce by local farmers. Not only will attendees delight in locally sourced ingredients, but they'll also learn about the history of the farms during each course's preparation, as well as enjoy signature drinks like the "Bee's Knees" and other bar favorites. 7 pm–10 pm. bontempstix.com. •

APR 6th - APR 7th

ART AROUND TOWN

ART IN THE PASS

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Art in the Pass has been going strong for over two decades now as a two-day fine arts festival that overlooks the scenic beaches of Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Over one hundred artists from ten states will display and sell their work this weekend at War Memorial Park. There will also be children's activities, tasty treats, and live entertainment. Funds go towards arts education and development in local schools. Free. 10 am–5 pm on Saturday and until 4 pm Sunday. artinthepass.com. •

APR 6th - APR 27th

SEEING DOUBLE

TWIN FEST LOUISIANA

Houma, Louisiana

Celebrate twins, multiples, and the people who love them at Twin Fest Louisiana. Right in downtown Houma, relish in the fun of seeing double, with two-steps, second lines, twin trivia, baby gators, horseback rides, story times, and more. Live music will be performed by the MLK Youth Choir, Nonc Nu & Da Wild Matous, GoDJ Twin, and Soul Revival. 10 am–6 pm. Details at eftwins.com/twinfest. •

APR 7th

TEA TIME

HIGH TEA WITH THE WASHINGTON GARDEN CLUB

Washington, Louisiana

Dust off your top hats and fascinators and delight in a charming high tea experience with the Washington Garden Club at Wolff Banquet Hall in historic Washington, Louisiana. This year's theme, "Under the Big Top," promises a vintage circus ambiance complete with themed treats and elegant flare. Proceeds support the preservation of the historic St John’s Episcopal Church. 2 pm. $40. For more details, (337)945-0948. •

APR 7th

FUN FUNDRAISERS

THE SUNNY SIDE JAZZ BRUNCH

Lafayette, Louisiana

Support the Acadiana Center for the Arts with a sunny New Orleans-style jazz brunch a-la Commander's Palace or Brennan's, accompanied by the Preservation Hall All-Stars at the beautiful private home of Kip and Carolyn Schumacher. 11 am–2 pm. $250, with additional sponsorship opportunities available. acadianacenterforthearts.org. •

APR 7th

STREET TUNES

ABITA SPRINGS

BUSKER FESTIVAL

Abita Springs, Louisiana

This festival at the Abita Springs

Trailhead showcases the talents of young musicians honing their craft on Louisiana's street corners and beyond. This year's lineup of talent includes Tuba Skinny, Jackson & the Janks, and many more. The Busker Festival is jointly presented by the Abita Springs Opry and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Plenty of food, and of course Abita beer, will be available. 11 am–7 pm. Free. louisiananorthshore.com. •

APR 7th & APR 14th

SUNDAY IN THE PARK

SOULFUL SUNDAY

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Spend your Sunday afternoons on the lawn at Beauvoir Park, where local talent will take the stage for a series of family-friendly events benefitting the organization, Be Positive!—which is dedicated to nurturing and developing the next generation of Louisiana artists, chefs, and musicians. Catch Taylor Honeycutt on April 7 and Lost Bayou Ramblers on April 14. 2 pm. $10. bontempstix.com. •

APR 8th - JUL 28th

FEELING SPACEY

TAKE-OFF TO SPACE AT THE LSU MUSEUM OF ART

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

This spring the LSU Museum of Art brings the infinite vastness of space much closer to home with their two new exhibitions, Interior Space: Photographs by Roland Miller & Paolo Nespoli and Fierce Planets: Work from the Studio Art Quilt Associates Interior Space showcases stunning photographs of the International Space Station captured by Ronald Miller, while Fierce Planets features

Events

Beginning April 11th - April 12th

fiber art inspired by planetary science. Join the museum for a unique exploration of the cosmos, including these programs:

April 18 —Opening reception for Fierce Planets, featuring a panel discussion with Canadian physicist Dr. Sabine Stanley and photographer Roland Miller. 6 pm.

April 25 —Science on Tap at The Varsity: Experience a cosmic evening of science, games, and spirits at the Varsity. 7 pm. lsumoa.org. •

APR 11th - APR 14th

MUSIC FESTIVALS

FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL

New Orleans, Louisiana

The largest free music festival in the South is back to spread four days of musical performances throughout the French Quarter. Every genre is represented, from traditional and contemporary jazz, to rhythm and blues, New Orleans funk, zydeco, brass bands, folk, and gospel. Among this year's headliners are Ivan Neville, Big Freedia, and ÌFÉ. The music beckons from twenty stages, and delicious

smells waft from over fifty New Orleans restaurants and chefs selling food. Fireworks snap, crackle, and pop above the Mississippi, too. 10 am–8 pm. Free. fqfi.org. •

APR 12th - APR 14th

BOOK BONANZAS

FRIENDS OF THE JEFFERSON LIBRARY BIG BOOK SALE

Kenner, Louisiana

The Friends of the Jefferson Public Library's semi-annual book sale returns to fill the Pontchartrain Center. Over 65,000 used books will be up for grabs, including cookbooks, travel books, art books, history books, and local and regional titles. DVDs, CDs, puzzles, sheet music, audio books, and more will be on sale, too—with most items priced between fifty cents and three dollars. There will also be an auction including specialty items including a Marvel Encyclopedia and Ken Burns' book about the Civil War. 10 am–7 pm Friday–Saturday; noon–5 pm Sunday. Free. friendsofjeffersonlibrary.org. •

APR 12th - APR 14th

STITCHING MEMORIES

GULF STATES QUILTING ASSOCIATION BIENNIAL QUILT SHOW

Slidell, Louisiana

The Gulf States Quilting Association returns to Slidell's Harbor Center for its 20th biennial quilt showcase, where visitors can explore hundreds of handmade quilts, and engage with lectures and demonstrations about the art of quilting. 10 am–5 pm each day. $12 per day; $15 for a weekend pass; $5 for children younger than twelve. gulfstatesquilting.org.

To learn more about the Gulf States Quilting Association Quilt Show, read Managing Editor Jordan LaHaye Fontenot's "Perspectives" profile on Wendy Starn on page 70. •

APR 12th - APR 14th

BERRY GOOD TIMES PONCHATOULA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Celebrate the season with a strawberrystained grin at the annual Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival. Come take part in the rides, games, music, food, and of course, the finest Louisiana strawberries.

A dizzying array of events includes the Strawberry Parade Saturday morning, Strawberry Auction, and Strawberry Strut as well as carnival rides, food booths, a strawberry-eating contest, sack races, musical entertainment, pageantry, and kids' activities, all in Ponchatoula Memorial Park. Noon–11 pm Friday; 9 am–11 pm Saturday; 10 am–6 pm Sunday. Free. lastrawberryfestival.com. •

APR 12th - APR 14th

VISIONS OF VARIETALS WINE DOWN ON FALSE RIVER New Roads, Louisiana

Immerse yourself in New Roads’ distinctive small-town charm with a weekend of Napa Valley wine tastings, carefully-curated local cuisine, art, and live music—all served lakeside. A winemaker's dinner will kick off the weekend on Friday from 5:30 pm–6:30 pm at private Pointe Coupée venues. 6:30 pm–9:30 pm. $275. Saturday will include a sparkling wine experience from 5 pm–6 pm for $100, then the big event will take visitors to Main Street, where they can sample fine wines and crafted cocktails while exploring local boutiques, restaurants, and venues—each of which will feature artists and wineries from Napa. 6 pm–9 pm. $60. Tickets at bontempstix.com. Additional details at winedownfr.com. •

Barakat

IN A NEW PROJECT FROM NEW ORLEANS DRUMMER SAM SHAHIN, JAZZ MEETS MODERN ARABIC CLASSICAL TO CELEBRATE GENERATIONAL BLESSINGS THROUGH RHYTHM

By Alexandra Kennon Shahin

Editor’s note: I, the writer and editor, married Sam Shahin a couple weeks before sending this issue to print (notice the new byline?). So, on this subject, I’m about as biased as one could possibly be. That said, the rest of the editorial team agreed that this project is pretty cool, so, here we are.

Jazz, and aspirations to study it, are what initially drew Sam Shahin to New Orleans fifteen years ago. Now, the powerhouse drummer for jazz fusion band Naughty Professor (as well as countless other musical acts) is launching a project of his very own—inspired by the jazz music of his adopted home, as well as the Arabic soundscapes of his ancestral home of Lebanon.

"No matter where I’ve lived, I’ve always been drawn to New Orleans, and connected with the spirit of the city,” Shahin said. “I jumped at the opportunity to learn jazz on the drum set in the place where both were invented.”

The title of the project, Barakat, is derived from Shahin’s paternal grandmother’s, or “Sittee’s” (in Lebanese) maiden name, which is also the Arabic word for “blessings”. Shahin finds it fitting, as the project is intended to be an ode to the universal impact of family matriarchs, shared heritage, and generational blessings. The debut on April 10 at Marigny Opera House will consist of two suites of Shahin’s original music—one named for his paternal grandmother (“Sittee’s Suite”), the other named for his maternal grandmother (“Nana’s Suite”). Shahin’s compositions incorporate elements of jazz like instrumentalist solos and extended harmony, layered atop complex and hypnotic rhythms, inspired by the folk music of the Levant.

Barak at centers Shahin on the drum kit as well as other percussion like tongue drum (a round metal drum with “tongues” that is played with mallets) and darbuka (a hand drum popular throughout the Middle East). Besides Shahin, Barakat includes guitarist and international strings virtuoso Raja Kassis, emotive bassist Calvin Morin-Martin, and masterful pianist and keyboard player Sam Kuslan. Classical harpist Cassie Watson and acclaimed pianist Oscar Rossignoli will also be featured in Barakat’s premiere. While the lineup on stage promises high-energy musical captivation, Shahin hopes the audience will shape the energy of the performance, as well.

“The music of Barakat is alive, it’s breathing, it’s always capable of being shaped or nurtured not only by the performers, but by the listener,” Shahin said. “It’s not just us sharing our experience—the performance is a shared experience in and of itself.”

Barakat premieres at Marigny Opera House at 7:30 pm on April 10. Tickets are a suggested donation of $25 ($15 for students, seniors, etc.), though no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Find more information at marignyoperahouse.org.

New Orleans-based, Lebanese-American drummer Sam Shahin of Naughty Professor presents Barakat. Photo by Alexandra Kennon Shahin.

Events

Beginning April 12th - April 13th

APR 12th - APR 14th

TREASURE HUNTS

ANTIQUE FAIR & YARD SALE

Washington, Louisiana

Come to historic Washington for a chance to browse the wares of over two hundred vendors at the historic Old Schoolhouse Antique Mall—all 40,000 square feet of it. Expect plenty of food and fun, but perhaps more importantly, great bargains on a wide variety of decorative tidbits. 9 am–5 pm each day. oldschoolhouseantiquemall.com. •

APR 12th - APR 14th

FRESH CATCHES

JEAN LAFITTE SEAFOOD FESTIVAL

Jean Lafitte, Louisiana

The Jean Lafitte Seafood Festival is back again, fresher and tastier than ever. Highlights include live music, visual artists, swamp tours, kayak rentals, and of course plenty of local seafood to try. Friday gates open at 5 pm until 11:30 pm, Saturday 11 am–11:30 pm, Sunday 11 am–8 pm.

Tickets are $10 Friday; $15 Saturday and Sunday; $35 for the whole weekend. lafitteseafoodfest.com. •

APR 12th - APR 21st

ARTFUL LEGACIES

TOM PEYTON MEMORIAL ARTS FESTIVAL

Alexandria, Louisiana

For over fifty years, the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival has brought high quality arts programming and exhibits to Central Louisiana. The festival's main exhibit, hosted at the First United Methodist Church in Alexandria, features more than seventy works of art by regional artists alongside a special exhibit of artwork by Sam Corso. An opening reception and awards presentation takes place on April 12 at 6 pm. On April 13, a presentation titled The Fourth Wall will feature original music by AfricanAmerican composers accompanied by members of the Rapides Symphony Orchestra. The following weekend includes Children's Day on April 20, where local art teachers will guide students to create Van Gogh-inspired art. Exhibits are open daily from 10 am–4 pm from April 13–April 20, and from 10 am–2 pm April 21. Free. Details at fumca.org/artsfestival. •

APR 12th- MAY 30th SHAPING LEGACIES

MARJORIE MORRISON SCULPTURE BIENNIAL

Hammond, Louisiana

The Hammond Regional Arts Center will host the eighth biennial Marjorie Morrison Sculpture exhibit, celebrating the legacy of Marjorie Morrison, a dedicated arts advocate and founding member of the organization. Curated by Ryan Gianelloni, this exhibition opens with a reception from 7 pm–9 pm and continues through May, alongside Improvisational Exploration, an exhibition featuring the work of fiber artist Ange Riehl in the upstairs Mezzanine Gallery. hammondarts.org. •

APR 13th

MUSIC FESTIVALS

JUKE JOINT FESTIVAL

Clarksdale, Mississippi

For over twenty years now, "the world's biggest little blues festival" holds court, filling the tiny Delta town of Clarksdale with a huge variety of music acts, racing pigs, monkeys riding dogs, workshops, history bus tours, and much more. A host of prefestival celebrations will take place all week, but the main event is Saturday—which will center blues music on twenty two stages throughout the city and long into the night. Full schedule at jukejointfestival.com. •

APR 13th

BEARY FUN

BAYOU TECHE

BLACK BEAR FESTIVAL

Franklin, Louisiana

The annual Bayou Teche Black Bear Festival will be held on the banks of said bayou and in thoroughly historic downtown Franklin. With its focus on educating the public about the life and long-term prospects of the Louisiana Black Bear, this celebration will include birding and field trips, motorized and canoe boat outings on the bayou, an art sale, arts & crafts, food, music, nighttime fireworks, and children's activities. Suit up for the Running of the Bears 5K run/walk and Bayou Teche boat trips on Saturday, as well as live music including Blazin Cane, Johnny Chauvin and the Mojo Band, and others. 10 am–11 pm. bayoutechebearfest.org. •

APR 13th

OUT TO BRUNCH BUBBLES AND BLOOMS

Natchez, Mississippi

Magnolia Cottage invites all to their lucious gardens to enjoy springtime blooms and a light brunch while learning the history of the home and floral designing tips from John Grady Burns. 10 am–11:30 am. $40. bontempstix.com. •

Native Flora of Louisiana

Watercolor Drawings by Margaret Stones

With Botanical Descriptions by Lowell Urbatsch

LIMITED FOLIO EDITION

Praised as one of the most accomplished and celebrated botanical artists of the twentieth century, Margaret Stones established a new standard for botanical illustration during her long career. In 1975, Louisiana State University chancellor Paul W. Murrill commissioned Stones to create a series of drawings of native Louisiana plants and described the project as “a modern-day equivalent of John James Audubon’s Birds of America series.”

Treasured by gardeners, art collectors, and botanists in and out of Louisiana, this contribution to Stones’s oeuvre highlights the impressive diversity of endemic plant species in southeastern North America and on the Gulf Coast specifically. Drawn only from fresh plants gathered under the guidance of LSU professor Lowell Urbatsch, Stones’s detailed and captivating depictions remain a lasting and unprecedented study of the state’s natural beauty.

This folio edition offers, for the first time, a complete collection of Stones’s Louisiana illustrations on archival, acid-free paper with hardcover conservation binding. Paired with botanical descriptions by Urbatsch, these exceptional museum-quality reproductions of the artist’s watercolors provide intimate access to the precision and delicacy that define Stones’s mastery.

AVAILABLE AT:

11917

La (225) 245-5025

Greenwood, Mississippi, has everything you need for a perfect girls’ getaway –mind, body and soul. You can sharpen your culinary skills at the Viking Cooking School, relax and rejuvenate at the Alluvian Hotel and Spa, and indulge your cravings with soul-satisfying dinners and mountainous meringue pies at the historic Crystal Grill. There’s lots more to discover in the heart and soul of the Delta, so gather your girls and plan your escape today at visitgreenwood.com

Events

Beginning April 13th - April 18th

APR 13th

BOTTOMS UP

BASIN BREW FESTIVAL

Morgan City, Louisiana

Morgan City raises a glass to the evergrowing craft beer scene. Louisiana-based breweries will provide the suds, with tasting portions from a slew of local restaurants. The fest runs from 3 pm–6 pm on the 700 block of Front Street and Greenwood Street, with VIP entry beginning at 2 pm. Regular admission is $40; $60 VIP; $5 designated driver ticket. basinbrewfestmc.com. •

APR 13th

AIMING FOR GOOD BRSO SPORTING CLAY TOURNAMENT

Port Allen, Louisiana

Take aim, sportsmen and -women of Louisiana: the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra is bringing back its skeet shoot benefit. Shooters will be responsible for bringing their own shotgun and shells, as well as eye and ear protection. $150 per person to enter, $600 for a team of four. 8 am–1 pm. brso.org. •

APR 13th

BOIL 'EM UP CRAWFISH COOKIN' FOR A CAUSE

Mandeville, Louisiana

Crawfish Cookin' for a Cause will host its popular head-sucking fundraiser at Mandeville's Lakefront Splash Park, benefitting local families affected by catastrophic illness. Tickets are $40 in advance, which gets you ten pounds of crawfish; bags of sides are $5 each. 11 am–5 pm. crawfishcookinforacause.com. •

APR 13th

SCREEN CELEBRATIONS NEW ORLEANS FILM SOCIETY GALA

New Orleans, Louisiana

Save the date for an elegant evening at the residence of Kevin Kelly at 728 St. Charles Avenue as the New Orleans Film Society gathers to honor Bryan Batt. The event will commence with a patron party at 7 pm, followed by the gala at 8 pm. The gala will include gourmet bites and libations, live music, and a silent auction in support of independent cinema and

filmmaking in New Orleans. Tickets start at $300. gala2024.org. •

APR 13th

SEASONAL SPLENDOR SPRING FOR ART Covington,

Louisiana

This annual, free festival put on by the St. Tammany Art Association features live music, art, performance, food, and much more. 6 pm–9 pm. sttammany.art. •

APR 13th

HOT RODS

GIDDY UP & GO CAR SHOW Folsom,

Louisiana

This spring, admire a fleet's worth of classic, antique, and muscle cars; plus trucks, motorcycles, street rods, and more on display at Giddy Up Folsom— presented by Kiwanis Club of Northwest St. Tammany. The day will also include jambalaya, prizes, a 50/50 raffle, and a silent auction. 9 am–2 pm. For more information call (225) 810-8260. •

APR 13th - APR 14th

ART AROUND TOWN ARTS ALIVE 2024

Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi

Bay St. Louis's Depot Art District will come alive with color as artists,

artisans, and other vendors flock to the neighborhood. The festival features an Art & Artisan Trail, a MakerSpace demonstration area, multiple performance stages, a dessert competition, and more. 10 am–5 pm. hancockarts.org. •

APR 14th

GOOD EATS TASTE OF MID CITY

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Celebrate the culture and cuisine of Baton Rouge's Mid City neighborhood at the second annual Taste of Mid City Food Festival. The event will feature dish samples from local restaurants, all competing for the Taste of Mid City trophy, the winner of which will be decided on by attendees. There will also be live music by BR Music Studios, games and activities for the little ones, the EBRPL bookmobile, and more— all in support of Youth City Lab, a nonprofit collective serving the area’s youth. 1 pm–5 pm. $40; $10 for kids. theexecutivecenterbr.com. •

APR 14th

SEASONAL SOUNDS BATON ROUGE CONCERT BAND SPRING CONCERT

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

GEAUX SEE ART

Join the Baton Rouge Concert Band for

EXHIBITIONS

One

March 21–June 23,

Fierce Planets: Work from the Studio Art Quilt Associates

April 18–July 28, 2024

Coming Home: Geoffrey Beene–Southern Reflections

April 26–August 30, 2024

Cherished:

their 2024 Spring concert, Music of the American West, at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library Main Branch. The evening of instrumental music will take audiences through the canyons and prairies that make up the landscape of the American West, featuring musical favorites from “Dances with Wolves” to “Sunrise at Angel’s Gate". 5 pm. Free. brcb.org. •

APR 14th

HORSING AROUND

AZALEA POLO CLASSIC 2024

Saint Francisville, Louisiana

The Azalea Polo Classic, the West Feliciana Historical Society's premier fundraiser, returns for another year of live music, craft cocktails, and specialty hors d'œuvres while enjoying a professional polo match by the New Orleans Polo Club at the West Feliciana Parish Sports Park. With Maker’s Mark returning as a sponsor and Veuve Clicquot joining the team, this year's event promises to be more exquisite than ever before. 2 pm–5 pm. $125. azaleapoloclassic.com. •

APR 14th

LINK UP

SCOTT BOUDIN FESTIVAL

Scott, Louisiana

It's the annual event that celebrates the best rice-and-meat-stuffed concoction on any side of the Mississippi—and arguably, no place does it better than Scott. Don't miss three days of live music and the chance to eat boudin both competitively and casually. Lots more, too—including arts and crafts, fireworks, and Cajun and Zydeco dance lessons. This year's musical lineup includes performances by Keith Frank, Wayne Toups, Chubby Carrier, Chris Ardoin, and many more. 5 pm–1 am Friday; 10 am–1 am Saturday; 9 am–6:30 pm Sunday. $5 Friday and Sunday; $10 Saturday. scottboudinfestival.com for details. •

APR 15th - AUG 30th

INSPIRING VERSES

FOR THERE IS ALWAYS LIGHT:

THE WYATT HOUSTON DAY COLLECTION OF POETRY AT LSU Baton Rouge, Louisiana

LSU Libraries Special Collections presents

For There is Always Light: The Wyatt Houston Day Collection of Poetry by African Americans this spring, opening during National Poetry Month. Featuring over 800 titles, the collection includes works by renowned poets such as Phillis Wheatley, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and more, spanning significant cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement. This free exhibition offers a unique opportunity to explore timeless poetry that continues to resonate with modern audiences, highlighting the

richness and diversity of African American literary heritage. Hours at lib.lsu.edu. •

APR 17th

LOCAL HEROES CHAMPIONS FOR CHILDREN AWARDS BREAKFAST

Mandeville, Louisiana

At the Fleur De Lis Event Center in Mandeville, Children's Advocacy Center-Hope House will recognize seven everyday heroes in the Northshore community—ranging from first responders, to judges, to students, and beyond. 7:30 am–9:30 am. $30. cachopehouse.org. •

APR 17th

CONTEMPORARY JAZZ LAWRENCE SIEBERTH AND ESTRELLA BANDA

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Alvin Batiste Jazz Society presents Lawrence Sieberth's Estrella Banda at the Cary Saurage Community Arts Center. Join Sieberth and a stellar lineup of musicians for an exploration of his original compositions in the Latin music tradition. Lawrence Sieberth, a versatile pianist, composer, and producer, showcases his extensive musical repertoire, blending jazz, classical, and world music influences. 7:30 pm–9 pm. $20. bontempstix.com. •

APR 18th

PRE-PARTIES

MUSICIANS' FÊTE

Port Allen, Louisiana

Join the West Baton Rouge Museum, in collaboration with the Baton Rouge Blues Festival and Foundation and WRKF, for the launch of Musicians' Fête, the pre-event for the Baton Rouge Blues Fest which aims to promote and preserve the rich cultural tradition of musicians in the community. The day starts at noon with a luncheon provided by Neal’s Soul Food, and will be followed by an afternoon of impromptu jams, speakers, networking opportunities, and a resource

Events

Beginning April 18th - April 19th

fair including legal and business advice. The fête will conclude at 6 pm featuring an interview with Nick Spitzer and a live performance by bluesman Lil' Ray Neal. Free. westbatonrougemuseum.org. •

APR 18th - APR 20th

GREEN THUMBS

BIEDENHARN GARDEN SYMPOSIUM

Monroe, Louisiana

The Biedenharn Museum & Gardens will host gardeners—both amateur and professional—for its annual symposium and plant sale. Speakers will address topics such as choosing local plants versus imports, applying sustainable forestry, and more. Plus, there'll be a speakers' reception the evening before on April 18 at 5 pm ($35 per person), and a plant sale on April 20 from 8:30 am–1 pm. Symposium $75, plant sale is free. 9 am–3 pm. bmuseum.org. •

APR 19th

OPERATIC AFFAIRS

MAD HATTER'S LUNCHEON

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Women's Guild of the New Orleans

Opera Association once again presents the Mad Hatter’s Luncheon, benefitting the New Orleans Opera. Festivities include a fashion show by SOSUSU Boutique, silent and live auctions, food catered by Dickie Brennan, and of course the Mad Hatter and friends. Hats are optional, but always encouraged. Patron party starts at 10 am, luncheon starts at 11 am at the Audubon Tea Room. $150. neworleansopera.org. •

APR 19th

BOOKS & BITES

ARNAUDVILLE POTLUCK AND OPEN MIC: GUMBO

Arnaudville, Louisiana

Celebrate the release of longtime Country Roads contributor Jonathan Olivier 's new book for LSU Press's Louisiana True series, Gumbo, at the Arnaudville Potluck and Open Mic in NUNU's white box space. In addition to a reading and book signing with Olivier, hear fascinating tidbits from sassafras forager and filé expert Dustin Fuqua, author and illustrator of the children's book Gumbo Weather Mary Beth Broussard and Paul Schexnyder, and

poems about gumbo from Stephanie Pitre and Alecia Lewis. And if all that talk about gumbo makes you hungry, gumbo will be available for a suggested donation of $5. 6 pm–8:30 pm. nunucollective.org. •

APR 19th

MUSICAL LEGACIES MANSHIP THEATRE PRESENTS

LAYLA MUSSELWHITE AND JIMMY ROBINSON

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Layla Musselwhite, a New Orleans singer-songwriter and guitarist influenced by blues legends like her father, Charlie Musselwhite, is set to perform alongside Jimmy Robinson at the Manship Theatre. The night will pay homage to the blues tradition through songs playedin the styles of rhythm & blues, bluesrock, folk, and soul. 8 pm. $30–$50. manshiptheatre.org. •

APR 19th - APR 20th BIRD BRAINED THE GRAND ISLE MIGRATORY BIRD CELEBRATION

Grand Isle, Louisiana

Every April since 1998, during the height of spring migration, the Grand Isle Sanctuary Group has hosted The Grand Isle Migratory Bird Celebration,

when the protected pockets around Grand Isle will become the educational playground of bird lovers who will flock to the area, binoculars in hand, to explore the chenieres via kayak and boat tours, attend educational workshops on bird banding and native plant identification, take in local history, peruse local artwork, and otherwise enjoy all nature has to offer. 1 pm–7:30 pm Friday; 7 am–5 pm Saturday. Most events are free. Agendas, maps, accommodations, and directions are available at townofgrandisle.com. •

APR 19th - APR 21st

MUDBUGS CRAWFISH MUSIC FESTIVAL Biloxi, Mississippi

Head to the Gulf Coast for a coveted crawfish-centered celebration at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum, and stay for a perfectly-spiced weekend of great talent, carnival rides, artist vendors, contest,s giveaways, and—of course—heaps of crawfish. Bring your appetite, 'cause the mudbugs here aren't just boiled, they're fried, pied, smoked, smothered, and more. Daily tickets start at $25. This year, the music lineup includes Warren Zeiders, Charley Crockett, Chase Rice, and others. Starts at 5 pm Friday night; 1 pm Saturday and Sunday. mscoastcoliseum.com. •

En Plein Air

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF DRAWING LOUISIANA’S LANDSCAPE PAINTERS TO ABITA SPRINGS

By Alexandra Kennon Shahin

Each April, for fifteen years this spring, landscape artists from across Louisiana and beyond pack their cars with canvases and head to the Northshore charmer of Abita Springs. For the En Plein Air Festival’s fifteenth anniversary, around twenty-five artists will present close to seventy-five landscapes they’ve already painted from life while immersed in nature in Abita Springs and surrounding St. Tammany Parish. The works—all newly painted in the last year, some still bearing wet paint—will be displayed and sold at the Abita Springs Trailhead Museum, making up the annual exhibition overseen by Abitabased architect and art collector Ron Blitch.

A mong t he more than two dozen artists contributing their paintings of the Northshore’s most pastoral vignettes are talented veterans including Louis Morales, Mary Monk, Auseklis Ozols, Claude Ellender, Phil Sandusky, Diego Larguia, Peg Usner, John Preble, Julia Rubin, Alan Flattmann, Hal Wilke, David Blackwell, Sabrina Evans Schmidt, Andrew Liles, Joshua Duncan, and Nancy Charpentier. Prolific Louisiana landscape painter Carol Hallock has been returning to Abita Springs for close to a decade for the event, and anticipates it with excitement each Spring.

“I look forward every year to this show. I wait each spring for the first hints of lime green leaves. I know I need to start painting right away then, as these fresh colors last only a week,” Hallock explained. “Next up are the gorgeous azealeas to paint.” St. Tammany’s many scenic waterways are also included among the painters’ favorite subjects.

The plei n air process of painting directly from life, according to Hallock, takes on an entirely different dynamic than painting from a photograph, giving the exhibition a depth and organic spirit that reflects

the artist’s eye.

“A plei n air painting is painted outside from life. It can say so much more than a painting from a photo,” Hallock said. “Photos have sharp lines that flatten the scene, but in real life these lines are not sharp, but actually much softer. The softer lines are much more realistic and the painting will ‘talk’ more as we paint what we see rather than what a photo sees.”

Th e Abita En Plein Air exhibit will open at the Abita Springs Trailhead Museum with an artist reception April 12 from 6 pm–9 pm, and will remain on display Saturday, April 13 from 10 am–4 pm and Sunday, April 14 from 10 am–2 pm. Paintings will be available for purchase, with thirty percent of proceeds going to support the Trailhead Museum.

A new painting Carol Hallock is submitting to the 2024 festival, titled, "Street View En Plein Air," on linen. Courtesy of the aritist.

Events

Beginning April 19th - April 20th

APR 19th - APR 21st

MUSIC FESTIVALS

BATON ROUGE BLUES FESTIVAL

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Originating in 1981, the Baton Rouge Blues Festival is one of the oldest free blues festivals in America and exists to encourage promotion, preservation, and advancement of Baton Rouge's native Swamp Blues music. This free, family-friendly festival features an impressive lineup of internationallyrecognized performers and local blues legends alike, including Kenny Neal, the Michael Foster Project, Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor, Lil' Jimmy Reed, Smokehouse Porter & Miss Mamie, Louis Michot, Jonathan Boogie Long, and more. Held at Repentance Park and Galvez Plaza. Free. batonrougebluesfestival.org. •

APR 19th - APR 21st

¡OLE!

EL FESTIVAL ESPAÑOL DE NUEVA IBERIA

New Iberia, Louisiana

This celebration of New Iberia's Spanish

roots returns for its tenth anniversary, offering events and activities around the town's central Bouligny Plaza. The festivities begin Friday with the blessing of the crochet ceiling in Church Alley and a re-enactment of the Spanish arrival. On Saturday, be sure to catch the "Running of the Bull’s" dogfriendly 5K/1 Mile Fun Run, a Founding Families Parade, a paella cooking (and eating) contest, carnival rides, and more. On Sunday, all are invited to attended a mass of Thanksgiving at St. Peter's Catholic Church, in honor of New Iberia’s founding families. 5 pm–11:30 pm Friday, 6:30 am–11 pm Saturday, and 10:30 am–5 pm Sunday. Free. newiberiaspanishfestival.com. •

APR 20th

SEASONAL

CELEBRATIONS

MONCUS PARK'S SPRINGFEST Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Soak in the high spring sunlight at Moncus Park's Springfest—where the weekly farmer's market will be expanded, with even more delicious food, yoga, games, park tours, and educational lectures. With performances by the weekly Cajun Jam and the Swampland String Band, the day will feature all the

On April 6 and 7, artists will be stretched as far as the eye can see along the scenic Gulf Coast beaches of Pass Christian, Mississippi, during Art in the Pass. Proceeds from the event held at War Memorial Park go toward funding arts education in schools. See listing on page 14 for more information. Image courtesy of Art in the Pass.

best of the Lafayette community. Free. 8 am–2 pm. moncuspark.org. •

APR 20th

MEALS ON WHEELS FOOD TRUCK FIESTA

Denham Springs, Louisiana

Denham Springs Main Street invites you to their Food Truck Fiesta, featuring a wide variety of local food trucks, ranging from savory to sweet. 10 am–3 pm at Old City Hall. Details at the Denham Springs Main Street Facebook page. •

APR 20th

PEEL & SUCK ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT CRAWFISH COOK-OFF

Slidell, Louisiana

This 40,000-pound crawfish feast hosted by the Hospice Foundation of the South was once considered the largest one-day event on the Northshore. Over fifty teams will be boiling in Fritchie Park, and guests will have access to as much as they can eat. Look forward to entertainment by Rock Kandy, Lost Bayou Ramblers, and New Orleans Nightcrawlers. 11 am–6 pm. Admission for ages thirteen and older is $35 in advance; $40 at the gate. Other food

APR 20th

MUSIC FESTIVALS

THIS IS HOME FEST

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Folks will flock into the 1000 block of Ryan Street in downtown Lake Charles, all in the name of celebrating the rich culture and music of Southwest Louisiana. Conceived as a way to infuse hope and life into the Southwest Louisiana community after COVID-19 and a series of devastating hurricanes, the This is Home Festival reminds local residents of all the reasons they keep coming back through the arts. This year's headliners include Big Sam's Funky Nation, Rusty Metoyer and the Zydeco Krush, Bon Bon Vivant, Maggie Koerner, and more. Free. Noon–10 pm. thisishomefest.com. •

APR 20th

RUBBER & STEEL MORGANZA CAR SHOW

Morganza, Louisiana

Vintage cars will be out in droves at the Old Morganza High School this weekend. Besides the cars, there will be live music, food, and drinks available— with proceeds supporting Tunnel to Towers, a nonprofit that benefits Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children. 10 am–3 pm.

Free, car registration available for $30 at bontempstix.com. •

APR 20th

DANCING THROUGH LIFE GRAND ECHAPPÉ

Mandeville, Louisiana

Join St. Tammany's Ballet Apetrei for its annual fundraising celebration, the Grande Echappé, at the Ballet Apetrei studio in Mandeville. Visitors will be treated to a silent auction, live music, performances, a specialty cocktail, and hors d'oeuvres. 7 pm–10 pm. $40 at bontempstix.com. •

APR 20th

SEA-SONAL FUN MARITIME MUSIC & ART FESTIVAL

Madisonville, Louisiana

Support the Maritime Museum Louisiana at the third annual Music & Art Festival, a lively family-friendly event with live music, scrumptious food offerings, and vendor booths featuring local work by regional artists. The fun starts at 10 am with music by the Brass Hearts Brass Band and will continue until 10 pm with performances by The Blenderz, Few Blue, Chase Tyler Band, Todd O'Neill, and Four Unplugged closing the show. $20. Free entry for kids twelve and under. maritimemuseumlouisiana.org. •

APR 20th

PLAID PARTIES

SCOTTISH TARTAN FESTIVAL Minden, Louisiana

Those with Scottish heritage (or anyone who likes plaid and Scotch eggs), are invited to visit Minden this spring. For the annual Scottish Tartan Festival, expect Scottish highland dancing, demonstrations ranging from blacksmithing to flintknapping to learning the Gaelic Language, a dog show, a children's area, Great Raft Beer, and lots of other Scottish medieval fun. 10 am–7 pm. $10 adults, children ages six through eleven $5, children under five free. louisianahighlands.scot. •

APR 20th

PADDLE PARTIES

GULF COAST DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

Gulfport, Mississippi

Head to the Dock Bar & Grill for the Gulf Coast Dragon Boat Festival, a two-thousand year old Chinese tradition, where teams of twenty paddlers work in unison to propel a 46-footlong boat as fast as possible. Join the festival and support the United Way of South Mississippi. Races start at 8 am. unitedwaysms.org. •

Events

Beginning April 20th

APR 20th

TWO-WHEELED TRICKS

LOUISIANA BICYCLE FESTIVAL

Abita Springs, Louisiana

Each year, bike enthusiasts take over the tiny town of Abita Springs during this day-long festival to see and show antique and creative custom bikes, and even catch a parade. There's a bike flea market, Tammany Trace cruise, and plenty of contests and prizes for two-wheeled tricks. Live music and festival food, too, at a bike fest that the web-zine Bike Ride & Custom declared “the biggest custom bike festival in the United States.” The festival cycles town-wide, but cyclists gather at the Trailhead from 9 am–5 pm. Free. louisiananorthshore.com. •

APR 20th

CONTEMPORARY DANCE PARSONS DANCE WITH THE ALLEN TOUSSAINT ORCHESTRA

New Orleans, Louisiana

The New Orleans Ballet Association is putting a bow in its 2023-24 season with a collaboration between renowned contemporary dance company Parsons

Dance and The Allen Toussaint Orchestra, performed at the Mahalia Jackson Theater. Led by Artistic Director David Parsons, Parsons Dance will mesmerize audiences with their famously high-energy choreography, including multiple signature works, alongside the very New Orleans accompaniment of Reginald Toussaint and The Allen Toussaint Orchestra, who will incorporate and celebrate the music of the iconic New Orleans songwriter, pianist, and singer—with a special grand finale that marks the tenth anniversary of Parsons' acclaimed work Whirlaway, performed to Toussaint's greatest hits. 7:30 pm. $35, with senior and student discounts available, at nobadance.com. •

APR 20th

PEEL PARTIES CRAWFEST

New Orleans, Louisiana

Did you go to a college where they dumped eighteen thousand pounds of crawfish in the quad each spring? No? Then be on campus when Tulane

better with friends

University hosts its annual Crawfest celebration of mudbugs and music. New Orleans's venerable seat of learning lets down its gown for a day, presenting boiled crawfish by the ton and served up alongside live music by The Main Squeeze, J & the Causeways, Mapache, Easy Honey, IKO Allstars, Vale ULB, the Roots of Music, and the Lowerline. Plenty of food vendors and local artists displaying, too. 11 am–7 pm on the Berger Family Lawn. Free for Tulane students or children twelve or younger; $20 otherwise. crawfest.tulane.edu. •

APR 20th - APR 21st

FAIRYTALES IN DANCE BRBT PRESENTS CINDERELLA Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre concludes its near five-decade era under the artistic direction of Molly Buchmann and Sharon Mathews by unleashing their magic and grace upon the River Center stage in the classic ballet Cinderella . A show sparkling with childhood charm, a dreamlike score, and mesmerizing movement, Cinderella is sure to excite audiences of every age. 2 pm. Tickets are $27–$47 and can be purchased online, at the River Center Box Office, or at batonrougeballet.org.

Read more about the production's significance as Buchmann and Mathews' final performance in Jordan LaHaye Fontenot's story on page 8. •

APR 20th - APR 21st

GET CRAFTY

MELROSE ARTS & CRAFTS FESTIVAL

Natchitoches, Louisiana

Every spring, Melrose Plantation hosts an Arts & Crafts Festival, the longestrunning of its kind in the state. This two-day event, sponsored by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, presents local artists, handmade items for your home and yard, art, flowers, local food, and live music. Melrose’s festival focuses on presenting artisans who demonstrate their crafts, so that festival-goers can get a firsthand look at the artistic process in action.

Saturday 9 am–5 pm; Sunday 10 am–4 pm. Admission $5, $2 children six to twelve, free for kids five and younger. melroseplantation.org. •

APR 20th - APR 21st

GARDEN(ING) PARTIES

SPRING GARDEN FESTIVAL Destrehan, Louisiana

Destrehan Plantation has partnered with the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Master Gardeners to present a showcase

For life’s moments, big and small. We’re here with the strength of the cross, the protection of the shield. The Right Card. The Right Care.

BATON ROUGE BLUES FESTIVAL

APRIL 19-21 | FREE TO ATTEND

FOUR STAGES | ART & FOOD VENDORS | KIDS ACTIVITY AREA

JOIN US IN DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE! BRBLUES.ORG

VIP PASSES AVAILABLE!

FRIDAY EVENING: KENNY NEAL

LAYLA MUSSELWHITE: A TICKETED PERFORMANCE AT THE MANSHIP THEATRE PRESENTED BY THE BATON ROUGE BLUES FEST

SATURDAY: BLACK JOE LEWIS

CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE & ELVIN BISHOP

JANIVA MAGNESS | GA-20 | LIL’ RAY NEAL

ROBERT KIMBROUGH | HENRY TURNER JR. & FLAVOR | HANNA PK

MICHAEL FOSTER PROJECT: TRIBUTE TO ERNEST JACKSON & JO MONK

JIMI PRIMETIME SMITH & BOB CORRITORE:

TRIBUTE TO HENRY GRAY | ALABASTER STAG | JOVIN WEBB

FLORIDA STREET BLOWHARDS | RAMBLE PREAMBLE | IZZY AND THE FUNKY PACK

SUNDAY: JACKIE VENSON

ELI PAPERBOY REED | ALLY VENABLE

NIKKI HILL | LIL’ JIMMY REED | D.K. HARRELL

THE CHRIS LEBLANC BAND | JONATHON BOOGIE LONG

SMOKEHOUSE PORTER & MISS MAMIE | LOUIS MICHOT

CURLEY TAYLOR & ZYDECO TROUBLE

THEBROSFRESH | THE CIRCUIT BREAKERS | BLUES AFTER SCHOOL

Events

Beginning April 20th - April 23rd

of local plant nurseries and vendors, focusing on porch, patio, yard, and garden. Attendees can take advantage of educational seminars and exhibits and opportunities to interact with and support local business owners in the gardening sphere. Children will be kept busy at the activity tent, with various arts and crafts, beekeeping demos and gardening demos. There will also be live musical entertainment from Megan Kwiatkowski, The NOLA Dukes Quartet, and Peyton Falgoust. 10 am–4 pm each day. $5 admission; free for children younger than six. destrehanplantation.org. •

APR 20th - APR 21st

GET GROWING

SPRING FLING PLANT SALE

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Your garden's winter blues (well, browns) don't stand a chance against Hilltop

from grasses to trees and everything in between. 9 am–4 pm Saturday, noon–4 pm Sunday. Free. lsu.edu/hilltop. •

APR 20th - APR 21st

FLEA MARKET FINDS ANTIQUES AND UNIQUES FESTIVAL Covington, Louisiana

Two days of pure, unabashed eclecticism await: antique furnishings, period collectibles, random knick-knacks, and adorable hats. The Covington Heritage Foundation's juried, free Antiques & Uniques Festival is back again, featuring over fifty vendors selling locally-made fine art, antiques, architectural salvage, period collectables, food, and much more. 10 am–5 pm Saturday and Sunday at the Covington Trailhead. Free. covingtonheritagefoundation.com. •

th st

celebrate the bursting spring flowers in Natchez. Professional florists and gardeners among other green-thumbed celebrities including Missisippi's "Gestalt Gardener" Felder Rushing will be present for presentations, arrangements, auctions, parties, and more. The reception ($30) will be at Choctaw Hall on Saturday at 6:30 pm; and the main event ($50) will take place Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church Educational Building from 1 pm–5 pm. Details at at yallmeansallnatchez.org. •

APR 21st

LOCAL ART LOUISIANA SCENIC RIVERS ART FESTIVAL Folsom, Louisiana

The Folsom Scenic Rivers Art Festival returns for another year to the Far Horizons Collective at Giddy Up Folsom. Those who attend will enjoy discovering local art from Louisiana craftsmen and women—with everything from paintings, drawings, and photography to ceramics, fine

APR 22nd

MUSIC AND NATURE SWING IN THE OAKS

New Orleans, Louisiana

Join the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra for New Orleans City Park's annual outdoor concert, featuring favorite musical classics and special performances by LPO Academy students. Bring lawn chairs, food, and refreshments, and enjoy a program of familiar musical favorites from past and present. 5:45 pm. Free. lpomusic.com. •

APR 23rd

SHINING STARS

BRIGHT LIGHTS AWARD DINNER

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Celebrate venerated Louisiana saxophonist, composer, photographer, and painter Richard “Dickie” Landry, who was named the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ 2024 Humanist of the Year at the Bright Lights Awards Dinner at the Capitol Park Museum, hosted by the LEH and Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. Besides Landry, Ben Johnson and Linda

Events

Beginning April 24th - April 25th

APR 24th OVERTURES

JAZZ & HERITAGE GALA

New Orleans, Louisiana

Join the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation for its annual Jazz & Heritage Gala, a night to kick off Jazz Fest with musical guests—this year celebrating innovative fusions of New Orleans and Colombian cultural and culinary connections and benefitting the Foundation's Don "Moose" Jamison Heritage School of Music. Musical guests this year include Gregorio Uribe, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Los Cumbia Stars. 7 pm–10 pm (pre-party starts at 6 pm). $500. jazzandheritage.org. •

APR 24th - APR 27th

LIFE IS A HIGHWAY JEFFERSON HIGHWAY CONFERENCE

Alexandria, Louisiana

The Jefferson Highway Association gathers for its 2024 annual conference, held this year at the Historic Bentley Hotel. Over the course of the week attendees can expect a bus tour of Avoyelles Parish, evening

awards banquet, speakers including Cece Otto, Stephanie Stuckey, and Jay Dardenne, trolley tours, a 1920's-themed festival, and more. Ticket prices vary per event, register at jeffersonhighway.org.

Read more about the history of the Jefferson Highway, and this year's festival, in Cheré Coen's story on page 56. •

APR 24th - APR 28th

WORLD, MEET LAFAYETTE FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL DE LOUISIANE

Lafayette, Louisiana

Anyone looking for a reason to feel proud to be a Louisianian need only make plans to be in downtown Lafayette when this beloved festival returns in full-force, bringing artists from countries the world over—with an emphasis on the Francophone diaspora. Music, visual arts, theatre, dance, and cuisine combine into a melting pot that celebrates the common threads that bind their cultures and Louisiana's own artistic expressions together. "Festival," as it is simply called by the locals, transforms downtown Lafayette into an entertainment complex

with many music stages presenting local, international, and emerging musicians; food court areas, street musicians, and animators; arts & crafts boutiques; art galleries; cultural workshops; and a world music store. As usual, scores of bands are coming from all corners of the globe, and plenty of Louisiana greats are there to make things complete. Free. festivalinternational.org. •

APR 24th - APR 28th

"YES, AND..." BATON ROUGE IMPROV FESTIVAL Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Meet comedy professionals and amateurs of all ages in stand-up competitions, improv shows, talks, workshops and more. Held at the LSU Music and Dramatic Arts Building and Greek Theater, the Baton Rouge Improv Festival is dedicated to spreading joy, laughter, and learning in the Baton Rouge community. For full schedule and tickets, visit batonrougeimprovfest.com. •

APR 25th

AUX NATURALE

CITY NATURE CHALLENGE

Statewide, Louisiana

Get ready to help put Louisiana on the

map during the four-day international nature competition—which involves identifying trees, shrubs, birds, and other flora and fauna. Participants need only seek out the wildlife in their area—birds, insects, or plants—and snap a picture. Upload your observations to inaturalist. org to the iNaturalist mobile app to be added to the competition, representing competing cities: Baton Rouge, Southwest Louisiana, and New Orleans. By playing, participants are gathering open-source data that helps local agencies and research scientists. More information at citynaturechallenge.org. •

APR 25th

LOCAL CELEBRITIES

LOUISIANA LEGENDS GALA Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Friends of Louisiana Public Broadcasting continue their annual tradition of honoring Louisianans who have distinguished themselves in fields such as performing arts, public service, and athletics. This year's Louisiana Legends Gala at the Old State Capitol will honor former governor John Bel Edwards and his wife Donna, retired Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson,

retired Assistant Athletics Director for Football Operations at LSU Sam Nader, award-winning actor Wendell Pierce, and LSU baseball national champion Todd Walker. 6 pm. Tickets and more information at lpb.org. •

25th - APR 26th LOOKING FORWARD 2024 LOUISIANA SMART GROWTH SUMMIT

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Mark your calendars for the eighteenthannual Louisiana Smart Growth Summit, happening at the Manship Theatre. This premier planning conference brings together a diverse range of experts and stakeholders to explore how planning decisions impact communities. With a focus on "Planning is Personal: Putting People First," this year's summit aims to inspire innovative strategies for creating healthier, more resilient, and equitable communities. Keynote speaker Kona Gray, alongside panel discussions and interactive sessions, will discuss pressing topics such as climate action, housing challenges, and placemaking policy. Early bird tickets are $300. To view the Summit agenda, speakers, topics, and schedule, visit summit.cpex.org. •

APR 25th - MAY 5th

MEET ME AT THE GOSPEL TENT

NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL

New Orleans, Louisiana

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is the city's hallmark, famous for immersing the country's most powerful entertainers in the city of New Orleans's incomparable musical legacy. This year's festival is headlined by the much-anticipated Rolling Stones (sadly, already sold-out)—not to mention Foo Fighters, Hozier, Queen Latifah, Chris Stapleton, The Killers, Anderson.Paak, and scores more of the nation's biggest performers. But we all know that Jazz Fest isn’t just about big names, as there are hundreds of other closer-to-home musicians and bands on the schedule, each bringing their unique style and following. In addition to the music, happening simultaneously on multiple stages, the Heritage Fair offers its lip-smacking array of food, as well as contemporary and folk crafts. Numerous areas highlight Louisiana’s diverse influences, including the Congo Square African Marketplace, the Contemporary Crafts area, and Louisiana Marketplace. Festival parades, starring brass bands and marching clubs, begin and end in Heritage Square. Everything happens

The Books Along the Teche Literary Festival celebrates the literary legacy of Dave Robicheaux, along with authors and books from across the South, with three days of presentations, panels, a James Lee Burke Symposium, tours, parties, and more. This year's "Great Southern Author" is Natalie Baszile, author of Queen Sugar. Image courtesy of the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival. See listing on page 12 for more details.

Events

Beginning April 26th - April 27th

at the New Orleans Fairgrounds. Single day advance tickets start at $95; gate price $105; weekend packages $320 for Weekend 1 and $270 for weekend 2. VIP and travel package options also available. nojazzfest.com. •

APR 26th

SUPPER IN THE GARDENS

AN EVENING AT WINDRUSH

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The LSU Rural Life Museum presents an elegant Southern supper at Windrush Gardens, designed by Steele Burden in appreciation of the gardens of Europe and Louisiana in the nineteenth-century. Guests will enjoy cocktails and music in Windrush Gardens followed by a seated supper by Chef John Folse and desserts and coffee on the museum grounds. 6:30 pm–9 pm. $175 per person. bontempstix.com. •

APR 26th - APR 27th

TREE TIME

LOUISIANA FOREST FESTIVAL

Winnfield, Louisiana

At the annual Louisiana Forest Festival,

aspiring lumberjacks will find their heaven. With chopping and chainsawing galore, this almost fifty-year-old festival salutes the Louisiana timber industry with verve. Attendees can learn more about this history through demonstrations of bear hollow carving, lumbersport competitions, a rodeo, and a crawfish cook-off—as well as excellent food and live music by The Dukes of Country, Spencer Brunson, and Clifton Swamp Band. 6 pm–10 pm Wednesday–Friday; 5 pm–10 pm Saturday. Ticket prices and details at laforestfestival.com. •

APR 26th - APR 27th

ART AROUND TOWN

OXFORD DOUBLE DECKER

ARTS FESTIVAL

Oxford, Mississippi

Each April, the town of Oxford, Mississippi comes alive with visual arts, live music, regional food, and other cultural delicacies. It's all for the Double Decker Arts Festival— this year's features former lead vocalist and songwriter of Alabama Shakes Brittany Howard as headliner. Find the lineup and schedule at doubledeckerfestival.com. •

APR 26th - APR 28th

FRESH CATCHES

PLAQUEMINES PARISH

SEAFOOD FESTIVAL

Belle Chasse, Louisiana

Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival-goers get to feast on fresh Gulf Coast seafood, bow down before the Seafood Queen, peruse crafts from local artisans, watch the big oyster drop, enjoy some favorite carnival games and rides, and take in an eclectic mix of local music—this year including R&R Smokin' Foundation, Nashville South, and Rockin' Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters. Gates open Friday from 6 pm–10:30 pm, Saturday from 11:30 am–10:30 pm, and Sunday from 11:30 am–8:30 pm. Admission free on Friday, on Saturday and Sunday $5 for adults and free for children. plaqueminesparishfestival.com. •

APR 26th - APR 28th

ITALY GOES TO TICKFAW

THE ITALIAN FESTIVAL

Tickfaw, Louisiana

Combine the Louisiana parade tradition with the Italian pasta tradition (meatball toss and all), add in some classic small-town festival fare and a Saturday parade, and you've got the Italian Festival in Tickfaw. With live music from Clifton Brown & the Rusty

Bucket Band, Ryan Foret & Foret Tradition, Peyton Falgoust, and more. 5 pm–11 pm Friday; 10 am–11 pm Saturday; and 10 am–6 pm Sunday. theitalianfestivalorg.com. •

APR 26th - APR 28th

SPICE & RICE

ARNAUDVILLE ÉTOUFFÉE FESTIVAL

Arnaudville, Louisiana

Over forty years young, this annual affair at the Little Flower Auditorium occasions the creation (and consumption) of all sorts of étouffée, then adds in friendly rivalry, children's activities, and antique shopping. Live music will be performed by the likes of Matt James & the Southern Drifters, Jamie Bergeron & the Kickin' Cajuns, Corey Ledet & his Zydeco Band, and Dustin Sonnier & the Wanted. 5 pm–midnight Friday; noon–midnight Saturday; 12:30 pm–5 pm Sunday. Free. arnaudvillecatholic.org. •

APR 26th - AUG 30th

DESIGNING LEGACIES COMING HOME: GEOFFREY

BEENE—SOUTHERN REFLECTIONS AT LSUMOA

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

A son of Haynesville, Louisiana, Geoffrey Beene has made unparalleled

contributions to American fashion. LSU Museum of Art's new exhibit celebrates Beene's legacy through selections from the collection of Sylvia R. Karasu, MD, at the LSU Museum of Art. As part of a dual retrospective honoring Beene's 100th birthday, this showcase invites all to pay homage to the timeless elegance of his designs. lsumoa.org. •

APR 27th

HISTORIC PRIDE

COMMUNITY HISTORY FESTIVAL

Pride, Louisiana

The Pride-Chaneyville Branch of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library hosts this community history festival for the fourteenth year. This year's theme is "High School Reunion." Activities include bingo, trivia, scavenger hunts, line dancing, carnival games, DIY time capsules, and much more. There will also be a marketplace with a variety of local vendors. The Louisiana Lagniappe Dulcimers and the Upbeats will provide music, and once an hour it's time for the old-fashioned Cake Walk. 10 am–1:30 pm. ebrpl.com. •

APR 27th

EARTH DAY

SWEET TEA AND FREE TREES

Pearl River, Louisiana

Join the Pearl River & Honey Island

Museum and Research Center for this Earth Day celebration. They'll send you home with a belly of delicious tea and a free tree. Enjoy live music, interactive booths, vendors, and activities like rock painting and kids' storytime. Admission is free, but you can purchase a $5 souvenir jar to sample teas and support the center. Details at the Pearl River & Honey Island Swamp Museum and Research Center's Facebook page. •

APR 27th

BIRDS OF AMERICA

AUDUBON DAY AT LSU LIBRARIES

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

You know what they say about "birds of a feather," so flock together with other birdlovers at LSU’s Hill Memorial Library for Audubon Day, which will include a viewing of John James Audubon's Birds of America folios, and more. Free, but registration is required for different onehour time slots to view the folios between 10 am and 2 pm at lib.lsu.edu. •

APR 27th

BAYOU BASH BAYOU VERMILION PADDLE BATTLE

Lafayette, Louisiana

The area's most devoted paddlers will

prove themselves during this race along thirty-five miles of Bayou Vermilion, which is the second race in the Louisiana Triple Crown that concludes with the Tour du Teche. Even if you aren't up for the full competitive thirtyfive miles, you can opt to participate in the twelve-mile "litter critter" competition to see which team can clear the most litter, or just enjoy an easier twelve-mile paddle. Spectating makes for a good time, too. Registration starts at $40 and begins at 7 am, race starts at 8 am. Details at latrail.org. •

APR 27th

REAL-LIFE HOEDOWN FAIS DO-DONATE

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Get on your jewels, jeans, and cowboy boots for the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency's 2024 Fais DoDonate fundraiser at Live Oak Arabians. Dance the night away to live music by the Hayride Band accompanied by an open bar and delectable food. All proceeds will benefit the LOPA Foundation, supporting organ, tissue, and eye donation education, community outreach, and ongoing support programs. 6 pm–10 pm. Tickets start at $100. Contact Dori Orr at (504) 8373355 for more information. •

APR 27th

GOOD TIMES & CAUSES

AUTISM AWARENESS

FAMILY FUN DAY

Opelousas, Louisiana

Make a meaningful and lasting impact on individuals with autism and their families at the Talon Jace Foundation's tenth anniversary Autism Awareness Family Fun Day. This year's event will take place at Opelousas's South Park and will include a petting zoo, fun jumps, face painting, crafts, games, and food vendors. Plus, groove to a live musical performance by Double Trouble Zydeco. 1 pm. Call Melissa Hall for more information at (337) 381-4977. •

APR 27th - APR 28th

CELEBRATE HISTORY POYDRAS HIGH SCHOOL STREET DANCE & JAZZ BRUNCH

New Roads, Louisiana

The Julien Poydras High School is celebrating its centennial, and the Pointe Coupee History Society invites all join join in on a celebratory weekend. The fun kicks off Saturday night with a street dance on the Poydras Center's front lawn with live music by the Cool Beans, plus food and drink vendors available onsite. 6 pm–10 pm. Free.

Sunday at noon, head to the front lawn

Events

Beginning April 27th - April 29th

once again for the Jazz Brunch, featuring cuisine catered by Ma Mama's and Not Your Mama's and live music from the joint Southern and Louisiana State University Jazz Quintet. Attendees will be able to explore the building's interior for an open house and a display of historical memorabilia throughout the weekend. $150. bontempstix.com. •

APR 27th - APR 28th

FLYING HIGH

KITE FEST LOUISIANE

Port Allen, Louisiana

Once again, West Baton Rouge is launching high-flying festivities at the West Baton Rouge Soccer Complex. The event has been named "Festival of the Year" by the Louisiana Travel Promotion, and attendance has grown tenfold over the years, ballooning to twenty thousand people or so, and on more than one day. It's kite everything: kite design, kite flying, kite-building. Plus, plenty to eat and drink, lots of music to dance to—and a burst of fireworks at the end. Starts at 11 am each day. Free. westbatonrouge.net. •

APR 27th - JUL 14th

LOCAL HISTORY

SPACES AND PLACES: HISTORIC BLACK CHURCHES OF WEST BATON ROUGE

Port Allen, Louisiana

Learn about the vital role houses of worship, churches, and other spiritual places held during Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement at the West Baton Rouge Museum's latest photography series, Spaces and Places , a documentation of historic locations of cultural importance. The first installation of this series, Historic Black Churches of West Baton Rouge, featuring photographs by Bruce Williams, will not only display images of the churches but will also include interviews with pastors and congregations. westbatonrougemuseum.org. •

APR 28th

MEMORIAL BIKE RIDES RIDE FOR ROX

Arnaudville, Louisiana

Indulge in some bicycling and brews to honor the memory of Roxanne Richard

with this annual bike ride on the smooth roads of St. Landry Parish. Athletes and leisure riders of all skill levels are accommodated with a choice between 9, 18, 34, 44, and 73-mile long trails. The longest three trails will visit Rox's memorial at Lastrapes Garden Center. All rides will begin and end at Bayou Teche Brewing . Registration ($25) begins at 7 am, and includes water, lunch from Tante Marie, and one specialty draft from Bayou Teche Brewing. More information at latrail.org. •

APR 29th - APR 30th

BOIL BASH

NOLA CRAWFISH FEST

New Orleans, Louisiana

Fill out your weekdays between Jazz Fest weekends with the vibes of a backyard crawfish boil, performances by legendary Louisiana musicians, and pound after pound of perfectlyseasoned crawfish. The bugs are getting boiled up by NOLA Crawfish King, Chris “Shaggy” Davis; and musical performances include Tab Benoit, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster NCF Allstars, Eric Krasno & Friends, George Porter Jr. and Runnin' Pardners, Lost Bayou Ramblers, and Rumblesteelskin (featuring members

of The Revivalists and Naughty Professor). The festivities will be completed by a crawfish eating contest, Louisiana arts and crafts vendors, and more. Find tickets starting at $60 per day and more details at events.com. •

For our full list of April events, including those we couldn’t fit in print, point your phone camera here.

Sallier, the Survivor

Derived from the Latin term robustus, meaning “strong as oak,” the word ‘robust’ aptly describes the venerable Southern live oak. Few things—man-made or otherwise—endure the tests of nature and time as do these icons of the Southern landscape. “Robust” certainly describes the Sallier Oak, Lake Charles’s living legend, whose burgeoning branches are supported by roots older than the city itself.

The story of the Sallier Oak is inseparable from the pioneering spirit of Lake Charles’s first settler, Charles Sallier, for whom the city is named.

Local lore would have it that Sallier’s young wife, Catherine Lebeau, planted the tree as a symbol of prosperous new beginnings. Years later, beneath that same oak’s shadow, it is said that Charles caught sight of Catherine in an embrace with none other than the pirate Jean Lafitte. Charles fired a shot, then watched in horror as his wife crumpled to the ground. Believing himself to have killed his beloved, he mounted his horse, rode into the Calcasieu River, and was never seen again.

But the tale of the Sallier Oak extends far beyond the wrath of love. Devastating hurricanes,

multiple lightning strikes, and ice storms have all etched their stories into its gnarled trunk, which was held together by chains after a 1918 hurricane split the tree in two. Today, as Lake Charles continues to grow around it, the Sallier Oak stands steadfast, a witness to centuries of transformation.

The legacy of the Sallier Oak extends beyond symbolism. This tree reminds us of the importance of preserving our natural heritage for future generations. Properly cared for, every live oak has the potential to stand the test of time, offering shade, shelter, and a connection to the past.

WALKING THE RIVER

BENEATH TEXAS SKIES

From the Alamo, With Love

THE CITY THAT WON PHIL COLLINS' HEART IS COMING FOR YOURS, TOO Story and photos by Alexandra Kennon Shahin

As a New Orleanian who spent the first few years fresh out of Loyola as a tour guide, I am well aware of the city's claim to be “The Most European City in America”. With all of the cultural and architectural influences left behind by French and Spanish colonial rule lingering thick in the French Quarter and beyond it, I still stand by the claim as a valid point of

local pride. Giving tours, I heard plenty of visitors gush affirmations of it; their eyes widening at a beautiful building or plate of food, completely unlike anything they’d found elsewhere in the United States.

And believe me: I understand the appeal of a trip to a place that allows one to flirt with the fantasy of being abroad without updating your passport or shell-

ing out for international flight. This is among many (admittedly unexpected) reasons that I became enamored with San Antonio last summer.

Founded in 1718 (another coincidence that contributes to endearing a NOLA girl’s heart) as an outpost of the Spanish Empire before it became part of the Mexican Republic for a significant portion of the 1800s, San Antonio is the most

historic settlement in today’s state of Texas. It’s also been designated a World Heritage city by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with five of its historic missions (including the Alamo) designated together as Texas’s only World Heritage Site. Beyond the iconic Alamo mission building, this deep-running history remains palpable throughout

Editor’s Note: This trip was hosted in part by Visit San Antonio and Marriott Hotels, though the opinions of the writer are entirely her own.

The Alamo is one of the United States' most famous attractions, an 18th century stone Spanish mission building that was host to the 1836 Battle of the Alamo—part of the Texas Revolution.

America’s seventh-largest city, even when juxtaposed against the flashy strip malls and chain restaurants along the River Walk.

San Antonio is also the largest city in the United States with a predominantly Hispanic population, and the cuisine, culture, and language that result significantly contribute to its vibrant appeal. These factors provide San Antonio its international flair, while simultaneously reinforcing how very American the modern Texan metropolis is. (Well, along with the contemporary capitalist wet dream that is the River Walk.) So, giddy up, amigos—we’re goin’ down to San Anton’.

The Alamo

The storied 18th-century stone Spanish mission building sits in the middle of the city’s bustling center, where it's stubbornly remained as a world of commercial modernity sprung up around it. The structure is not alone as a hold-out of the old world aesthetic circa 1836—when the Texas Revolution, a rebellion by Texan colonists and Tejanos against the Mexican government, took place. As we approached, an older man in period garb tapped out a rhythm on a military drum beside a statue of Davy Crockett, who was famously killed in the Battle of the Alamo along with Jim Bowie, another Texas folk hero.

Our tour guide, Thomas, who is also a researcher on staff at the site, explained that the state of Texas recently

repurchased the buildings across from the Alamo—which currently house attractions like a Ripley’s Believe it or Not and a Tussaud’s Wax Museum—with extensive plans (“The Alamo Plan”) to build a Visitors’ Center and Museum in their place. The state’s goal, Thomas explained, is to “establish an atmosphere of reverence and respect,” and remind visitors that the historic site in the midst of all the high rises was a fort and battlefield.

After Thomas briefed us on the (bloody, riveting, oft-mythologized) history of the battle and thirteen-day siege, we gratefully stepped out of the dry Texas heat through the imposing front doors into the surprisingly air-conditioned Alamo. Even as a non-Texan who doesn’t typically gravitate toward military history, a feeling of reverence washed over me as I entered beneath the barrel-vaulted ceiling. Texas Monthly writer Stephen Harrigan describes the building as possessing an “otherworldly presence,” and as esoteric as that sounds, I understand what he means.

That palpable aura of history and myth only intensified as Thomas filled in the narrative gaps of what happened here—drawing from first-person, primary-source accounts, and his own research. His personal passion for the subject was palpable, and his clear voice mixing thoughtfully-curated history with occasional humor kept our whole group engaged (including, miraculously, two young kids).

He talked us through interesting details like Davy Crockett’s iconic coonskin cap—and how we only assume it’s coonskin because the only English-speaking female survivor, Susanna Dickinson, described it simply as “peculiar” when Crockett’s body was found.

Thomas explained that the first sources interviewed about the Battle of the Alamo were widowed Dickinson and a man named Joe, who was enslaved by Colonel William Travis—subverting our notion of who typically proffers the historical accounts we receive. From encouraging us to imagine the stone walls painted with religious iconography from when the building was a church; to vividly setting the scene of the women and children who would have huddled in those rooms as cannons and muskets fired just outside—Thomas skillfully balanced historical accuracy and engaging presentation.

this, an interactive tablet that provides artifact information and allows the visitor to zoom in on minute details, and a wall of past Alamo visitors ranging from the King of England to Johnny Cash, I found the whole experience fascinating. Thomas even indulged my potentially eye roll-inducing end-of-tour request to hear more about the building’s lore—”So, Bowie’s gold under the Alamo?!”—to which he energetically responded, emphasizing the known facts while leaving room for the imagination to mythologize. I tipped him well, and in retrospect, he deserved more.

The River Walk

Behind the Alamo, Thomas took us through the Ralston Family Collection Center—which he described as an “appetizer” for the grander Alamo Museum in progress across the street. Within its walls are gallery upon gallery of archival materials and artifacts, spanning the histories of the Neolithic people who first lived on the land, through the Alamo’s commemoration today. The most jaw-dropping revelation, for me anyway, came when Thomas revealed that Phil Collins—yes, that Phil Collins—is one of the largest collectors of Alamo memorabilia in history. A massive portion of the building is devoted to the British musician’s personal collection. Between

Another thing that makes San Antonio feel familiar to Louisianans is its long and troubled history with floods. After the particularly bad 1921 flood put Houston Street under several yards of water and killed fifty people, the Olmos Dam was built to prevent future disasters. Locals rallied to save the river, as well as the historic sites along it, and in 1929, a young architect named Robert Hugman proposed a plan: to allow for a bypass channel with flood gates at one end controlling the river’s flow, which would allow a controlled channel beneath street-level that could be landscaped and outfitted with pedestrian paths and businesses. The Depression put his vision on hold, but a decade later, the newly-formed San Antonio River Authority broke ground on the project, with Hugman leading as architect.

Today, the River Walk is Texas’s top

Smoke BBQ is a locally-owned and operated restaurant on the River Walk—and word has it they smoke their meats for around thirteen hours.

attraction, boasting miles of walking paths lined with restaurants, shops, event stages, and historic sites. Many of the businesses along the corridor are national chains (spurring discussions among planners to limit their presence as the River Walk expands), but it is home to many worthwhile locally-owned stops and historical sites, too.

We learned to appreciate the River Walk (and had the most fun on it) by taking a Del Rio boat tour. During the half-hour excursion down the channel, our guide Gayle (who is a teacher during the school year but gives tours as her summer gig) regaled us with one interesting tidbit after another—explaining the River Walk’s past and present history, and pointing out sites like a historic church founded by Canary Islanders, the Aztec Theatre (where Charlie Chaplin allegedly won third place in a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest), the Tower of the Americas (which at 750-feet tall was the largest free-standing structure when it was first built for the World’s Fair in 1968), the Briscoe Western Art Museum, and even the stage used to film scenes from Miss Congeniality

The Marriott Rivercenter

Usually when I travel, I prefer to seek out boutique hotels and bed and breakfasts. But I have to admit, when I was invited on this trip and saw it was hosted by Visit San Antonio as well as Marriott, part of why I was eager to accept was my confidence in Marriott’s consistently high

standards across every one of their hotels I’ve set foot in. My fiancé Sam and I stayed in the San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter, the larger of two Marriott hotels just steps from the River Walk.

We arrived and checked in, admiring the stained-glass art behind the friendly receptionist, created by local artist family the Garcias, of Garcia Art Glass. The hotel also makes a point of sourcing all the ingredients used for the hotel restaurant, Tributary, from Texas providers (from the beef to the tortillas). Beehives on the hotel’s roof provide the honey, and bourbon aged in oak barrels onsite goes into the cocktails (the Marriott across the street, I was told, distills the tequila).

We took the notably fast elevators up to our room, an executive suite situated high up, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows displaying the San Antonio skyline. Such a suite is admittedly not a luxury we’d generally spring for were we not being hosted, but we were still surprised to learn how moderate the rates were. Sleek and minimal in Marriott’s usual style, the suite included everything one could need—a king bed (I’m a longtime fan of Marriott’s luscious mattresses and linens, and this bed was no exception), a flatscreen television in the bedroom as well as the living room, a conference table, a safe, a mini fridge that would house too many tasty leftovers, and bathroom mirrors with framed vanity lighting that left me feeling utterly spoiled. The suite was comfortable and felt both practical and indulgent, but with so much to see and

San Antonio's Soluna is a local's favorite, offering true, authentic Tex Mex.

do in San Antonio, we found the hotel’s location and friendly staff its greatest assets. With an exit directly into the mall section of the River Walk and a short walking distance from the Alamo and so much else, we barely used our car while we were there.

Eating in San Antonio

On top of being a UNESCO World Heritage City, we learned that San Antonio is one of only two U.S. cities designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. (Upon learning that the second is Tucson over New Orleans, I have some questions regarding the selection process, but that’s another matter.) San Antonio has surely earned its place—the sprawling metropolis’s diverse immigrant communities and unique local cuisine make it so.

After our first night’s dinner at Tributary, Smoke BBQ was our first lunch stop in the city, and couldn’t have felt more distinctly San Antonio as we sipped frozen tajin-rimmed margaritas and welcomed huge plates of brisket, ribs, and other smoked meats and sides just beside the River Walk. Smoke BBQ is one of the locally-owned and operated restaurants on the stretch, and they adhere to the Texas precedent of doing it right: their meats are smoked for around thirteen hours off-site, we were told.

When it came time to choose where to go to dinner, we were stumped—back home in New Orleans selecting a date night location can be a challenge for two indecisive and open-minded foodies, and San Antonio made the call even harder, with so many options and so little time. So, in the spirit of vacation, we splurged and decided we could have our puffy tacos and eat them, too. (That’s the saying, right?)

One of San Antonio’s emblematic foods, the puffy taco is a glorious delicacy whose name says it all: various marinated and seasoned meats and the usual Tex-Mex-style fixin’s go into a corn masa shell that has been fried to the point of puffing up like a greasy, crispy balloon. We grabbed a couple of varieties of local staple Henry’s Puffy Tacos from the drive-thru. They didn’t make it out of the parking lot. It’s hard to go wrong with a taco in Texas, but these were really special.

Besides the obligatory Tex-Mex and barbecue, I’ve come to associate big Texas cities like Houston and San Antonio with incredible Asian cuisine. So next, we headed to Sichuan House—an unassuming little restaurant in a strip mall with online reviews promising massively flavorful dishes loaded with the mouth-numbing mala Sichuan peppercorns we can’t get enough of, nor find

Eccentric cocktails at Hopscotch San Antonio.

easily in New Orleans. Our Hispanic waiter informed us that the entire kitchen staff was originally from Sichuan Province in China, and we eagerly ordered everything from soup dumplings to mala chicken, with a pot of jasmine tea. Each dish was prepared with much simpler ingredients than most Americanized Chinese food, yet the flavors of the peppercorns, garlic, and ginger burst boldly through.

Always able to squeeze in one more bite on vacation, we then found ourselves at Honchos Churros, which offered more varieties of churros than I’ve ever encountered. I don’t remember what I had exactly, except that it involved Nutella, and even with its crisp outer ridges maintained a soft, fluffy center.

For dinner our last night in town, we decided to lean back into the Tex-Mex. At the suggestion of a friend who grew up in San Antonio, we headed to Soluna, and found the local favorite completely packed. But after a short wait, we were equipped with margaritas, fresh tortilla chips, and plates heaped with bubbling cheese. I seldom regret taking food advice from local friends; this was no exception.

After that, we managed to work in a dessert stop at Laika Cheesecake and Espresso—another strip mall gem that served creamy, thick cheesecakes in

adorable little jars.

In many ways, we barely scratched the surface of San Antonio, but found ourselves particularly lamenting the seemingly-infinite dining options left untasted. So much so, we’ve already begun scheming our next trip there, ready to pick up where we left off.

Hopscotch

One of our favorite San Antonio excursions was Hopscotch—a series of immersive color and light therapy art exhibitions built into a former bank vault. The eclectic front bar offers creative cocktails using ingredients like color-changing butterfly pea flower tea and CBD shots. And yet, the real fun was downstairs: once in the black-walled vault, we were greeted by installations like a luminescent rainbow ball pit, a room of mirrors that allows you to see your own face infinite times over, and an optical illusion room that makes the person in one corner appear giant, while the other becomes a tiny toy version of themselves. We felt like kids again as we went room-to-room, excited to discover what illusions and play the next would bring. Each installation was created by an artist, many of whom are local to San Antonio, whose bios and visions were displayed on the walls outside their creations.

Top: San Antonio's famous puffy tacos, from Henry's Puffy Tacos.

Bottom: Hopscotch San Antonio is a series of immersive color and light therapy art exhibitions, including optical illusion experiences such as above.

The San Antonio

Botanical Garden

It can sometimes be hard to connect with nature in massive cities, but in San Antonio’s case, a beautifully-cultivated botanical garden allows visitors a place to stroll through varied environments, ranging from rainforests to Japanese gardens. Each garden is totally different, and when we visited, massive botanical sculptures of fantastic beasts like dragons and pegasuses were scattered throughout.

Before touring the botanical garden, we had lunch at the restaurant on the grounds, Jardín, whose Mediterranean menu is inspired by the garden itself, focusing on fresh ingredients thoughtfully prepared by local Chef Jason Dady. We loved the variety of the selection of mezze/small plates, and gushed to each other as we passed platters of chèvre grilled cheese with tomato jam, arancinis, house-marinated feta and olives, and white cheddar-stuffed dates. As inspired as the food menu were the cocktails, which echoed the Mediterranean influence with unexpected ingredients like Arabic allspice and saffron syrup.

The Witte Museum

To round out our brief experience in the city, we paid a visit to the Witte

Museum, which in its grand halls displays exhibitions at the intersection of nature, science, and culture “through the lens of Texas deep time” (which I’m not certain the meaning of, but admit sounds cool). When we went, a touring dinosaur exhibition was up, and we got to meet “Scotty”—a cast of one of the most complete known T-Rex skeletons.

Fiesta San Antonio

In late April, San Antonio throws a city-wide Fiesta, which dates back to the 1890s when locals first staged the Battle of Flowers parade to honor the heroes of the Alamo. Fiesta has traditionally included coronations of “royalty,” grand balls, and parades on the water as well as land. During Fiesta, artisans and vendors are out in droves, cook-offs fill the streets wafting scents of barbecue, and live music echoes all along the River Walk and beyond it. Not unlike Carnival or Jazz Fest season in New Orleans, Fiesta is arguably the most exciting time to visit San Antonio—but as you can glean from our experience, you’ll find more than enough to do, see, and taste any time of year. •

Fiesta San Antonio takes place April 18–28. Learn more at fiestasanantonio.org and visitsanantonio.com. An

installation at the San Antonio Botanical Garden.

Following in the Foosteps of the Sauropod

FOSSIL HUNTING IN THE HEART OF TEXAS

Story by Kristy Christiansen // Photos by Paul Christiansen

Editor’s Note: This trip was hosted in part by the Greenville CVB, though the opinions of the writer are entirely her own.

“Look right here and tell me what you see,” said Morris Bussey, owner of the Stone Hut Fossil Shop in Glen Rose, Texas. My husband Paul, our three kids, and I formed a circle around a small area of dirt and rocks, and Bussey waited patiently while we gazed at the white rubble at our feet. It took a few minutes, but Paul finally lasered in on it—a small, but perfectly shaped ammonite, a coiled, shelled sea creature that went extinct 66 million years ago. Amazed at how Bussey spotted it within seconds, I asked what the trick was. He grinned. “You see rocks when you look at the ground, but I see only fossils.”

Fossils brought us to this part of Texas. We’d heard the rumors—that on the outskirts of Dallas, far from the Gulf of Mexico, shark teeth emerge from the rivers, extinct oysters and clams tumble from the ground’s surface, and dinosaur footprints remain frozen in time. Curiosity piqued, we set out on an epic road trip to discover exactly what stories are hidden beneath this dirt.

Austin

We began our journey in Austin. Around a hundred million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, the state’s capitol— along with most of Texas—was covered by the Western Interior Seaway, a shallow sea that ran from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The sea was home to a variety of aquatic creatures, from the terrifying mosasaur known as the “T-Rex of the Sea” to ammonites, ancient snails, and sea urchins. Along the edge of the water, giant, long-necked sauropod and threetoed theropod dinosaurs roamed the land.

Scanning online fossil forums, we got a tip to set our sights on Shoal Creek, a stream running south through the city. While fossils abound across the state, they’re most easily found where roadcuts or streams have exposed underlayers of land. Pease Park offers easy access to the creek and the water-worn gravel beside it. Within minutes, Paul plucked a bison tooth from the water’s edge. Although not fossilized, it was a significant find—bison haven’t lived in this area since before 1870. Looking closer at the shells surrounding it, we realized we’d hit the jackpot in fossilized oysters. Dating back a hundred million years, the small, hook-shaped fossils were littered across the ground, and we spent the day collecting our favorites.

Glen Rose

Next up was Glen Rose, famous for its dinosaur footprints in the Paluxy River at Dinosaur Valley State Park. 113 million years ago, dinosaurs walked through the mud here on the edge of the ancient sea, and the tracks hardened and were covered over. A flood in 1908 washed the area clean, and a nine-year-old boy discovered the tracks shortly after. Our favorite spot was the ballroom site, where we waded through the river and stood in a sauropod’s saucer-shaped prints. Weaving around it were the records of a three-toed carnivore who might have pursued this plant eater.

Leaving the state park, we pulled into Bussey’s Stone Hut Fossil Shop. A Houma native, Bussey opened the shop in 2008 and offers a wide variety of fossils from both the local area and around the world. Ecstatic to meet fellow Louisianans, he played us some Boudreaux and Thibodeaux comedy tapes before escorting us outside to see his breathtaking pieces of petrified wood, most found just down the road in Glen

Top: Shoal Creek, a stream running south through Austin, is a fruitful spot for fossil hunting—rife with bison teeth (far right), fossilized oysters, and more.

Middle: The famous dinosaur footprints in the Paluxy River at Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose. Bottom: A shark's tooth found in the gravel of the Sulphur River.

Rose. Petrified wood is so abundant in the town that in the 1920s, entire buildings were constructed of the material, and around four dozen can still be seen today.

After exploring his shop and buying our own souvenirs, we followed Bussey to a nearby roadcut where he instructed us in the art of fossil-finding. Gazing out at the hillside, he gestured to where water had run off down the side, explaining we had the best chance of finding something there in the wash. He advised us to look for odd shapes, things that didn’t fit in, and after pointing out several more fossilized pieces, he left us there digging in the dirt—scooping out ancient snails, oysters, and shells.

Mineral Wells Fossil Park

West of Fort Worth, Mineral Wells Fossil Park beckons visitors to travel back 300 million years. A former landfill borrow pit that closed in the early 1990s, the dusty, dry land has continued to erode—revealing a wealth of fossils beneath its surface. Today, the free park allows hunters to come explore and take anything they find.

We descended into the pit, and each went our separate ways, scanning the ground as we walked. It wasn’t long before we found deposits of the site’s most plentiful specimens—small, tube-shaped crinoids. Similar in appearance to the stem of old clay pipes, crinoids feature the addition of concentric rings running up their sides. These plant-like structures look like ancient sea lilies, but were actually animals with arms that allowed them to crawl and swim. They were our main find of the day, but other lucky hunters have gone home with echinoids (urchins), clams and oysters, corals, trilobites (the first multiple-celled animal to exist on earth), and even primitive shark teeth.

Morris Bussey, owner of the Stone Hut Fossil Shop, standing in front of one of Glen Rose's iconic structures built with petrified wood.

Greenville, Sherman, and Sulphur River

From Mineral Wells, we circled the metropolis of Dallas-Fort Worth and steered northeast to Greenville and the Lofts on Lee, our home base for the last leg of our adventure. Greenville was once a bustling cotton town, and the main road is still home to many historic buildings. Robert Hall and his wife, Sherry, have helped drive a renaissance of the town’s historic district, transforming a hundred-year-old building into elegant, themed suites and opening the bustling Prairie Coffee Co. next door. We traded in our dirt-clogged boots for pure luxury in the Downton Abbey suite, where old English style meets modern amenities complete with a walk-in shower I never wanted to leave. At the bar and grill, The Ashen Rose, we filled up on fried mac and cheese bites and sliders before crossing the street for chili-laced ice cream at La Sabrosita Fruteria and Neveria. On the walk back, we stopped in Landon Winery for a bottle of their top selling sweet white, Yellow Rose.

The next morning, we drove an hour northwest to the tiny town of Sherman, where shark teeth collectors descend on Post Oak Creek. Armed with makeshift sifters, we picked our way under the bridge and waded into the small, shaded stream. Randomly choosing a spot, we started shoveling sand into our screens. Within minutes, we found our first shark tooth of the trip—estimated to be a hundred million years old. The discovery electrified the kids, and they rapidly began digging. At the end of the day, we were exhausted, but our pockets were filled with over a hundred of the dime-sized teeth.

Our final two days were reserved for the Sulphur River, just northeast of Greenville. Two veteran collectors, Debbie McClain and Jennifer Pittsinger, offered to show us

the ropes, and McClain brought her extensive collection to illustrate what we could find down below. Mosasaur teeth and vertebrates are the hot ticket items here, as well as projectile points left behind by the Caddo people who lived here until the 17th century.

They warned us to bring mud boots and walking sticks, which came in handy while we squelched and slid our way down the embankment to the riverbed. The ladies’ hunting strategies differed. McClain walked a straight line down the banks of the river, collecting both steps and artifacts along the way. Pittsinger picked an area and zig-zagged her way back and forth over every inch of it. Both were successful, filling their palms with sharks’ teeth and arrowheads within minutes. Paul, who either had a better eye or more luck than the rest of our family, found the coveted mosasaur tooth, but I also came away with one of the grey-flecked mosasaur vertebrae.

The afternoon was spent walking the streets of Greenville, stopping in the Uptown Forum mall to view jewelry at The Creative Spot Gallery & Gifts, handmade candles at Lenore Cole, and fudge at Cheesebrough & Campbell Specialty Chocolates. We peered in the windows of the historic Texan Theater, which recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation; read about the town’s most famous resident, Audie Murphy—World War II’s most decorated hero; and popped in the heavenly scented D. Sherell Soaps & More.

Day two on the Sulphur, after an arduous climb down the steep canyon side, we met Lewis Smith, better known as “Indiana” Smith on his fossil-hunting YouTube channel. After searching the local area for thirty-seven years, he’s amassed a collection of over nine thousand Indigenous relics and countless fossils.

“You never know what you’ll find,” said Smith. “There are Clovis points that are thirteen thousand years old. The prehistoric people used them to hunt mammoths. If you find the Ice Age bones, from mammoths, mastadons, and giant ground sloths, they will fall apart. The older Cretaceous bones are petrified and harder. They’re now stones, just a memory of the bone.”

He advised us that the river sorts rocks, fossils, and artifacts by size, so to find shark’s teeth, we should search banks made up of small gravel, and for arrowheads, slightly larger gravel. With that in mind, we went to work. Our persistence paid off in the form of baculites (straight-shelled ammonites), intricate worm castings (the fossilized trails of worms burrowing through mud), and more mosasaur vertebrates.

The trip left us wanting to plan our next foray back in time. Our ancient finds now adorn our house, serving as reminders of a very different world that existed long ago. •

Searching for fossils in the Sulphur River.

BEYOND HOUSTON

Venture Up the Valley

THE BRAZOS RIVER GUIDES THE WAY

Story and photos by Ted Talley

Most everyone in south Louisiana has kinfolk in Houston. So, next hhtime you're visiting cousins in the huge Bayou City, consider a fun and informative detour northward, through the nearby Brazos River Valley.

Brenham

From Houston, Brenham will be your first stop—home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.

The Creamery opened in 1907 to process excess milk from local farmers into butter. More than a century later, it has become the nation’s fourth largest ice cream maker. The headquarters include a spacious museum and ice cream parlor, where classic and new flavors are a dollar a scoop. An observation window overlooks the production line where all manner of cartons and tubs are filled. Complimentary paper soda jerk hats are a hit with the kids.

But there’s more to Brenham than chocolate chip cookie dough. This little town is on the historic Texas Indepen-

lent, with atypical sides of potatoes au gratin and grilled asparagus.

dence Trail—a 200-mile route featuring sites that played a role in the Texas Revolution in 1835–36. The downtown area is rife with historic architecture, including the circa-1940 Washington County Courthouse, and the circa-1915 former post office, now occupied by the Brenham Heritage Center.

Next door, Brenham’s fire department goes above and beyond the call of duty, operating an iconic historic firehouse museum. See a rare 1923 American LaFrance Type 38 fire engine and a 1950 American LaFrance engine reminiscent of mid-century toys.

Brenham is also ground zero for Texas’s famed bluebonnet season—which lasts from late March to mid-April. The city website has a Wildflower Watch tab, offering a regularly-updated driving map of blooming sites.

It’s hard to miss BT Longhorn Saloon and Steakhouse with its historic 1880s storefront. Inside, you’ll find a massive antique bar, and an ample menu of steak and seafood. This is Texas; go for the beef. My chicken fried steak was excel-

To stay the night, the imposing two-story Ant Street Inn is a highly recommended boutique hotel and wedding venue right at the center of downtown. Formerly a business center built in 1899, the building once hosted storefronts on the first level and offices upstairs. The inviting long porch overlooking the back yard was once a loading dock.

Independence

Founded in 1835, Independence is the original site of Baylor University. Texas Revolution hero Sam Houston and his family lived there; he was baptized in a local creek. A bucolic stroll (made all the more magical during wildflower season) in the village will bring you to his house, as well as the remaining, revered columns of Baylor’s first building, historic churches, a cotton gin, a rose garden, and a circa-1939 general store still in operation (designed with a façade inspired by the Alamo).

Your next stop is Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site, where the Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico. Unfortunately, the Star of the Republic Museum there is closed for renovation until 2025. It holds versions of republic and state flags featuring the iconic lone star, one of them very similar to the 1810 Louisiana Republic of West Florida flag

that crossed the Sabine River with Louisiana vigilantes in support of the Texans. Still, visitors can explore the 300-acre park, where you enter a rustic replica of Independence Hall where the Convention of 1836 took place.

Navasota

Leaving the Independence Trail, you’ll switch onto the Brazos Trail at Navasota, a historic railroad town gentrified for Houston day trippers, flush with boutiques, eateries, and a luxury hotel. It’s current charm stands in direct contrast to the city’s raucous past.

This is where the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle (who famously claimed the Mississippi Basin for France in 1682) was killed by his own men. Attempting to relocate the Mississippi River, he’d lost his way—resulting in the fatal mutiny in 1687. His statue stands in a neutral ground at 400 E. Washington Ave.

Navasota remained a Wild West settlement throughout the 19th century. Law and order arrived in 1908 when Texas Ranger Frank Hamer (famed for tracking down Bonnie and Clyde) became the new sheriff; he is now memorialized via a statue in front of City Hall.

The Civil War-era P.A. Smith Hotel hosted visitors arriving by train at its Railroad Street location. Out of use for decades, it has now been beautifully restored as a hotel and event center. With

Top left: "The Day the Wall Came Down," monument by sculptor Veryl Goodnight, in front of the George H.W. Washington Presidential Library in College Station. Bottom left: The area around Brenham and Independence is well known as peak Texas wildflower country; these are growing in the fields around the Washington-on-the-Brazos state historic site. Right: The famous Magnolia empire is marked by Waco's old cotton seed silos.

Navasota’s proximity to College Station, the hotel sells out during football and commencement weekends. Reserve well ahead if you plan to follow the Tigers to face the Aggies on Kyle Field.

Among the several shops and eateries in old downtown, one appears out of place. Patout’s Wine Shop is linked to a family from Patoutville, Louisiana. Fourth generation Navasota entrepreneur Jay Patout opened his wine shop three years ago. Shop and sip on Washington Avenue, or visit his cleverly named web site napasota.com.

College Station

Covering over 5,500 acres divided by a Union Pacific Railroad line, Aggieland is almost 150 years old. East is Main Campus, holding most of the traditional classroom buildings, dorms, Kyle Field stadium and the 2,500 seat Rudder Auditorium featuring university productions as well as famous touring artists (famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma played there last month). The other side is West Campus with other sports facilities, the business school, the medical school, agricultural programs, and the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library.

The Presidential Library and Museum has a permanent collection of archives, family items, and gifts given to President and Mrs. Bush during years of service. Items range from a delicate porcelain lattice bowl given by Queen Elizabeth II, to the presidential limousine and a WWII torpedo bomber reminiscent of the one flown by the 41st president. New exhibits include a retired Marine One helicopter and the Bush 4141 locomotive, arriving at the museum in June 2024. Children can engage with the exhibits through Millie’s Dog House Trivia search—which features quiz answers throughout the museum, found in former First Dog Millie’s tiny dog houses at child's eye-level.

Find dozens of chain hotels nearby.

For luxury, choose The George, a sleek luxury hotel adjacent to the campus.

Campus nightlife centers a Northgate Entertainment District overflowing with Texana: rough hewn back porches, rusty gasoline and feed store signs with neon beer logos. The venues are wideranged: Mama Sake, Rough Draught House, Hookah Station, Shiner Park, Dixie Chicken, and such. Dixie Chicken is the oldest bar at Northgate; my chicken strip dinner was a winner-winner. If nothing else, down some suds here as Dixie Chicken claims to serve more beer per square foot than any other joint in the nation.

Waco

Waco is best known as the hometown of Baylor University, the oldest university in Texas, chartered not by the state but the Republic of Texas in 1845. Baylor Stadium is dramatically perched on the Brazos River northern bank overlooking the campus and downtown—offering the rare opportunity for “sail-gating” at home games. Fans can rent a canoe, sailboat, or party barge and learn the proper way to hold your “Sic ‘Em’” bear claw hand from fellow boaters.

Later city fame arrived with home improvement stars and Baylor alums Chip and Joanna Gaines and their Magnolia Empire retail complex, iconically anchored by former cotton seed silos. The complex is located at Webster and 8th Streets, bursting with gifts and décor shops, a bakery, a coffee shop, food trucks, and a Magnolia Table satellite (the main restaurant is a short drive south at the old traffic circle).

The Gaines’ “Magnolia Effect” has spawned dozens of unrelated dining, retail, and hospitality offerings in Waco. Some of the best include Twisted Root Burger Company, Ninfa’s Mexican, Hey Sugar Candy Store, and Portofino’s Italian.

My favorite dining spot, however,

Left to right: Historic Baylor University and rose gardens. Dixie Chicken, one of the oldest university haunts near A&M's campus.

remains George’s, a circa 1930s hangout abuzz most every evening. With nachos or chicken fried steak, order a “Big-O”—old code spoken by otherwise-abstaining Baylor Baptist coeds for the signature draft beer in a frosted fishbowl goblet.

Waco has no shortage of chain hotels. When on the cheap, I prefer the Bellmead Econolodge north of the river, minutes from the stadium. Extremely opposite is the ultimate fixer upper, the Gaines’ luxury Hotel 1928, formerly a Shrine Temple building. My go-to hotel downtown is Hotel Indigo and its Brazos Bar and Bistro. The amiable bartender and sommelier Blake Seidler is a wealth of inside info.

Beyond (and within) the university and the silos, Waco offers a plethora of museums making it a worthwhile destination for lovers of literature, history, and science—in addition to the sports fans, nostalgic alumni, and the “fixer-upper” crowd.

Baylor’s Armstrong-Browning Library is august in stunning beauty, with sixty-two stained glass windows believed to be the largest collection of secular stained glass in the world. Peruse the world’s largest collection of works and memorabilia of 19th century British poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The research hall is British old school and the Treasure Room is that of a grand castle. The Foyer of Meditation is one of the loveliest rooms I’ve ever encountered, with a two-ton bronze chandelier hanging from a 23-karat gold dome, framed by deep maroon Italian marble columns. In the alcove are the sculpted poets’ clasped hands below Elizabeth Browning’s “How do I love Thee” sonnet inscribed on a burled wood wall. Many Baylor couples have gotten engaged or married in this nook.

The university’s Mayborn Museum Complex—focusing on the natural science and cultural history of the Central

Texas region—is a must see for anyone, but especially for families with children. Hands-on science activities, natural and cultural history exhibits, a journey to space experience, and a pioneer village will entertain for hours.

Sports fanatics will find a who’s who of the state’s lively sports history at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Museum, where professional, college, and high school athletes are honored. Separately, an extensive display recalls the glory days of the Southwest Conference.

The history of Texas’s unique structure of law enforcement is also memorialized here, at the Texas Ranger Museum, which is housed in a replica of a ranger outpost. History and artifacts start from 1823 when the rangers were first organized by Stephen F. Austin, to their role in current law enforcement as a division of the Texas Department of Safety.

Northwest of town, visitors will also find the Waco Mammoth National Monument—an excavation site where a remarkable collection of fossil specimens from over twenty Pleistocene-era (2.58 million to 11,700 years ago) Columbian mammoths was discovered from the 1970s through the 2000s. Elevated catwalks allow visitors to see the fossils below, observing ongoing restoration work.

Other notable sites and museums include an old bottling plant dedicated to the history of the Waco-born soft drink Dr Pepper. Sign up for Make-A-Soda, Taste-a-Soda or a paranormal tour in the recesses of the early 1900s building.

The 1870-built Waco Suspension Bridge on the Chisholm Trail is a crucial piece of American westward expansion. The bridge served cattle drives and stagecoaches, then autos until 1971, and is today a footbridge. If you feel déjà vu walking its expanse, it might be because it was built by the same engineer responsible for the Brooklyn Bridge thirteen years later, John A. Roebling. •

Independence Hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site.

RESTAURANT FEATURES

Pulito Osteria

NEW YORK-STYLE ITALIAN IN JACKSON'S BELHAVEN NEIGHBORHOOD

When Chef Chaz Lindsay first envisioned opening a restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi, he imagined it to be the kind of neighborhood staple where you could expect to find familiar faces at every table, where the hostess calls you by name, and the chef waves from the open kitchen.

“Not quite Cheers, but a place where people run into friends and neighbors,” he said, “A place to gather and enjoy a nice meal.”

Lindsay grew up just around the corner from where his restaurant, Pulito Osteria, is now located, in the historic Belhaven neighborhood. He attended Murrah

High School, and at the age of fifteen, went to work at a local pizzeria. But it was later while working as a line cook for seasoned Jackson restaurateur Grant Nooe that Lindsay caught the culinary bug. “I liked the fast-paced restaurant service,” he said.

After a brief stint at a traditional university, Lindsay realized that his future would be best served by attending culinary school. “I decided if I was going to do it, I would go to the best school possible.” He attended The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. “I had a fascination with New York and wanted to explore more fine dining options.”

After graduating from the CIA in

2011, Lindsay spent the next sixteen years working, and learning, in award-winning restaurants around the country and abroad. In New York, he worked as a sous chef in Tom Colicchio’s taproom at Colicchio and Sons and his flagship restaurant, Craft. At only nineteen years old, Lindsay spent what he describes as the hardest year of his life at the Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, named Number One of the "World’s 50 Best Restaurants" in 2017. “I learned a lot there,” he said. “I learned to work harder, faster, and cleaner.”

Burned out by the fast-paced city life, Lindsay made a move to a rural village in Italy, an hour and a half from Rome, where he was chef at a small farm restau-

rant. “The restaurant was only open a few days a week, and when it was opened, I cooked. On the other days, I worked on the farm.” Though Lindsay was inspired by the seasonality and hyper-local cuisine of Italy, the experience taught him that New York-style Italian food was where his heart lay. “It was fascinating to me to realize that Italian restaurants in New York are much more interesting than those in Italy. I think that was more of an influence on me.”

After a year in Italy, Lindsay moved on to El Paso, hoping to eventually make his way home to Jackson. “It has always been my plan to open a restaurant here.”

When the Westin Hotel opened in downtown Jackson, Lindsay accepted the

Story by Susan Marquez • Photos by Andrew Welch Photo

Chef Chaz Lindsay received his training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, cutting his teeth at some of New York's best restaurants, as well as on Italy's countryside—all before finally opening his own restaurant in his hometown of Jackson. Photos courtesy of Pulito Osteria.

position of sous chef at the new restaurant, Estelle—which is where he met Jonathan Webb.

Originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Webb came to Jackson, Mississippi as a student at Millsaps College. And he never left, spending the next eighteen years working at restaurants in Mississippi’s capital city, bartending and managing some of the area’s most notable establishments.

Webb was managing the bar at Estelle when he met Lindsay. The two got along instantly and saw eye-to-eye when it came to the restaurant world.

Together, they opened Pulito Osteria on January 31, 2023—bringing

simultaneously as a destination and a neighborhood gathering place. “They had what turned out to be the perfect space in the perfect location,” said Lindsay. “I wanted Pulito to be a fixture in the neighborhood, where guests feel comfortable.”

the back of the restaurant connects guests with those preparing their meals.

and a brewery, the neighborhood serves

The ever-changing menu is in a traditional Italian format, with antipasta, pizza, primi, secondo, contorni, dolci, and cocktails. “Some of the verbiage may be unfamiliar to some, so we work to educate our guests,” says Lindsay. “Our food is very approachable and sharable.” This isn’t eat-and-run food. It is meant to be shared and savored, eaten at leisure over good conversation.

Lindsay’s dream to fruition. Lindsay is the chef/owner while Webb serves as the general manager/partner. The restaurant is located in Belhaven Town Center, an entertainment district in the Belhaven neighborhood. With restaurants

The antipasta options are designed to provide something for nibbling while waiting for everyone in a party to arrive. Each option on the menu is thoughtfully prepared and presented to whet the appetite for what lies ahead. Paired with a specialty cocktail from Webb’s innovative menu—many of which feature interesting bitters and botanicals—the scene is set for a memorable experience.

On my trip to Pulito Osteria, my dinner companion and I each enjoyed a Rosolio margarita made with rosemary-infused tequila, bergamot, lime, and honey. We shared an antipasta of tuna crudo, garnished with Castelvatrano olives, capers, pepper relish, crispy shallot, and lemon.

While pizza is not the main focus at Pulito, the wood-fire pizza oven turns out perfectly baked pies with traditional and seasonal offerings. The pasta dishes (primi) are listed by shape, which is traditional in Italy. All pasta (except the gluten-free options) is made fresh daily in-house. We chose the risotto served with rock shrimp, preserved lemon, and green garlic.

Main dishes (secondo) include a variety of proteins from steak and veal to seafood. “We use mostly cold water wild-caught Atlantic seafood,” said Lindsay. Portion sizes are generous and meant to be shared. At the suggestion of our waiter, we chose to share the braised short ribs topped with horseradish gremolata.

The chef treated us to two side dishes (contorni)—roasted carrots drizzled with a tahini sauce, and Brooklyn brussels, both sourced from local farmers, as are most of the vegetables served in the restaurant.

An array of tempting desserts (dolci) completes the meal. The strawberry rhubarb crisp was our choice, served with a scoop of house-made vanilla bean ice cream. •

Pulito Osteria is open Tuesday through Saturday from 4:30 to 9:30 pm, and the bar closes at 11 pm. The menu is seasonal. See sample menus at pulitojackson.com.

LATEST IN TASTE

Soupçon

A DASH OF DINING NEWS

By CR Editorial Staff

New International Concepts Coming to New Orleans

This spring, several of New Orleans’s most beloved internationally-inspired chefs are bringing new restaurants, and new flavors, to the city. Experience traditional carne en vara, delivered via South American live-fire cooking techniques, at Chef Julio Machado’s new restaurant Origen Bistro in the Bywater—set to open in the coming weeks. Besides its prix fixe menu centered around slow-roasted meat dishes (served with a bottle of wine or pitcher of housemade sangria), the Venezuelan-influenced-by-NOLA menu will also feature breakfast and brunch. Also coming to the Bywater is a new project by Chef Ana Castro (of the nationally-acclaimed Lengua Madre) called Acamaya, which will offer a more casual Mexican mariscos (seafood) experience. The Vilkhu family, known for their fine dining Indian cuisine flagship Saffron, is also expanding its footprint—melding East Asian and French flavors in a new, upscale culinary experience called The Kingsway. Find it soon at the former location of Magasin

Historic Barq’s Beverage Sign

Installed at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum

From the years 1949 to 2000, Baton Rouge’s Barq’s Beverages bottling plant was easily identified by its iconic neon sign. Considered the number-one root beer in the world, the company’s history has origins in Louisiana—its founder Edouard Barq was born in New Orleans, before training his apprentice Jesse Louis Robinson in the art of flavored soft drinks. When Barq officially branded his root beer in 1934 in Mississippi, he granted Robinson exclusive rights to use the secret formula and distribute it in Louisiana under a red brand name (the Mississippi one was blue). The red Baton Rouge sign is the only known remaining example of the brand in neon. It and other historic ephemera from the plant have been acquired and installed at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans.

The Dew Drop Inn is back! And with food!

Over fifty years since its closure, the past three spent in renovations, the historic music venue and inn—known for hosting some of the country’s most iconic musical artists and as being a hub of Black New Orleans social life— is finally in operation again as a hotel, music venue, pool club, and restaurant,

founder of the Meals from the Heart Café in the French Market, a health-conscious take on classic Creole recipes. Guests can expect a similar approach to the comfort food historically served onsite at the Dew Drop, such as grits and grillades, and red beans and rice.

Dogs, Goats, and Beer

Lafayette, known for its bigcity-disguised-as-a-small town feel, has had an uptick in locally-owned, community-driven businesses over the last several years. A glaring absence, though, has been the quintessential ambience of outdoor beer-drinking bliss—especially since the downtown Wurst Biergarten’s closure last fall. In the past few months, though, the city has gained a new brewery and a full-on beer garden, both in Mid-City.

Adopted Dog Brewing opened at the end of February in a massive space on Dulles Drive, complete with arcade games, a patio, and a classic brewpub menu of pretzels, flatbreads, and burgers. The first local brewery to open in Lafayette in years, Adopted Dog offers twelve beers on tap, including a “337” blueberry blonde lager, a “Sequoia” West Coast IPA, and an unfiltered German wheat called “El Jefe”.

Just down the road near Moncus Park, the Yard Goat opened up its German-style beer garden mid-March, offering over fifty beers on tap, as well as wine and cocktails. Modeled after the New Orleans patio concept, Wrong Iron, the Goat is prime for relaxed, outdoor day drinking in the heart of Lafayette.

The best part? Both spots are dog-friendly! •

Photo courtesy of SOFAB.

Outdoors

OUR SUSTAINABLE GARDEN

A Case for the Underdog

Spring is here; everything is alive. The garden is dynamic, animated by characters toiling in the soil and flying through the air. Many of these characters (insects, birds, and more) are executing, naturally and often accidentally, their important role of pollination.

There is one character in particular who suffers from a poor reputation, but

whose work is vital to the success of the garden. I have been waiting a decade for this precious opportunity to advocate for this hard-pressed pollinator staple: the wasp.

In my line of work we frequently install so-called “pollinator gardens”. Oftentimes when someone requests a “pollinator garden,” what they are actually asking for is a bumble bee and

butterfly garden. Occasionally, there is talk about a sphinx moth or a cute small bird. There is much celebration of these “beautiful” flying creatures alongside an almost universal condemnation of the other, equally critical “pollinators”: wasps, flies, mosquitoes, etc.

So let’s re-examine what a pollinator actually is. According to the organization Pollinator Partnership, pollination

occurs “when pollen is moved within flowers or carried from flower to flower by pollinating animals such as birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, or other animals, or by the wind.”

Anyone can be a “pollinator”... caterpillars, flies, bats, humans, you name it. If you can move across a garden or brush against a flower, you can pollinate. And as we all know, without pollination our food chain collapses.

Wasps are crucial to the pollination game, and are considered what professional gardeners and farmers call “beneficial insects”. Certain plants, like figs and certain orchids, depend especially on the wasp for pollination. The flying insects can be feisty but are, in fact, integral to our ecosystem.

Wasps include both yellow jackets and hornets. They are close cousins and an ancient ancestor to the fuzzy bumble bee (and all bees). Social wasps (vs. solitary wasps) are the wasps we are most familiar with here in Louisiana. They live in colonies and are more prone to defend themselves with aggression (stinging) when approached. Considered “apex predators'' at the top of their food chain, they also serve as a reflection of balance in the natural system; if something is amiss in their world it's usually an indicator of some larger disruption.

Aside from their efficient pollination skills, the wasp can be an efficient helper when it comes to pest management in the garden. They consume a large number of other insects—playing an integral role in our native gardens by balancing and managing “pests” without the use of harmful (and less effective) pesticides.

As wasp biologist Seirian Sumner puts it, “Without [wasps], the planet would be pest-ridden to biblical proportions, with much-reduced biodiversity.”

If you think this is a plea to no longer spray/kill wasps, you are on to me. The widespread elimination of these unpopular insects is, quite simply, an unsustainable practice founded in uninformed fear. We must never forget, especially in relation to the natural garden: Life equals Diversity. And a diverse garden includes everyone.

WASPS, FLYING INSECTS WITH BAD REPUTATIONS, ARE A VITAL PIECE OF OUR ECOSYSTEM

Story by Jess Cole • Photos by Nikki Krieg

What do you do when you encounter a nest of stinging and flying insects?

Spray with a pressured water hose. This will effectively encourage them to build their home elsewhere, without killing them.

Displace.

If you're like my good friend Nikki, you can wait until the nest is mostly empty, then grab the damn thing (not the method for the faint hearted).

At my home, wasps and carpenter bees race to build nests on our porch. Though I want to welcome these beneficial insects, the porch is not the best spot for them. We have had good results at repelling them before they even arrive by spraying the eves and corners with a concoction of 1 cup of

April Plant Spotlight: Carolina Jessamine

One of the hardiest of native vines, Carolina jessamine is evergreen and seems to do well in almost any soil type, withstanding drought and deluge. It is my go-to vine for this reason. When not in bloom, it leaves and twines elegantly over an arbor, arch, or small fence.

Spring is alive with yellow blooms everywhere this time of year. The butterweed Packera glabella) takes care of the forest and swamp floor. The jessamine claims the branches and draws our eye to the heavens. You may think you are seeing yellow blooming trees, but in fact it's jessamine crawling across the canopies. My favorite drive down Old Tunica Road (and most other country roads in this area) is painted with yellow blooms. This plant is bizarrely prevalent in the wild, yet composes itself well in the residential yard.

The best part is that this superstar native is available in almost every run-of-the mill garden center—not something you can say everyday about a native weed.

25–30% strength vinegar and 2 Tbsp. of orange oil. If we spot a nest starting to form or a hole begun to bore, a spritz of this often deters them elsewhere before they expend too much energy.

When possible, just leave the nest where it is. Most often if you ignore the wasps, and allow for space around their home, all lives go undisturbed. Orchestrate your life around the nest, the way so many other animals orchestrate their lives around us humans. •

HIT THE ROAD

From Pine to Palm

ONE OF AMERICA'S OLDEST, GREATEST ROADTRIPS, REVIVED

By Cheré Coen

Iremember hearing my grandfather tell of the Orleans-Kenner Electric Railway, or “O-K Line,” adjacent to the Jefferson Highway—which hbrought riders from New Orleans into Harahan and Kenner from 1915–1930. A few years later in 1935, my father attended the opening of the nearby Huey P. Long Bridge, attracting even more cars along the highway named for President Thomas Jefferson. This same highway rolled past my childhood home in Jefferson Parish, a few miles from the Orleans Parish line. It’s where I was born, and I’ve spent years driving its lengths. When I moved to Baton Rouge, I lived within a stone’s throw of that city’s section of the Jefferson Highway.

But I never knew the route’s history, or that its remnants still to this day run through seven states and Canada’s Manitoba Province—taking you right through the center of the United States.

The Origins of the Jefferson Highway

Long before Route 66 and the interstate highway system, before most roads were even drivable by car, the Jefferson Highway—named for the president who doubled the country’s size in 1803—gave farmers and tourists a route from Winnipeg, Canada, all the way through the heart of the Louisiana Purchase to New Orleans.

The highway was the brainchild of Edwin T. Meredith of Iowa, the founder of Successful Farming magazine and a gardening journal that eventually became Better Homes & Gardens —publications still in print over a century later. He saw early on that the widespread accessibility of automobiles, spurred by Henry Ford’s assembly lines, would be monumental developments for both Midwest farmers bringing product to market and the concept of tourism as an economic driver.

In 1912, Carl Fisher conceived of and developed the revolutionary Lincoln Highway, running east-to-west from New York City’s Times Square to San Francisco. So, Meredith started to imagine a north-to-south route. Meredith and around one hundred of his supporters met in New Orleans on November 15-16, 1915. They invited state and local government representatives from some of the states that made up the Louisiana Purchase. He included leaders of the “Good Roads” movement, automobile clubs, and commercial and civic organizations.

U.S. Senator Lafayette Young of Iowa and Walter L. Parker, the general manager of the New Orleans Association of Commerce, led the meeting in the Association’s auditorium. Meredith was elected president; David Fink of Muskogee, Oklahoma, vice president; and Parker secretary of the Jefferson Highway Association. They chose

the route’s key cities: Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Des Moines, Iowa; St. Joseph, Joplin, and Kansas City, Missouri; Muskogee, Oklahoma, and Denison, Texas. In Louisiana, the highway would travel through Shreveport, Alexandria, and Baton Rouge, concluding in New Orleans.

Organizers decided to curve the route west from Shreveport into Texas and up to Oklahoma, then back east into Missouri, bypassing Arkansas. According to current president of the Jefferson Highway Association Roger Bell, this was because Arkansas's contingent of representatives at the organizing meeting was smaller than that of Oklahoma and Texas. Arkansas would later build their own Jefferson Highway route, which would not be officially recognized by the JHA until the 1920s when it was dubbed the "Arkansas Scenic Route".

After the cardinal points were chosen, the association consulted with various counties and townships along the route. Tourism outreach commenced. Signage, travel brochures, and gimmicks like a campground offering free gasoline where Northwestern State University’s library in Natchitoches now stands sprung up across the 2300-mile highway.

Visitors immediately took to the route, which acquired the nickname the “Pine to Palm Highway.” By 1929, brochures advertised that much of Louisiana’s portion was 85 percent “hard-surfaced.” The international highway came to its end at the corner of St. Charles and Common in downtown New Orleans, where a granite obelisk read, “The End of the Jefferson Highway–Marked by the New Orleans Chapter D.A.R. 1917, Winnipeg to New Orleans.”

The Jefferson Highway Today

Over a century later, much of the Jefferson Highway has melded with other named routes within the U.S. National Highway System, much like the more famous Route 66.

Since re-establishing the Jefferson Highway Association in 2011, there have been renewed efforts to raise the route’s profile to be as prominent as other cross country corridors like Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway. “It’s not a ball of fire but it’s growing,” said Bell of the organization’s work to popularize the highway. “We’re in growth mode in several states now. Communities are discovering us.”

The volunteer members study and share the route’s history, meet for annual conventions, and encourage businesses and communities to enact signage. Currently, the organization is working on a website portal to aid tourists.

“Being a north-south route, it is a different culture element traveling from Winnipeg and northern Minnesota to south Louisiana,” said Bell. “And there are a lot of stories to tell along this route. It continues to evolve. And we continue to see people traveling the route”—even some European travelers, he said.

Bell drove a good portion of the highway in 2017, dragging his reluctant teenage son and wife along for the ride. “We had an adventure every day,” he said. “My son said it was the best vacation we ever had.”

The approach to this sort of non-destination-based tourism is different, he added. “It’s not Disneyland. I’m

Photos left to right: Billboards along the Jefferson Highway (courtesy of Natchitoches Tourism); Front Street in Natchitoches, part of the historic Jefferson Highway (courtesy of Northwestern University Archives); The 1923 Jefferson Highway brochure with details on the route from Winnipeg, Canada, to New Orleans (courtesy of Natchitoches Tourism).

going out into America and touring communities and meeting people. It’s an American experience.”

As the highway’s 1923 brochure claims, “In its course, the Jefferson not only traverses the heart of the richest country on the globe, but also one filled with romance and sentiment.”

The Jefferson Highway in Louisiana

To embark on the Jefferson Highway from the very bottom here in Louisiana, begin at the southern terminus at Common and St. Charles in downtown New Orleans, take Canal Street north to City Park Avenue and Metairie Road, then head west along Metairie Road into Jefferson Parish. Shrewsbury Road connects to the present Jefferson Highway, but travelers may instead use Claiborne Avenue, which turns into Jefferson Highway at the Orleans Parish line.

One of the reasons the Jefferson Highway in Jefferson Parish remains a large thoroughfare is because it is a remnant of the O-K Line. “When the railroad company acquired the land to lay tracks and build stations, it bought a corridor one hundred feet wide, thirty feet for the tracks and thirty-five feet on either side for further use and development,” wrote Earl J. Higgins in Metairie, Ames, High: The Streets of Jefferson Parish. “Those buffer and expansion strips would later carry motorized vehicles alongside the railway cars.”

The highway does a little jog in Harahan around the old railroad lines, then moves into St. Charles Parish and follows the River Road to Hwy. 73 through Geismer, Dutch Town, Prairieville and “Old Jefferson” in southeast Baton Rouge.

The original Jefferson Highway crossed the Mississippi River by ferry until bridges were constructed. From Port Allen, the highway headed west on Highway 76 (Rosedale Road) to Krotz Springs where it veered north on Hwy. 71. Travelers visited Bunkie, LeCompte, and Pineville before entering Alexandria.

From there, Hwy. 71 continues north through Tioga, Colfax, St. Maurice, and Clarence before becoming the Winnfield Highway and curving above Natchitoches, crossing the Red River into Louisiana’s oldest town and along its famed historic Jefferson Street, the name of which dates to the highway’s origination.

From Natchitoches, the Jefferson Highway heads west over the Old Spanish Trail to Robeline and then north on Highway 120 to pass through Marthaville. It turns into Hwy. 175 as it rolls through Pleasant Hill and Mansfield before entering Shreveport. The final stretch leaves downtown Shreveport and backtracks on Highway 79 west, then Highway 80, to the Texas state line. •

For maps and more information on the Jefferson Highway, visit jeffersonhighway.org.

The 2024 Jefferson Highway Conference & Sociability Caravan

The Jefferson Highway Association will host its annual conference April 24–27 at The Hotel Bentley in Alexandria. The event will feature former Louisiana Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, musician Cecelia “Cece” Otto presenting “Songs from the Jefferson Highway Era” and Stephanie Stuckey, chairwoman of Stuckey’s roadside restaurants.

There will be bus trips along the Jefferson Highway (Hwy. 71) in Avoyelles Parish, with stops at LSU-Alexandria’s Epps House, part of the Solomon Northrup Trail, and Bunkie, where new highway signage has been installed and a new sign will be unveiled. “We will add four new signs, bringing the total to nine,” said Wilbert Carmouche, Director of Tourism in Avoyelles Parish.

Before the conference, association president Roger Bell and members from thirteen states will reenact the “Jefferson Highway Sociability Caravan,” along the original route from Shreveport to Alexandria. These “sociability runs” consisting of groups of cars occurred in the early days of the highway, Bell said. While in Shreveport, waters from the northern reaches of the Red River will be poured into Louisiana’s stretch as another reenactment from the highway’s early years.

“It will be a symbolic meeting of the river waters,” said Arlene Gould, executive director of Natchitoches Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The caravan will lunch at Mansfield Female College Museum in Mansfield and continue on to Natchitoches, where signage will be installed. Members will overnight in Natchitoches at accommodations associated with the newly created Jefferson Highway Lodging Association.

On Wednesday, the group follows the original route to Alexandria, traveling through Grant Parish and the towns of Colfax and Pineville. The Sociability Caravan concludes at The Bentley, another lodging association member.

5.2 - 5.4 / Alex River Fête

Join us for this 3-day FREE festival in downtown Alexandria, kickedoff with Thursday’s Downtown on the Bricks event where you can sample food from many central Louisiana restaurants. Experience live music

4.6

4.20

5.4

Something's Happening in Clinton

A WAVE OF REVITALIZATION HAS TAKEN HOLD IN THIS EAST FELICIANA TOWN

By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

North of Baton Rouge, at the center of a conglomerate of rural communities, the seat of East Feliciana Parish sits quietly and quaintly—its iconic century-old wa ter tower rising up past the spire of the two-hundredyear-old First Baptist church. Remnants of Antebel lum-era opulence hold memory in the form of Greek Revival and Victorian Gothic architecture, including the Historic Courthouse on St. Helena, which has been des ignated a National Historic Landmark and is believed to be one of the oldest courthouses in continuous use in the state.

Like in so many rural Southern small towns, these monuments are flanked by abandoned buildings and shuttered windows, occupied by a dwindling, aging population migrating ever farther from the town’s cen ter. Downtown Clinton has, for years, been a place of ghosts—without a steady sit-down restaurant or even a place to grab a coffee for a business meeting.

But, visit Clinton on the first Friday of the month— and you’ll see evidence of the quiet, cautious spark steadily burning through the downtown district. Just follow the crowd—which can sometimes number up to three or four hundred people (about a quarter of the town’s entire population). Called Farmhaus Fri days, the event is nothing fancy: a formula for plein air

The Clinton-based Southland Band performing at FarmHaus Fridays in downtown Clinton. Photos by Whitney Marie Photography, courtesy of FarmHaus Square.

community gathering as old as time, with live music, food trucks, and local shopping. “There has been nothing like this here,” said Hunter Gerald, co-owner of the event’s headquarters Farmhaus Square, a home goods and gift shop operated by his mother, Laura. The first Friday event was held in conjunction with the shop’s grand opening in September. “And then they just took off. I don’t think we thought it would be as big as it has become. Everybody comes and brings a lawn chair and listens and dances. It’s like a little block party.”

Part of the excitement around the event, of course, is the existence of a living, breathing block to party with. When Heather Halbrook opened her gift shop H. Mercantile in the summer of 2022, she was one of the first storefronts to grace St. Helena Street (Main) in years. “There were some business offices, a gas station, stuff like that,” she said. There was Southern Roots Salon and Ronnie’s barbershop—which has operated for over forty years in an iconic little brick building. And there was the town sandwich shop, Red Boot Deli, as well as Sonny and Sweet Co., known fondly as “the cookie shop”— which offered custom cookie orders with sporadic hours. “But it was really kind of a ghost town.”

The concept for H. Mercantile, from the beginning, was to offer a market for local artisans and merchants to sell their products other than the once-monthly Farmers Market in Clinton. “That was my whole business plan,” she said, “to get whatever item as local as I possibly can, as close to home as I can source it.” Following her lead, in November 2022, Morgan Guilbeau opened up Courtside Boutique, a women’s clothing shop with a focus on inclusivity. And suddenly, there was more than one reason to come spend a few hours in downtown Clinton again. By the time Christmas came around, the

energy was there to create a downtown holiday shopping experience—complete with twinkly lights and hot chocolate and storefront décor.

“It was like a Hallmark movie,” recalls Laura Gerald, who spontaneously attended the event with Hunter and some of her grandchildren. “It felt like the area was really coming back to life,” said Hunter.

While admiring the almost-forgotten charm of their hometown, Hunter and Laura noticed a “For Sale” sign on a hundred-year-old building right beside Courtside. A week later, the former owner handed Hunter the keys.

Hunter, who works in real estate, had been searching for an office in town where he could meet with his clients and have meetings with his staff. “There was nowhere to meet in town,” he said. “Not even a restaurant or a place to sit down and have coffee and talk business. I knew I couldn’t be the only person dealing with this problem.” His original plan for the building was to put his own office in there, and then to offer the space as a rental venue and meeting place for other individuals and business owners. When word got out, the demand ended up being so overwhelming that he pivoted, allowing his mom to set up a furniture and gift shop in the front—with the intention of maintaining his office space in the back.

for storage space,” said Laura. “People wanted this so much.”

Since FarmHaus Square’s grand opening in September, the Geralds have caught the revitalization bug. They purchased another historic building on the strip, renovated it, and have rented it out to the Louisiana-owned hydration therapy chain, Flo & Glo IV Wellness Lounge. “It’ll be great to offer something totally different like this here in Clinton,” said Hunter, who has aspirations to help open more businesses (and maybe even,

“THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD THINGS HAPPENING HERE THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ARE WORKING HARD FOR."

—HUNTER GERALD

finally, an office) in downtown Clinton in the future. “There are so many good things happening here that so many people are working hard for,” he said.

“Then, it all just went—store,” laughed Hunter.

“The soft opening went so well, I took his office

Over the course of the last year, other businesses have joined the rising tide of activity in the district—almost all occupying formerly-abandoned historic buildings. In the circa-1868 building that once housed the Felicianas’ first general store, Darlene Whaley opened a breakfast and ice cream shop called Liberty House Specialties. The drive-thru shop has become known for decadent hand-made pastries and over thirty flavors of Wisconsin’s Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream, served by the scoop, in smoothies, and—starting this summer—in Frostop root beer floats. Renovations have been underway for

months in one of the district’s largest buildings, soon to be occupied by a new retail concept by Julie Bunch D’Aquilla, former owner of women’s formal and children’s boutique Head to Toe—which has been a community staple on the outskirts of the downtown district for years.

As of March, there is finally a sit-down restaurant in downtown Clinton with the opening of Big J’s Side Porch, a family-owned barbecue joint designed to activate the community through live music performances and events like trivia and karaoke. And soon, Halbrook will host the grand opening of H. Mercantile’s sister business, The Green Door—a coffee shop offering breakfast and lunch, made entirely from locally-sourced ingredients. “I wanted to give people a place that they could go and just hang out together,” she said. “Somewhere the kids could go after school, or people could just come and visit for a while.”

Small towns don’t always handle change well, noted Halbrook. “And this has been a lot of change for this small town.” But part of the reason it’s been working, according to her and the Geralds, is that the community has thrown their support behind this burst of new activity. “These are things people wanted for their town,” said Hunter. “They don’t want to have to drive to St. Francisville thirty minutes away to go shopping, or to sit down and eat.” Prior to their grand opening, Hunter said people were walking into the store and asking for ways to be involved. “One woman we know stopped by yesterday and said she was baking a pound cake for the opening,” he said. “She just wanted to be a part of it.”

The woman was Shirley Olsen, age seventy-two, whose family has lived in Clinton for generations, and for many years operated a store on St. Helena, right next to where FarmHaus Square currently stands. “I was raised downtown,” she explained. “We could skate, ride our bicycles all over, meet our friends there.” She remembers the heyday, back when most of the storefronts were filled by grocery stores, package liquor shops, jewelry stores, a movie theatre, bars. “Joe’s Bar was wonderful,” she recalled. “As children, we’d knock on the window and he’d hand us candy.” She remembers the old Malt Shop that used to be where Red Boot Deli now stands, and how all the teenagers would congregate there in the afternoons to have hamburgers and listen to the jukebox. After so many years of watching it all fade away, she’s ecstatic about the renewed, locally-driven vivacity coming to downtown Clinton—reminiscent of the way it was when she grew up. “It’s coming back big time,” she said. “I’ve already met people coming into these stores that I didn’t know before. And they're in Clinton and you don’t know them! Plus, all these people who are putting their money and time and energy into bringing it back, they are amazing.”

Halbrook said that since she’s been open, other members of the community have expressed their enthusiasm for the town’s growth by promising to come in and purchase something every single day to ensure she stays in business. Customers have even purchased plates and cups and silverware for her, without expectation of being repaid, just because she needed it.

“We have an amazing, amazing little town,” she said. “Everyone’s just really come together to help each other succeed.” •

The next FarmHaus Friday will take place on May 3 from 6 pm–9 pm, with music by Southland Band and food by Tre's Street Kitchen. The Clinton Community Market will take place the following Saturday, May 4 from 8 am–1 pm downtown.

FarmHaus Square in downtown Clinton.

Photos by Whitney Marie Photography, courtesy of FarmHaus Square.

DISCOVER MORE AT: VisitBrookhavenMS.com

MESMERIZING BEAUTY, CAPTIVATING HISTORY, DREAMLIKE MOMENTS. THE PERFECT GIRLFRIENDS’ GETAWAY.

M ystically B eautiful . c ajun c oast !

Plan a Girlfriend’s Getaway of Historic Proportions! Take a private tour of Albania Mansion or Shadowlawn. Enjoy cocktails and shopping along Franklin’s Main Street and top it off with a candle-pouring soirée or paint party!

COURTHOUSE DRAMAS

On Stage in Monroeville

IN HARPER LEE'S HOMETOWN, THE MOCKINGBIRD PLAYERS RECREATE HER MAGNUM OPUS

By Chris Turner-Neal

Like any number of small towns across the country (probably the world), Monroeville, Alabama, has had to explore ways to keep the lights on in a world where everyone (and every industry) moves to the city. Fortunately for the good people of Monroeville, two of the twentieth century’s literary titans lived there as children: the odd-couple friends Truman Capote and Harper Lee. Capote moved to the city. Lee did too, but the forty years she spent living parttime in New York are elided in the public memory: “Born Monroeville 1926, died Monroeville 2016.” Monroeville would have followed many of its peers into total dusty obscurity if it hadn’t been vividly, with the thinnest veneer of plausible fictionalization, portrayed in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Since 1991, a local group, the Mockingbird Players, have produced and performed a stage version of Lee’s opus. They have occasionally given performances in Europe, Israel, and China, but the play’s home is the Monroe County Courthouse.

The first act, weather permitting, takes place on the grounds outside the old building, built in 1903 and “the courthouse” as Lee knew it, but a museum since the 1960s. The relatively simple set comprising of a stretch of street and the front stoops of the Radleys, Finches, and

A scene from the play To Kill A Mockingbird, performed in Monroeville, Alabama in 2010. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith. The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Experience Experience Evangeline Parish Evangeline Parish Fun,

Boggy Bayou Festival - May

Mamou Cajun Music Festival - September

Le Grand Hoorah - September

Louisiana Cotton Festival - October

Le Tournoi de Ville Platte - October

Louisiana Swine Festival - November

neighbor Miss Maudie. Miss Maudie emerges as a narrator in the stage version: close to the action without participating and familiar with the town’s history and mores, the character slips back and forth across the fourth wall as needed. The open set allows the performance to make use of the space: characters wander off down the road and continue until they’re out of sight around the corner, and a pickup full of violence-seeking yokels can pull directly onto the “stage” for a confrontation with Atticus Finch. A small choir of Black churchgoers adds to the atmosphere: in a play about the fate of a Black man in an anti-Black system, there are relatively few Black characters, which makes sense given the legal system at the time, but also leaves us with little Black comment on the proceedings. The choir partly redresses this imbalance, expressing themselves in the church music that was one of the few safe avenues for public Black voices under Jim Crow.

Right before intermission, the jury is selected from among the adult white men in attendance, given who was eligible for jury service in the Alabama of Lee’s childhood. (Our group contained three of that favored demographic, but no dice.) These

A scene from the play "To Kill A Mockingbird," performed in Monroeville, Alabama in 2010. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith. The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Our Cousins in Georgia

THE ACADIAN REFUGEES WHO LANDED IN ST. MARYS

Story and photos by Cheré

Coen

When people think of the 1755 British deportation of the Acadians from their homeland in the Maritime provinces of Canada, the road most often follows the revolutionary Joseph Beausoleil Broussard, and the two hundred refugees he brought to Louisiana—who eventually came to be called the Cajuns. But this was not the fate of all the Acadian deportees, or even most of them. One small group made their home in the port of St. Marys on the coast of Georgia.

“Here in this beautiful little haven on the Georgia coast, the French clan gathered until it had almost become a French colony, and so numerous did they and their descendants become that at one time a parish was established with a resident priest,” wrote a descendent of these Acadians, James. T. Vocelle, in The Bulletin of the Catholic Laymen’s Association in 1933.

Though some, like Vocelle, would remember the plight of their ancestors, and the town would memorialize their arrival and struggles— unlike the Louisiana Cajuns, the Acadians of St. Marys ultimately assimilated into American society, their distinct culture buried under the mainstream. Today, only graveyard markers prove that they were there.

"Acadian Row" in Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Marys, Georgia.

“THIS BRIEF RESUME OF THE ACADIANS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS IN GEORGIA CONTAINS NO SPECTACULAR INCIDENTS, BUT IT DEMONSTRATES AND REFLECTS THE SAME TRAITS THAT HAVE CHARACTERIZED THESE PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THEIR HISTORY. IT SHOWS THAT WITH CHARACTERISTIC FORTITUDE, THEY BRUSHED AWAY THE BITTERNESS OF THE PAST AND, SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS OF OTHER RACES AND CREEDS, JOINED IN MAKING AMERICA THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY.”

—JAMES VOCELLE

The Exile

When, in 1755, under order of Govenor Charles Lawrence, the Acadians were piled onto ships and sent throughout the American colonies, then later to Britain and France—there were two British frigates carrying 400 Acadian men, women, and children to Tybee Island on the Atlantic coast, a few miles east of Savannah.

Then Georgia Governor John Reynolds saw these exiles as potentially hostile people, due to England being

at war with France, and allowed them to settle only temporarily. At the time, the Georgia colony consisted of 3,000 residents, half being enslaved. So— as University of Georgia professor E. Merton Coulter wrote in “The Acadians in Georgia” in The Georgia Historical Quarterly —Reynolds assumed “… the Acadians could be as big a danger to Georgia as Lawrence thought they would be to Nova Scotia”.

The destitute Acadians settled in different areas of Savannah, struggling to survive in this unfamiliar land—mostly ignored by the colonial government. In his book Scattered to the Wind, former University of Louisiana-Lafayette professor of history Carl Brasseaux wrote: “Only when they petitioned the colonial government for emergency assistance in January 1756 were they recognized at all, and then only to the extent that those exiles too ill to support themselves were given a week’s supply of rice.”

Over time, these Acadians found meager ways to sustain themselves. They built items for “sea craft” to sell to the West Indies and in 1757 the Georgia Commons House of Assembly passed an edict that required them “to labor for anyone offering them work and to receive for such service their upkeep only, meaning food, clothing, and lodging”. According to the edict, no families were to be separated.

Under this law, the Acadians were not allowed to

refuse work or own weapons. Still, few plantations employed them, and many demanded they vacate the lands where they settled in Savannah. Some Acadians left Georgia in hopes of making their way back to their Canadian homes, heading north to South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

“From the very beginning they were biding the time when they might get away,” Coulter writes.

St. Domingue to St. Marys

Sometime after the war between France and England ended, the remaining Acadian exiles in Georgia, now numbering less than half of the original transport, left for French Saint Domingue, now the island of Haiti. France had offered them a home on the Caribbean island, with plantation tools and two years’ worth of provisions.

But once again, war would threaten their survival. In 1791, enslaved residents of Saint Domingue rebelled against the French aristocracy and government, and the Acadians fled up the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

“Some Acadians from Beaubassin [Nova Scotia] did prefer returning to Georgia rather than settling in a Spanish Louisiana after they had left Santo Domingo (Haiti),” write lay historians Jean-Marc Agator and JeanPierre Bernier in the article “In Georgia, Acadians have been recognized for their contribution” on the website

Today, it’s unclear if Georgia was always their de sired destination. Vocelle, who was born in 1897 in St. Marys, is a descendant of James Vocelle, who arrived in Georgia from Saint Domingue in the late 1700s. Vocelle believes his paternal grandfather and other Acadians

first set their course for Charleston, South Carolina, but ultimately sailed back south and landed at St. Marys, only a few miles north of the Florida border.

“…it was to what was then the prosperous seaport of Saint Marys that many of the French exiles found their way,” Vocelle wrote in 1933 in the Southern Cross Bulletin. There, Vocelle’s paternal grandfather James met and married Angelique Desclaux, a descendant of the distinguished Acadian family, the Comeaus.

In their new home, the Acadians gathered for Catholic service above a grocery store until they acquired a former bank building donated by Marie Ponce DuFour. The church later became Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and Vocelle’s aunt would perform services when a priest was not available. As a young lawyer, James Vocelle wrote down his unique family history and their return to Georgia in a 1930 booklet titled Triumph of the Acadians.

“This brief resume of the Acadians and their descendants in Georgia contains no spectacular incidents, but it demonstrates and reflects the same traits that have characterized these people throughout the course of their history,” Vocelle wrote. “It shows that with characteristic fortitude, they brushed away the bitterness of the past and, shoulder to shoulder with their fellow citizens of other races and creeds, joined in making America the land of opportunity.”

Marking Their Presence

Visitors to the historic hamlet of St. Marys will find a marker detailing the Acadians’ initial arrival in Georgia and their later settlement in St. Marys on the town’s “History Walk.” Next door is Oak Grove Cemetery, where many of the Acadian graves rest within an

enclosed wall. Their section was marked in 1936 by a placard that reads: “Acadians deported from Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. First found refuge in St. Domingo. Later, insurrection of natives drove them to St. Marys. Evangeline’s friend buried here.”

Some of those resting in this cemetery are Joseph Desclaux of Sète, France, whose French tombstone reads that he left “St. Dominque by the political unrest which desolated this colony”; Pierre and Marie Cormié; Bernard Baratte; and the Vocelles. Marguerite Comeau,

who married a Carbon, appears to be the only St. Marys Acadian born in Acadie. She was born about 1749 in Canada and died on February 1, 1829, on Georgia soil. •

Find information about visiting St. Marys, Georgia, and the town's "Tragic Acadians" historical markers, at visitstmarys.com.

"Acadian Row" in Oak Grove Cemetery in St. Mary, Georgia.

REDISCOVERING THE SOUTH

Just One Night in Mississippi

A TASTE OF THE SOUTH'S DIVERSITY, VIBRANCE, AND SENSE OF COMMUNITY—FOUND IN MERIDIAN

By Alexandra Morris

It was an easy fifteen-minute streetcar ride from the French Quarter to the Union Passenger Terminal, where my train left for Meridian, Mississippi at 9:15 in the morning. In the waiting hall, I admired Conrad Albrizio’s lively murals sprawling across the walls. Amtrak announced my train, and I boarded and settled in for the four-hour ride. As we crossed Lake Pontchartrain, I gazed out the window, listening to the rhythm of the rail. My stop in the town of 34,000 would be a quick layover on the way to Atlanta. After Atlanta I would catch a flight and begin my journey back to Australia, where I’ve lived for the last decade.

Some backstory is required. I’m an American woman, age thirty-six, born and bred in South Carolina, having lived in Kentucky and North Carolina as well. In July of last year I decided to embark on a Southern adventure and explore more of the regions around

where I grew up. For five weeks, I took Amtraks, Megabuses, and Greyhounds to the soul of America, writing about my time and interviewing people along the way. It started in Austin, Texas then carried on through Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana.

Mississippi was my final destination before I flew out of Atlanta. This would be my first time in the Magnolia State. When planning the trip, I debated painstakingly over which of the four Mississippian cities on the Crescent Line to disembark: Meridian, Hattiesburg, Laurel, or Picayune.

What I know of the Home of the Blues is its renown for poverty. I know that it’s the state where Emmett Till was lynched—that sensational, devastating crime a symptom of a more entrenched culture of white supremacy. I know that Mississippi only swapped its confederate battle emblem for a Magnolia flower in 2021,

after George Floyd’s murder shook the nation the year before. Underneath the white magnolia are the words “In God We Trust.” Like the rest of the South, Mississippi holds a cruel history of enslavement. But also, Mississippi is home to more African Americans per capita than any other state.

I opted for Meridian, the last stop before the train left the state, splitting my trip to Atlanta up as evenly as possible, time wise. The train arrived at Union Station at 1:30 pm, and I strolled into the humid Meridian heat. The first thing I noticed was the star-lined sidewalks, named after artists of every creative discipline with a connection to Mississippi. I recognized names like Jerry Lee Lewis, Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker, and Margaret Walker. It was like Southern Hollywood, and I was plum star struck.

Determined to stay close to town, I used what was left of my rapidly dwindling budget to book the

Photo courtesy of Visit Meridian.

ThreeFoot Hotel, a recently restored art deco building, built in 1929. It was beautiful, but more importantly, the only option within walking distance from the train station. (No hostels to be found in Meridian.) I dropped off my backpack and headed out again. I ate an enormous “vegetable” plate at the oldest restaurant in Mississippi, Weidmann’s, circa 1870. They served me incredible turnip greens, a fried green tomato, macaroni and cheese, and a cornbread muffin while I eavesdropped on two men at the bar. They were drinking and talking sports, guffawing and debating how dangerous it is to visit New Orleans these days.

Next I wandered down the street into the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (nicknamed The MAX), and realized I might be falling in love with this place. Over the course of my trip, I’d visited so many great venues and museums, but this one stuck out like the last piece of peach pie at a potluck. The museum celebrated the legacies of people like Sam Cooke, Ida B. Wells, William Faulkner, Tammy Wynette, Muddy Waters, and so many more. While I was there, I managed to meet the museum’s interim president, Laura Hester. “This is the way that we can showcase the best that Mississippi has,” she told me of the MAX. “Our Southern roots and culture are really expressed. We have a welcoming city, a welcoming community.”

She explained that when considering which of the many Mississippi icons the museum features, “it’s always about who inspires, who people can relate to, understand, and aspire to be. We want a child to walk through our doors and find inspiration. How can they see success?”

For Hester, Oprah Winfrey does a great job of this. (Oprah was born smack dab in the middle of Missis-

sippi, in Kosciusko.)

Impressed and moved by this massive music and arts museum, I wandered up the street to the Brickhaus Brewtique and found myself sitting down with the owner Bill Arlinghaus and his parents, Bill and Sandy. All three had decided to move from Michigan to Meridian. Bill (the owner) told me that downtown Meridian was the safest part of the city.

Before long, I found myself getting tipsy, increasingly intoxicated by this interesting little town. As I walked back to my hotel, I noticed a crowd of people in lawn chairs in front of a platform adorned in American flags and other patriotic banners. A man in a cowboy hat cracked jokes into a microphone. Earlier that day Laura had mentioned that there was an upcoming election.

In my hotel room I banged out a story about New Orleans for my Australian readers before heading up to the ThreeFoot’s rooftop to enjoy a cocktail—a “Mississippi punch” of course, a simply sensational beverage made up of rum, whiskey, and lemon juice. The sun set over Meridian, and then I went back to the Brickhaus, curious if things got as wild on a Tuesday night as Bill claimed.

An hour later, I was back in their courtyard, surrounded by locals and cigarette smoke. Everyone had stories about life in Mississippi. I learned of the upcoming anniversary of a highly-publicized killing of local police officer Kennis Croom. Politics came up, division in America came up, Meridian’s lack of traffic (repeatedly) came up. Then suddenly I was howling Pat Benatar lyrics at the front of the bar with a wild woman named Cristy.

The next morning I woke up dusty but on a mission.

Sandy had introduced me to Jacque Harms, general manager of the city’s WTOK TV station. Their headquarters were right up the street from the ThreeFoot.

Harms showed me around and told me about herself. A storm chaser from Nebraska, she moved to Mississippi just four years ago.

”To truly experience diversity, it’s in the South,” she told me. “What I was woefully lacking in the first fifty some-odd years of my life was a true understanding of what the South was really all about and its role in history and the flavor and the soul that it gives this country.”

Like Hester from MAX Museum, Harms had poetic things to say about this part of the world.

"Folks in the South have such a tremendous soul and a big heart and will give you anything you ask for. Their struggle is real; their success is real. There’s such a rich music history because folks just sing and tell stories from their heart like no one else will,” she told me.

Over the course of about twenty-four hours, I had met so many transplants here in Meridian, and I was about to meet one more. After WTOK, I had lunch at Jean’s, which had been repeatedly recommended to me by the locals. My friendly waiter, Stephen Thomas, was hard at work; we only had a moment to talk. A Black gay man originally from Texas, he has a lot of friends from the Lonestar State who look out for him. But people have his back here in Meridian, too.

“It’s a lot more receptive than I would have thought when I first moved here in 2011.”

I wolfed down my tomatoes, fried okra, and sweet potato soufflé, and thought about my short time in Meridian. I wanted to savor it all just a little bit more. But I had another train to catch. •

Sponsored by Tangipahoa Parish Tourism

PERSPECTIVES: IMAGES OF OUR STATE

Splendiferous Fibers

THESE ARE NOT YOUR GRANDMA’S QUILTS

By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

When Alexandria artist Wendy Starn sets out to make a quilt, she rarely uses a pattern. In a recent work, for example, she silkscreen-printed trees onto a background, below a painted moon. The borders were made of hand-dyed fabrics, quilted with the shapes of leaves of native swamp red maple, honey locust, and sassafras. “So, it’s very specific to the region,” she said.

Often, when she’s working with nature scenes, she works from a photograph—expanding it to the size of a quilt. “Then I’ll take sections of it and put them on different pages, print out the whole thing—which could be like twenty pages, all taped together.”

Other times, it’s pure improvisation—usually driven by Starn’s fascination with color. “I’ll just kind of make different shapes, figuring out how to kind of jigsaw them together. The seams will be wonky, nothing is straight. No little corners match or anything like that. But it gives a lot of energy, the way the colors are all bouncing off each other.”

Starn has been sewing since grade school, when she earned her sewing and dressmaking badges in Girl

Scouts, and she’s been creating art just as long. “Eventually, the two just kind of joined,” she said. She made her first quilt in 1987 for a baby on the way, and spent her own early years of motherhood creating original garments for her children. “My daughter was always the best dressed kid in kindergarten,” she laughed. She began to pursue quilting as an artform in its own right around 1996, and since then has made a name for herself across the country’s textile arts scene, especially here in the South. Last year alone her work was exhibited at local venues including the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center in Baton Rouge, several South Louisiana library branches, the Alexandria Museum of Art, and the Hammond Regional Arts Center. She was also featured at major quilting festivals and competitions including the world’s largest modern quilting event, Quiltcon and the International Houston Quilt Festival—where her work “Party at the Cabin” was selected for a Judge’s Choice Award. Closer to home, her quilt “Papaver” received a merit award at the Tom Peyton Memorial Arts Festival in Alexandria. “Last year was my year,” she said.

In addition to her more abstract, color-focused quilts and her nature studies, Starn is also well-known for her political quilts. Last year she was recognized in the annual FL3TCH3R exhibition at East Tennessee State University’s Reece Museum—which celebrates the spirit of social and political commentary through the art of quilting. Starn’s work “Sugar and Spice and Fundamental Rights”—which at first glance appears to be a traditional, pink bed quilt, but upon closer examination centers a provocative, hidden message—received the “Protection of Human Rights: Women’s Rights” Award. “In these pieces,” she explained, “is where I put my voice on matters I care about.”

In April, Starn will head to Slidell for the Gulf States Quilting Association Biennial Quilt Show—which she has participated in, off and on, for twenty years now. Celebrating quiltmakers creating what organizers describe as “not your grandmother’s quilts” organized under this year’s theme “Gulf States Beauty”—the exhibition will feature several of Starn’s works, spanning various techniques and artistic approaches.

“Cypress Sunset” is an idyllic depiction of a South Louisiana landscape, mostly painted on fabric, with cheesecloth arranged and sewed on top to represent the trees.

“Elegy” is a more abstract work that uses a traditional pattern, drawn from a quilt top attributed to Martha Washington from the Mount Vernon collection. By changing the colors so that the quilt is mostly white with stark black, unquilted blocks—“I was going for something that felt like a modern quilt, but [because of] the time period when I made it [during the pandemic], it ended up being more of a mourning quilt.”

“Jenny Anydots” represents Starn’s more playful style, emerging from a fabric challenge put on by a Ruston quilt and fabric shop in 2022 to depict—in a maximalist flurry of color and pattern—Starn’s cat.

And finally, there is “Throw Me Something, Martha,” a good old-fashioned tribute to Mardi Gras in intricate patterns of purple and gold and green, with Martha Washington at the center, wearing a mask and sipping on a hurricane. The quilt, adorned with real beads and doubloons, is one of Starn’s heaviest, she said. “This is obviously what Martha Washington would have done if she could have come to Mardi Gras,” she laughed. “It’s got very traditional elements to it, but it’s not very traditional. I figured it might speak to the folks at this show, celebrating the Gulf South.” •

See Starn’s work, along with over three hundred other quilts from regional artists, at the Gulf States Quilting Association Biennial Quilt Show on April 12–13 at the Harbor Center in Slidell. Details at gulfstatesquilting.org. See more of Starn’s work on her Instagram and Facebook accounts under the name “Splendiferous Fiber”.

These four quilts by Wendy Starn will be on display at the upcoming Gulf States Quilting Association Biennial Quilt Show on April 12–13. Top left to right: “Jenny Anydots,” “Cypress Sunset”. Bottom left to right: “Throw Me Something Mister,” “Elegy”.