Country Roads Magazine "The Good Deeds Issue" January 2025

Expert Cancer Care Close to Home

Ochsner Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center have clinically integrated to provide advanced cancer care, right here in Louisiana. That means access to life-saving clinical trials for innovative therapies, more specialists and more resources for our patients. Through this collaboration, Ochsner is the first and only provider in Louisiana with a fully integrated cancer program based on MD Anderson’s standards and treatment plans. Learn more at ochsner.org/EndCancer

Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center at Ochsner Cancer Center – Baton Rouge Ochsner MD Anderson Cancer Center at Ochsner Medical Complex – The Grove

Jennifer Perone, MD Surgical Oncology Baton Rouge

My Kingdom for a Nail Gun by James Fox-Smith

NEWS & NOTEWORTHIES

Revitalization in Lake Charles, Radio on the

TRY NEW THINGS

Resolve to hear more classical music, see local films & try contradansing

WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINE

Meet the women leading the fight for environmental justice in Cancer Alley by Wayan Barre

BEYOND JAZZ FEST

How the Jazz & Heritage Foundation is fostering the next generation of Louisiana musicians through music education programs by Christie Matherne Hall

38 THE POWER OF PUBLIC ART

Corey Christy’s mission to transform downtown Biloxi by Mimi Greenwood Knight 30

On the Cover

“SHE’S

A BONHOMME”

Photo by Wayan Barre

In Wayan Barre’s photo essay, “Women on the Frontline,” (page 30) he enters the historic, and economically vulnerable, communities of Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. Barre’s story celebrates the efforts of five women who have stepped up to defend their communities from the harm of the area’s enormous chemical and industrial presence through grassroots activism and education initiatives. Jo and Joy Banner, founders of The Descendants Project, were at the forefront of efforts to halt the controversial Greenfield Grain Elevator Project last year and are now working to open a museum at a former plantation site that will serve as a place of healing and reflection on the area’s history of enslavement, as well as the continuing resilience of Black communities in Cancer Alley.

In this first-ever “Good Deeds” issue, we celebrate the individuals and organizations who have stepped up to make a difference in their communities—whether that be by hosting trail rides to fundraise for breast cancer awareness, facilitating a public art program, or marching for environmental justice.

Outdoors

A TIME FOR REST

Provisioning Baton Rouge with plant-based possibilities by Lucie Monk Carter

Jiggly bits, buffalo burgers & filling community fridges by CR staff

Publisher James Fox-Smith

Associate

Publisher

Ashley Fox-Smith

Managing Editor

Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

Arts & Entertainment

Editor

Jacqueline DeRobertis-Braun

Creative Director Kourtney Zimmerman

Contributors:

Wayan Barre, Jess Cole, Victoria Dodge, Mimi Greenwood Knight, Drake LeBlanc, Susan Marquez, Christie Matherne Hall, Lucie Monk Carter, Sophie Nau, Eddie Robinson

Cover Artist Wayan Barre

Advertising

SALES@COUNTRYROADSMAG.COM

Sales Team

Heather Gammill & Heather Gibbons

Operations Coordinator Molly McNeal

President Dorcas Woods Brown

Embracing the season of dormancy in the garden by Jess Cole

LaPointe’s historic benevolent society by Victoria Dodge

52 THE ABSINTHE FORGER

A book review by Chris Turner-Neal

WHAT WOULD WELTY DO?

Three days in Jackson, Mississippi by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

Meet the restaurateur fighting food insecurity in Mississippi by Susan Marquez

Bringing America’s earliest known Black opera composer home by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot EXTRA TABLE

GOLDEN WASTE Manon Bellet captures the essence of place through scent by Sophie Nau

products or services herein. Country Roads magazine retains the right to refuse any advertisement. Country Roads cannot be responsible for delays in subscription deliveries due to U.S. Post Office handling of third-class mail.

Reflections

FROM THE PUBLISHER

While putting the finishing touches on this January issue, we heard about the Lafayette Tool Library. As the name suggests, this non-profit initiative enables Lafayette residents to check out tools to use in repair and maintenance projects, with a mission of making home ownership more affordable for families of modest income. In the context of an issue devoted to the theme “Good Deeds,” this seemed like a project worth learning about. So, I gave the Tool Library a call and had the lovely, if slightly disorienting, experience of hearing an Australian accent floating back up the line. Turns out that, like me, Tool Library co-founder Anna Kojevnikov is an Australian expat who moved to Louisiana for love. Unlike me, Anna settled in Lafayette, where her husband is a professor at ULL, and where she and her co-founder, Allison Nederveld, have thrown themselves into community building projects like the

Tool Library. You can read more about this simple, brilliant idea on page 8, al though sadly, you can’t take advantage of it unless you’re a Lafayette resident. Anna explained that, while hundreds of tool libraries operate in other parts of the country, in Louisiana the chal lenge of getting insurance coverage for an operation that entails loaning saws, ladders, and other potentially injuri ous equipment to the general public proved almost insurmountable. In fact, the only other Louisiana-based service is the New Orleans ToolBank; a simi lar effort in Baton Rouge ceased oper ations a while ago. This is a real pity, since it leaves people in other parts of the state gazing at their lengthening to-do lists and gnashing their teeth at the injustice of it all. This is especially true at the beginning of a new year, with ambitious home handypeople from Shreveport to Port Sulphur on the verge of resolving to make good on the home-improvement project they’ve been talking about for ages. As someone who inhabits an old, high-maintenance family home in a rural area, I certainly wish there was a tool library in St. Francisville. My wife does, too, since this would increase the odds that 2025 will be the year when she finally

to store her fantastical array of garden tools, pots, fertilizers, and soil amendment potions is an extremely dilapidated pole barn that has been gradually falling down since at least the 1930s. During that time, it has housed horses and chickens, and somewhere we have a black-and-white photograph showing turkeys being slaughtered there when this place was still a working farm. In the decades since it sheltered anything other than mice, this structure has been getting gradually shorter as termites make progress on its pole uprights. So, viewed from certain angles, it now leans haphazardly enough to make careful visitors think twice

about stepping inside on windy days. Still, in the context of the old farm that our place once was, this barn has a certain stocky dignity that whispers sweet nothings to the aspirational carpenter in me. All that stands in the way is a lack of the right tools to get the job done.

Well, that and my own distorted notions about how much can be done on any given weekend. In fact, regular readers might recall having heard about this resolution to build a sheshed before. It’s true, I did, but then in 2024 life intervened. Somehow, here we stand on the threshold of another year with the termites a bit better fed, the pole barn a little shorter, and the prospect of a winter weekend’s (okay, maybe three weekends’) construction project still to come. So, until St. Francisville gets a tool library of its own, I’ll resolve again to build the thing this year using my own meagre tool selection. After putting up with being the subject of this column all these years, it’s the least my wife deserves. Shame on me if you open the January, 2026 issue of Country Roads and read about this again.

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

A Special Advertising Feature from Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

Crafted Care

Volunteer shares support for cancer patients with homemade greeting cards

These days, a greeting card is just as likely to arrive by email or social media as it is via the mailbox, but for Central resident Kohne Keen, there’s nothing like the real McCoy.

Last summer, this big-hearted crafter put her artistic passion to work and began making handmade greeting cards for patients at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. Offering words of encouragement and original colorful designs, Kohne creates sentiments meant to lift the spirits of anyone experiencing the cancer journey.

“I just love making cards, and I thought cancer patients could use a boost to their morale,” said Kohne (pronounced cah-nee). “I lost both parents and my 51-year-old son-in-law to cancer, so it’s an issue close to my heart.”

A lifelong crafter, Kohne began making greeting cards when she was moved to do something for patients at the Alexandria Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. Her late father had spent time there as a young man after contracting tuberculosis following his service in World War II on a destroyer in the Pacific. During an extended, two-year stay at the hospital in his early twenties, he met Kohne’s mother, whom he would later marry.

“Can you imagine being in the hospital for two years,” mused Kohne, 67.

She has not only sent cards to the Alexandria VA Medical Center, but also to troops stationed around the world.

It was a project she thoroughly enjoyed, and it made her wonder who else she might send cards to. That’s when she reached out to Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

“I really have a soft spot for cancer patients,” Kohne said. “I want them to know that they matter.”

Kohne regularly drops off bundles of handmade cards to the cancer center’s Essen Lane location. She estimates she’s made at least 400 since last fall. Brightly colored and often cut into fun shapes and styles, the cards are placed in baskets at the front desk and other locations throughout the building. Patients’ families and caregivers are welcome to grab a card at any time for their loved ones. Moreover, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center team members can also pick up cards to give to patients who might be feeling low.

Kohne spends hours poring over her craft table, creating fresh designs with bright paper she finds online or in hobby stores. And she works while battling her own challenge, a 40-year fight with Parkinson’s Disease. Even with fine motor limitations, Kohne makes an effort to inscribe every card with a heartfelt message.

“It’s very hard for me to write, but I might write, ‘Stay strong,’ or ‘You can do this,’” she says. “And in every card, I write, ‘You matter to me,’ and my signature as a smiley face. Because everybody matters to me.”

Mary Bird Perkins relies on numerous dedicated volunteers like Kohne who contribute their time, skills and compassion to support patients and their families, says Danielle Mack, vice president and chief development officer. In fact, the cancer center exists because of the community’s generosity.

“Philanthropy shines through in countless ways, through generous gifts, dedicated volunteer hours or by creating heartfelt cards like these,” Danielle said. “We are grateful for the many ways that supporters like Kohne support our mission. Their generosity helps provide the life-changing care that makes such a profound difference in our patients’ lives.”

Kohne is proof that everyone has something unique to share with those in need. She’s turned her passion into small, but significant gestures that make a big difference in the life of a patient.

“I just really want people to know that someone is thinking about them,” she said. “And that I appreciate what they’re going through.”

Right Tool, Right Time

WITH HUNDREDS OF TOOLS AVAILABLE TO BORROW, THE LAFAYETTE TOOL LIBRARY AIMS TO BUILD A BETTER LAFAYETTE, ONE HOME MAINTENANCE PROJECT AT A TIME

Anyone who ever started a home maintenance project only to abandon it for lack of the right tools will appreciate the enthusiasm that has greeted the launch of the Lafayette Tool Library. Operating since October 2024 from a box trailer that sets up on Saturdays, the hnon-profit Tool Library lets Lafayette Parish residents borrow a wide variety of tools— from shovels to scroll saws—for free. All you need is a photo ID and proof of address. According to co-founder Anna Kojevnikov, efforts to establish a local tool library began in 2020, when extensive property damage left in the wake of Hurricane Laura revealed the extent to which Gulf Coast homeowners of moderate income were struggling with home maintenance and repair projects due to lack of access to tools. Eventually, using a combination of grant funding and private donations of funds and equipment, Kojevnikov and co-founder Allison Nederveld were able to purchase a Tool Library trailer, and outfit it with carefully curated selections of hand, power, garden, plumbing, flooring, and automotive tools. So, whether a homeowner needs something as general as a step ladder or as specific as a tile saw, the Tool Library can provide. With hundreds of tools available, the library has sorted many into project-specific kits, enabling a homeowner embarking on a flooring, painting, yard, or electrical project to borrow a kit containing everything they’ll need. Kojevnikov noted that much of the inventory has come from private donations. “A guy’s dad passed away and he didn’t know what to do with his tools,” she said. “He called us and donated thousands of dollars’ worth of tools.”

While hundreds of free tool libraries operate in other parts of the country, Nederveld explained that challenges accessing liability insurance make them rare in South Louisiana—where the combination of frequent storms and a socioeconomic landscape that make the need especially great. “This is a mutual aid thing,” explained Nederveld, who also serves as board president. “In Lafayette, many of the houses aren’t owned by well-off people. We don’t want anyone to have to buy a tool for a project. The goal is to make home maintenance more within reach for more people.”

Currently, the Lafayette Tool Library opens every Saturday from 8 am–11 am at Habitat for Humanity’s Lafayette location, 1317 Surrey Street. Having outgrown the trailer, the initiative’s plans for 2025 include moving to a permanent space, increasing operating hours, and developing a series of community workshops to teach general maintenance. To learn more, donate tools, or support an ongoing capital campaign to finance the permanent location, visit lafayettetoollibrary.org.

—James Fox-Smith

Radio on the Prairie

A NEW STATION FOR THE ATCHAFALAYA REGION

In 2019, when Brandon and Aurore Ballengée purchased acreage adjacent to their nature reserve in h Arnaudville, they also got a telecommunications tower thrown in.

“I think there was like a cable company and they went out of business, and they left everything there,” said Aurore, a culinary educator focused on sustainable food and food justice. She and her husband Brandon, who is a multimedia artist and biologist, have operated Atelier de la Nature since 2017 as a nature reserve, sculpture garden, and education center.

And now, with a permit from the FCC in hand, they have finally found a way to make use of their onsite tower. Enter: KRPB-Radio on the Prairie.

The new LPFM community radio station—a collaboration between the Ballengées, artist and environmental activist

Monique Verdin, and Louisiana French musician Louis Michot—will officially broadcast in 2026 to the Cecelia/ Henderson/Arnaudville area and online.

KRPB was conceived as a means to amplify and archive cultural practices and traditions of this region, as well as educate on subjects like Louisiana’s unique environmental challenges. The Ballengées plan to feature conversations about local foodways, languages, history, and, of course, music. Plans are in place for a “mad scientist” show by biologist Ben Dubansky, and other programs focused on topics ranging from prairie habitat to fermenting foods.

“But it’s going to be more than just entertainment radio,” said Aurore. The station will also serve as an important el-

“WE DON’T WANT ANYONE TO HAVE TO BUY A TOOL FOR A PROJECT. THE GOAL IS TO MAKE HOME MAINTENANCE MORE WITHIN REACH FOR MORE PEOPLE.”

—ALLISON NEDERVELD, CO-FOUNDER OF THE LAFAYETTE TOOL LIBRARY

ement of the Ballengée’s ongoing project to outfit Atelier de la Nature as a “lighthouse” shelter for the area—a refuge members of the surrounding community can come to during disasters for power and food. “We’ve got a solar generator and some emergency provisions,” said Brandon. And now, they will also have a means of real-time communication that doesn’t rely on electricity or the internet.

“There are also some devices you can get, working with FEMA and NOAA, where you can get hyperlocalized weather alerts,” said Aurore. “So, we’re planning

on setting that up so we can be that resource for this area.”

The Ballengées envision the station as a community contribution that is simultaneously a celebration of heritage, an exploration of environment, and display of resilience looking to the future and its challenges. The next year will be spent fundraising for equipment, infrastructure, and programming, and Atelier de la Nature is currently accepting donations at atelierdelanature.org.

—Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

From the Ashes

LAKE CHARLES RISES ABOVE THE DEVASTATION OF RECENT HURRICANES WITH $50 MILLION IN TOURISM

From the devastation of recent hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020, Lake Charles is reemerging and restyling itself as an innovative Southern destination with three landmark attractions unveiling in 2025, totaling almost $50 million. A merging of modern design with the city’s culture and natural beauty, the investment will hopefully, according to tourism leaders, bring families flocking to the metropolis.

“We’re thrilled to offer visitors and locals alike experiences that highlight the best of Southwest Louisiana,” said Kyle Edmiston, Visit Lake Charles President and CEO.

Most anticipated among the upcoming attractions is Port Wonder, a 25,000-square-foot lakeside feature debuting in February that will operate as a hub for learning and exploration. The site will house both the Children’s Museum of Southwest Louisiana—chock-full of interactive exhibits for the littles—and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Nature and Science Center —a STEM-forward space with both saltwater and freshwater aquariums.

The Children’s Museum, revived after being shuttered following Hurricane Laura, will comprise four distinct galleries: Nature, Health, Tech, and City. In Nature, visitors will wander through oversized nature elements, such as a pollinator garden and alligator’s nest. Kids will learn about the senses and body in the Health section, and delve into a Tinker Lab in Tech. The City will feature a miniature of just that, where children can explore

ATTRACTIONS

the Kids Port, the Calcasieu Pass Lighthouse Climber, and Cowboy’s Café.

“Port Wonder is a game-changer for Lake Charles— set to transform our lakefront into a hub of innovation, education, and family fun,” said Matt Young, director of public relations at Visit Lake Charles. “[It] will bring imagination to life, offering something for everyone and

helping our community attract further investment. It’s the spark that will ignite economic growth.”

Also opening its doors in the coming months is Crying Eagle Brewing-Lakefront, a full-service restaurant with a seafood menu and microbrewery. And just in time for Carnival season, the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu will roll out its inauguratory welcome with an exhibition of more than four hundred historic costumes spanning fifty years. Nestled in the Nellie Lutcher Cultural District, the museum will also display animatronic figures, such as Norah Jean, the talking dog from the Krewe of Barkus. visitlakecharles.org.

—Jacqueline DeRobertis-Braun

How Do You Enjoy Your Country Roads?

This past November, on a mild and muggy morning at the Louisiana Book Festival, we, the editors at Country Roads, greeted scores of readers who stopped by our table to collect a bookmark and the latest copy of the magazine. Apart from the gushing comments about November’s serendipitously timed Film & Literature theme, we heard from longtime readers just how they enjoyed their Country Roads.

One woman shared how she would read the magazine cover-to-cover with her grandmother in her living room; others told us about being dedicated readers for decades, or confided where they regularly found their copies. Most memorably, one older couple described a monthly ritual in which husband and wife would head to Baton Rouge’s Coffee Call, collect their copies of the magazine from the restaurant stand, purchase their coffee, and read the issue together. Reader, we were smitten with the tales.

This begs the question: How do you enjoy your Country Roads? After almost forty-two years of publishing in this region, we hope our magazine might have become a meaningful fixture in some of your lives. Whether you’re a college student killing time at a coffee shop or a frazzled parent searching for seasonal activities for your family, we want to hear your Country Roads memories. We will read them all, and we will print the ones we find the most moving, humorous, or enlightening in a forthcoming edition of this magazine.

Email your anecdotes to editorial@countryroadsmag.com. Or if you prefer, pen us a hard copy. Please send your musings to PO Box 490. St. Francisville LA 70775.

—Jacqueline DeRobertis-Braun

With a new entrance off Highway 19, you'll step into an immersive wildlife experience featuring new exhibits and renovations. Explore Sapo Springs, with pygmy hippos and colobus monkeys, and a new giraffe exhibit offering up-close encounters.

Discover your re-imagined BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo! The journey begins as you enter—surrounded by nature and wildlife, the adventure unfolds. This is just the beginning!

UNTIL JAN 9th

VISUAL ARTS

"LET IT SNEAUX!" BY THE ART GUILD OF LOUISIANA

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Tour a member show by the Art Guild of Louisiana titled Let it Sneaux! at the Independence Park Theatre for a seasonal creative excursion this winter. artguildlouisiana.org. 1

UNTIL JAN 10th

VISUAL ARTS

ENCHANTING NATURE

Lafayette, Louisiana

Don't miss this joint art show, Enchanting Nature, from photographer John Slaughter and artist Jesse Poimboeuf at The Frame Shop Gallery 912. Slaughter's books include Grand Coteau, Catahoula, and Marfa and the Mystique of Far West Texas. The show will exhibit images of the Brown Pelican taken in Louisiana, Florida, and California. Poimboeuf, in his fifty-third year of exhibiting his naturefocused art, will show a number of pieces, including a limited edition multi-color lithograph which he has been working on with Brian Kelly at UL Marais Press. Opening night on November 8, 6:30 pm–8:30 pm. (337) 235-2915. gallery912.com 1

UNTIL JAN 11th

VISUAL ARTS

THE SUM OF US: RALPH SCHEXNAYDRE JR. AND DOUG NEHRBASS

Lafayette, Louisiana

Arnaudville artist Ralph Schexnaydre Jr. has spent the past few years working with non-camera generated imagery, using alternative and antiquated photographic processes. In this new collaborative exhibition at Glide Studios in Lafayette, Schexnaydre's approach to abstract cyanotypes receives another layer of artistry from Lafayette painter Doug Nehrbass. Individual works by both artists will also be featured in the exhibition, which is titled The Sum of Us. On view during the second Saturday of the month Artwalks in downtown Lafayette, or by appointment at (337) 258-6788. 1

UNTIL JAN 18th

VISUAL ARTS

PROFOUND PRINTS: ART BY EXCEPTIONAL WOMEN

Lafayette, Louisiana

The dynamic, bold vision of women printmakers from the 1970s to the present dominates the Profound Prints: Art by Exceptional Women exhibition at the

Hilliard Art Museum. Featuring works by Louise Bourgeois, Faith Ringgold, and Kara Walker, among others, the exhibition celebrates the diverse creativity of the artists who developed unique techniques to enrich the art world. Subjects range from self-portraits to nature to the built environment. Printmaking techniques include etchings, relief prints, lithographs, and more. The show also features prints created for the National Museum of Women in the Arts' tenth anniversary portfolio. hilliardmuseum.org.

UNTIL

VISUAL ARTS

HAITIAN ART: THE JACQUES BARTOLI COLLECTION

Port Allen, Louisiana

Haitian Art: The Jacques Bartoli Collection, on view at the West Baton Rouge Museum, celebrates all things Haitian art, and will be on display in both the Whitehead and Brick Galleries. Art collector Jacques Bartoli's collection includes vibrant sculptures, sacred art flags, and paintings. His art has been on display at a range of venues, such as the Natural History Museum in New York. westbatonrougemuseum.org. 1

Stroll through the beautiful, lush grounds of Longue Vue House and Gardens on a Forest Walk this January, designed to sooth the mind and body. A guide from Swamp Lotus leads participants on a therapy walk through the estate's eight acres, immersing themselves in nature. See more details on page 24. Photo provided by Longue Vue.

Events

Beginning January 1st - January 5th

UNTIL JAN 28th

VISUAL ARTS

"DREAMSPACE"

Bossier City, Louisiana

Bossier Arts Council presents local artist Whitney Tates at the East Bank Gallery for Dreamspace. The solo exhibition delves into the many unknowables of the subconscious, questioning what dreamscapes look like to the viewer, and providing answers in each piece intended to provoke deeper thought. The exhibition invites interpretation and urges viewers to sit with spaces both without and within. Tates, who lives and works in Shreveport, explores the duality of the mind and body in their show. bossierarts.org. 1

UNTIL FEB 1st

VISUAL ARTS

PETER JONES: CONTEMPORARY REALIST RETROSPECTIVE

Monroe, Louisiana

Peter Jones, a figurative painter, showcases his work at the Masur Museum for an

him across the country, Jones focuses on still lifes and landscapes in his art, working in oil on panel or canvas. masurmuseum.org. 1

UNTIL FEB 1st

EXHIBITIONS

"GOING TO SEE A MAN ABOUT A HORSE"

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Yes We Cannibal presents its final Baton Rouge show, Jeremy ToussaintBaptiste's Going To See A Man About A Horse, which explores the nuances and complexities of Black Sites, or “Sigh/ tes.” For the exhibition, ToussaintBaptiste—an artist, composer, and performer—returns to their home city to engage with themes vital to their work. Alongside sculpltural configurations created over a decade by the artist using eBay, Toussaint-Baptiste will perform a series with decommissioned police sound technologies, The show coincides with Toussaint-Baptiste's debut of a

One of the pieces from the collection of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum that will be shared with participants of the Friends of Magnolia Mound twenty-fifth annual Petite Antiques Forum this January. At the Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge, Laura Barry, the Juli Grainger Curator

JAN 2nd

CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS

HANUKKAH PARTY AT THE OPELOUSAS MUSEUM

Opelousas, Louisiana

The Opelousas Museum will host its first ever Hanukkah Party with an evening of cultural foods, music, arts and crafts, lectures, and demonstrations. Be sure to catch a talk by Leslie Schiff, who will give a lecture about his life in the Opelousas Jewish Community from his childhood to today. Watch a menorah lighting demonstration, participate in dreidel games, and snack on latkes and sufganiyot (doughnuts). Free. 5:30 pm–7:30 pm. museum@cityofopelousas.com. 1

JAN 2nd - JAN 23rd

CLASSES

THE ART GUILD OF LOUISIANA'S ACRYLIC WORKSHOP

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Beginner painters looking for a fresh start for the new year will enjoy the Art Guild of Louisiana's Acrylic Workshop, Larry Downs' "Color Your Life" throughout January. The introductory acrylics class will be held at the Studio in the Park on Silverest Avenue. Thursdays from 3 pm–6 pm. $75 for AGL members; $90 for non-members. artguildlouisiana.org. 1

JAN 4th

MUSIC SERIES

LPO MARKET NIGHTS

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a new, intimate series titled LPO Market Nights, with live music from LPO and rising local musicians at the New Orleans Jazz Market. Beginning with a happy hour, during which a local DJ will preside, the performance will follow with a guest artist and LPO musicians. The first event will feature LPO and People Museum. 5:30 pm happy hour, 7 pm performance. $40. lpomusic.com. 1

JAN 4th

CLASSES

CONTRA DANCING

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Put on your dancing shoes in the new year: Contra dancing at St. Alban's Chapel is sure to get you moving to the beat. A traditional American social dance, similar to square dancing but done in two long lines, contra dancing requires no experience, with both singles and couples welcome. Newcomer orientation 3:45 pm–4 pm; dance 4 pm–6:30 pm. $7. louisianacontrasandsquares.com. 1

JAN

4th - JAN 31st

VISUAL ARTS

"ALL THINGS NEW ORLEANS"

New Orleans, Louisiana

This January, Gallery 600 Julia presents All Things New Orlean s, an exhibition by artist Linda Lesperance. The show will display vivid and iconic views of New Orleans cultural life, including restaurants, local bars, brass bands, and second lines. Filled with bright colors and the exuberance of the city, her art will be sure to evoke the New Orleans viewers know and love. An artist reception will be held January 4 from 6 pm–8 pm. gallery600julia.com. 1

JAN 4th - FEB 14th

VISUAL ARTS

LEMIEUX GALLERIES: "BIRTHPLACE" AND "CELLS AND CYCLES"

New Orleans, Louisiana

LeMieux Galleries presents two solo exhibitions to kick off a new year.

Carrie Ann Baade's Birthplace traces her Louisiana and Southern ancestral connections back to the late 1600s, through which she delves into the history of her lineage—particularly the resilience of the women in her family— before further exploring the nuances of colonial disruption. She works in collage

and painting for the exhibition. Kate Samworth's Cells and Cycles is populated by circles and keyholes, rooted in symbols that help access, interpret, and express the links between humanity, nature, and the divine. Her work, which attempts to grasp the intangible, serves as a space to dwell on grief and mortality, inviting viewers into a space of contemplation. An opening reception will be held January 4 from 6 pm–8 pm. lemieuxgalleries.com. 1

JAN 5th - JAN 14th

THEATRE "WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?"

New Orleans, Louisiana

Learn what dark secrets George and Martha are hiding from each other and the outside world in this immersive production of Edward Albee's masterpiece Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? The story focuses on a night between two couples that quickly shifts from a polite, drunken affair into something more debaucherous, vulnerable, and explosive. Filled with the fraught politics of academica and simmering marital tensions, the play explores the thin line between illusion and reality while delving into the hypocrisies of social expectations. Staged by the New Orleans female-driven theater

Events

Beginning January 6th - January 8th

company, The Fire Weeds—this show is being staged through most of January at Big Couch. Performances at 7:30 pm. $12–$45. thefireweeds.org. 1

JAN 6th

CARNIVAL

MANDE KINGS DAY PARADE

Mandeville, Louisiana

Northshore's first all-women marching organization, the Mande Milkshakers, gather for the annual Kings Day Parade and Festival on the Lakefront— traditionally held on the Saturday closest to Kings Day, or Epiphany— heralding the start of Carnival. Catch the procession heading west from the harbor along the lakefront before proceeding to the Trailhead. The parade and afterparty alike are open to everyone: join in on foot, on bike, via golf cart, or in your vehicle. Carnival attire encouraged. The afterparty will feature performances by local musicians, the Mande Milkshakers, and plenty of food and refreshments. 3 pm. Free. mandemilkshakers.com. 1

JAN 6th

CARNIVAL

MARDI GRAS TWELFTH NIGHT CELEBRATION

Lake Charles, Louisiana

The exciting Mardi Gras season kicks off with the annual Twelfth Night Celebration, as last year's royal courts usher in the New Year in style with their extraordinary and intricate costumes at the Lake Charles Event Center. This affair marks the start of Southwest Louisiana's Mardi Gras, which includes everything from parades and galas to chicken runs and zydeco. Don't forget to check for the baby in your king cake for your chance to win prizes from local merchants! 7 pm. visitlakecharles.org. 1

JAN 6th

CARNIVAL

PHUNNY PHORTY PHELLOWS STREETCAR RIDE

New Orleans, Louisiana

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras begins every year on Twelfth Night with the Phunny Phorty Phellows (or PPP) ushering in Mardi Gras season in a "Carnival Countdown" before loading up on a streetcar and riding merrily up and down the St. Charles line. Stop along the route to cheer them on, enjoy the music of the Storyville Stompers,

and catch your first throws of the year. If you attend, keep their motto at top of mind: "A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the best of men." 7 pm. phunnyphortyphellows.com. 1

JAN 6th

CARNIVAL

ST. JOAN OF ARC PARADE

New Orleans, Louisiana

Admirers of the "Maid of Orleans" gather annually on January 6 to honor Joan of Arc with a medieval-themed walking parade and theatrical procession beginning at the corner of Bienville and N. Front Street. It's all in honor of Joan's birthday and her first battle victory, which resulted in the liberation of the citizens of Orleans, France, from a British siege in 1429. January 6 also happens to be Twelfth Night, which makes the Joan of Arc Parade a convenient kick-off event for the traditional start of Carnival season. The parade rolls at 7 pm and makes three pauses for toasts, a sword blessing, and a king cake ceremony at the end. joanofarcparade.org. 1

JAN 8th

LECTURES

THE ROYAL STREET CORRIDOR: AMERICA’S MOST LITERARY NEIGHBORHOOD?

New Orleans, Louisiana

Join Dr. T.R. Johnson at Gallier Historic House for a lecture on the literary history of the French Quarter. A professor of English at Tulane University, Johnson will explore how New Orleans now occupies a unique, singular space in the collective imagination—especially when it comes to literature and literary imaginings. Johnson will focus specifically on Royal Street, a favorite as a literary legacy. 6 pm. $15. hgghh.org. 1

JAN 8th

BALLET

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Experience all the magic and romance of a classic tale brought to life in a ballet at the River Center Theatre for the Performing Arts in Baton Rouge. Classical Arts Entertainment presents The Sleeping Beauty, which spins the story of the princess Aurora, the evil fairy who curses her, and the prince who frees her at last. 7 pm. Tickets start at $75. theatre.raisingcanesrivercenter.com. 1

Events

Beginning January 9th - January 11th

JAN

9th

MUSIC

RICKIE LEE JONES AT THE MANSHIP

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Manship Theatre in Baton Rouge welcomes two-time Grammy Award winner Rickie Lee Jones for a one-nightonly performance in celebration of a vibrant, four-decades-long career. Since her debut album in 1979, Jones is known for her storytelling and soulful sound, and her accolades are now numerous. Don't miss the so-called "Duchess of Coolsville" (per none other than The New Yorker). 7:30 pm. $55–$75. manshiptheatre.org. 1

JAN 9th

SYMPHONIES

NORTHSHORE CLASSICS: MOZART & TCHAIKOVSKY

Covington, Louisiana

Fans of classical music will be riveted by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra's performance of Northshore Classics: Mozart & Tchaikovsky at the Fuhrmann Auditorium. The night begins with an homage to Amadeus Mozart by French composer Jacques Ibert, then a piece by Mozart himself before transitioning to an overture by Chevalier de SaintGeorge and closing with Mozartiana by Tchaikovsky. 7:30 pm–9:30 pm. $35–$67; $13 for students and children. lpomusic.com. 1

JAN 9th

MUSIC

LES DEUX QS: SARAH QUINTANA AND ANNA LAURA QUINN

New Orleans, Louisiana

Don't miss a performance by Sarah Quintana and Anna Laura Quinn—"Les Deux Qs"—at the Marigny Opera House as they harmonize and showcase their individual musical personalities in a delightful collaboration. Doors open at 7 pm, performance at 7:30 pm. $25 suggested donation; $15 for students; none turned away for lack of funds. marignyoperahouse.org. 1

JAN

9th - JAN 26th

THEATRE

GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR

New Orleans, Louisiana

Journey back in time at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre to relive one infamous night of a talk show in Good Night,

Oscar. Set in 1958, Jack Paar interviews famous musician and celebrity Oscar Levant live on national TV, in a night Americans won't soon forget. 7:30 pm Thursdays–Saturdays; an additional 2 pm performance Saturday, January 25; 3 pm Sundays. $22–$42. lepetittheatre.com. 1

JAN 10th - JAN 12th

GATHERINGS

FAN EXPO NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans, Louisiana

Fan Expo New Orleans will be in the Big Easy for three days, when lovers of time travel, zombies, and more descend on the Convention Center to revel in fandom galore. The convention honors the creation and celebration of all corners of pop culture, from fantasy to sci-fi, gaming to graphic novels, books, movies, TV, and beyond; it's a place where characters from the screen, the page, and the fans' own imaginations come to life for an action-packed weekend sure to thrill. This year's Expo features Back to the Future trilogy stars, headlined by Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson, Andy Serkis, known for his work in Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes, and the Doctor Who pair of Mandip Gill and Catherine Tate, among many others. The weekend features artists, gaming, live entertainment, costume contests, and more. 3 pm–9 pm Friday; 10 am–7 pm Saturday; 10 am–5 pm Sunday. fanexpohq.com. 1

JAN

FILM

10th - JAN 12th

ABITA SPRINGS

INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Abita Springs, Louisiana

Each year, the small town of Abita Springs hosts an International Film Festival, featuring a slate of independent films from across the globe, plus opening night entertainment and a closing party. General admission is $15 for Friday, $25 for Saturday, and $20 for Sunday; $50 "Film Critic" passes for all three days of screenings or $100 allinclusive VIP package also available. abitaspringsinternationalfilmfestival.org. 1

JAN 10th - JAN 31st

MUSIC

LIVE MUSIC AT TIPITINA'S New Orleans, Louisiana

The famous Tchoupitoulas venue

barrels down an abstract Mississippi River. On display from January 14–February 28. Page 19. Photo provided by LSU College of Art & Design.

continues bringing a wide variety of New Orleans' favorite musical acts to its legendary stage. Here's what's happening:

• January 10: John Craigie + Sabine McCalla. Doors 7 pm, show 8 pm.

• January 16–18: The Radiators 2025 Anniversary. Doors 9 pm, show 10 pm.

• January 19: Raw Oyster Cult. Doors 8 pm, show 9 pm.

• January 25: Kyle Roussel’s Church of New Orleans Album Release With Special Guests Ivan Neville, Joseph “Zigaboo”

Modeliste, Preservation Hall-Stars, John Boutté, Erica Falls, Glen David Andrews, and more. Doors 8 pm, show 9 pm.

• January 28: Moon Zooz: Too Many Zooz + Moon Hooch with Honeycomb. Doors 7 pm, show 8 pm.

• January 30: Nick Shoulders and The Okay Crawdad + Sabine McCalla. Doors 7 pm, show 8 pm.

• January 31: Tab Benoit: I Hear Thunder Tour + Sierra Green. Doors 8 pm, show 9 pm.

Ticket prices at tipitinas.com. 1

JAN 10th - JAN 31st

MUSIC

2025 JAZZ & HERITAGE SPRING CONCERT SERIES

New Orleans, Louisiana

Ring in the new year with traditional and contemporary jazz through a fourweek concert series offered by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation— an exciting lineup of favorites performing throughout the month of January. The 2025 Jazz & Heritage Spring Concert Series will take place at the George and Joyce Wein Jazz & Heritage Center and highlight modern jazz's evolution. The schedule is as follows:

• January 10: Mark Braud’s New Orleans Jazz Giants

• January 11: Victor Campbell

• January 17: Mikhala “Jazz Muffin” Iversen

• January 18: Jason Marsalis Presents: The Rare Works of Ellis Marsalis

• January 24: The Pfister Sisters

• January 25: Jason Stewart Quintet ft. Donald Vega

• January 31: Panorama Brass Band

• February 1: Steve Masakowski Family and Friends

All shows at 8 pm. $10. jazzandheritage.org. 1

JAN 11th

ALL A TWITTER

BIRD WALK WITH AUDUBON Saint Francisville, Louisiana

Enjoy a bird walk and tour with the Baton Rouge Audubon Society at Audubon State Historic Site, keeping a lookout for feathered friends once seen by artist and naturalist John James Audubon. $5 for park admission. Preregistration required. 8 am. (225)-635-3739. 1

JAN 11th

CARNIVAL

ST. JOHN FOOLS OF MISRULE TWELFTH NIGHT MARCH

Covington, Louisiana

Noting the absence of proper Twelfth Night merrymaking on the Northshore, The Fools of Misrule marching club was formed in 2011 to herald the arrival of Carnival season in St. Tammany Parish with proper tomfoolery. The organization's rituals are derived from an ancient English men's group that clamored along the evening streets, creating "unruliness." If you happen to be abroad on the streets of Old Covington and find yourself on the receiving end of a jolly old English tongue lashing, don't say we didn't warn you. Catch the parade marching along New Hampshire Street

APRIL 4-6, 2025

Above are pictured two 3D-printed ants from Britt Ransom's exhibition at the Glassell Gallery titled Sticky. The show features ants such as these forming an ant "raft" to ferry sugary oil

Events

Beginning January 11th - January 17th

to Boston, north along Columbia— stopping at watering holes along the way to the Covington Trailhead. 6 pm. Free. foolsofmisrule.com. 1

JAN 11th

HISTORICAL FIGURES

THE LEGACY OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

To honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with Justice Sunday, join Dr. Charles Vincent, Baker City Councilman and president of the Mwalimu Institute, at the Baker Branch Library to view a video on King's life (seen on the American Experience program, Citizen King).

Then take part in a dialogue about your viewing experience and King's impact on America. 10 am. Free. ebrpl.com. 1

JAN 11th

GREEN THUMBS

HOW TO SELECT ROSES FOR YOUR GARDEN

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Hosted by the Baton Rouge Botanic

Garden Foundation, “How to Select Roses for Your Garden” at the Main Library at Goodwood will be sure to inspire gardeners to make the most of the winter months by poring over the plethora of classic blooms to consider. Led by consulting rosarian Sheldon Johnson, the event will help attendees understand more about the thousands of commercially available rose bushes available and what varieties are likely to thrive in their gardens. If the weather allows, a tour of the Baton Rouge Botanic Gardens adjacent to the Library will follow. 10 am. Free. ebrpl.com. 1

JAN 11th - JAN 12th

WILD THINGS

LOUISIANA FUR & WILDLIFE FESTIVAL Cameron, Louisiana

The "oldest and coldest" Southwest Louisiana festival, as it's billed by organizers, caters to all ages and interests, featuring parades, a gumbo cook-off, pageants, a 5k and 1-mile run/ walk, dances, music, and a carnival complete with amusement rides. The

main attractions for many participants, however, are unique contests such as duck and goose calling, trap setting, nutria and muskrat skinning, oyster shucking, and skeet shooting. The dog trials are always a favorite among hunters. lafurandwildlifefestival.net. 1

JAN 11th - JAN 13th

HISTORICAL FIGURES

LINCOLN AT THE LIBRARY Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Pick a time to meet Honest Abe at various Baton Rouge Library locations

this January. Learn more about America's history and the life of an iconic president. The offerings are as follows:

• January 11: “A Visit with Mr. Lincoln” (for kids). 3 pm. Jones Creek Regional Branch Library.

• January 12: “Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom.” 2:30 pm. Central Branch Library.

• January 13: “Lincoln on Literature and the Theatre.” 6 pm. Main Library at Goodwood Free. ebrpl.com. 1

out

Pictured above is "Baade Wedding Portrait for Hypolite Chauvin and Joseph Turpin," a piece featured in Carrie Ann Baade’s Birthplace, on exhibition January 4–February 14 at LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans. Baade's first solo exhibition delves into her Louisiana heritage, tracing her ancestry back to colonial Louisiana and the tumultuous contradictions found there. She focuses in particular on the women in her family's past whose contributions may have been overlooked. Page 13. Photo provided by LeMieux Galleries.

JAN 14th - JAN 20th

THEATRE & JULIET

New Orleans, Louisiana

Head to the Saenger Theatre for & Juliet, a comedic flip of the Shakespearean classic that wonders what would happen if Juliet didn't end it all for love, and instead found a new beginning. Pop anthems such as "Since U Been Gone‚" "Roar," "Baby One More Time," and "Larger Than Life" will feature in the production, amping up the retelling for a modern audience. 7:30 pm Tuesday–Thursday; 8 pm Friday; 2 pm and 8 pm Saturday; 1 pm and 6:30 pm Sunday. $30–$179. saengernola.com. 1

JAN 14th - FEB 28th

ART EXHIBITION

BRITT RANSOM: "STICKY"

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Glassell Gallery presents Britt Ransom's Sticky, which features 3D-printed ant raft sculptures ferrying candy oil barrels down the Mississippi River. The exhibition serves as a commentary on sugar production and dominance, as well as its legacy of exploitation. A free, public reception will be held February 8 at 5 pm in LSU West Howe Russell Hall room 130. Free. design.lsu.edu. 1

JAN 15th - JAN 19th

FILM

BATON ROUGE JEWISH FILM

FESTIVAL

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Baton Rouge Jewish Film Festival returns this year, bringing a series of acclaimed films to the Manship Theatre related to Jewish culture and history. On the bill are:

• January 15: Yaniv! —A comedy-drama about a Bronx high school teacher who plays Yaniv, an Israeli card game, to raise $10,000 for a school theater production. 7 pm. $14.50.

• January 16: The Blond Boy from the Casbah —A film in which a passionate filmmaker travels to Algiers, his birthplace, with his son to relive his childhood during the country's preindependence period. 7 pm. $14.50. • January 18: Kidnapped —A film about the true story of Edgardo Mortara, a Jewish boy who was secretly baptized and then taken from his family to be raised as a Catholic in mid-1800s Italy. 7:30 pm. $14.50.

• January 19: Gentlemen’s Agreement — Starring Gregory Peck as a journalist pretending to be Jewish to investigate anti-semitism in New York, the film won three Academy Awards in 1947 and was

acclaimed for an unflinching portrayal of prejudice in post-war America. 3 pm. $14.50.

Visit brjff.com to view clips from the films and read additional details. manshiptheatre.org. 1

JAN 16th

WORKSHOPS

ABITA SONGWRITERS CIRCLE

Abita Springs, Louisiana

Held the third Thursday of each month at the Abita Springs Town Hall, the Abita Springs Songwriters Circle provides a space for songwriters of all walks of life to circle up and showcase their work in a positive and collaborative setting. 7 pm–10 pm. Free. Contact Todd Lemoine at forkarmabooking@gmail.com for more information. 1

JAN 17th

MUSIC

HISTORICAL HAPPY HOUR

FEATURING THE BATON ROUGE BLUES FESTIVAL FOUNDATION AND LIL RAY NEAL

Port Allen, Louisiana

Head to the Juke Joint stage at the West Baton Rouge Museum for January's Historical Happy Hour. This month's jam session will coincide with the release

of the Baton Rouge Blues Festival's 2025 Festival Art. On stage, artist Lil Ray Neal, part of a legendary Blues family from West Baton Rouge, will be sure to capture the Happy Hour audience with his guitar and deep voice. 6 pm–8 pm. Free. westbatonrougemuseum.org. 1

JAN 17th

PARTIES

THE TENNESSEE

WILLIAMS BALL

New Orleans, Louisiana

Get gussied up in something special (per dress code instructions to wear something "joyful" for a night of literary revelry) to attend the Tennessee Williams Ball at the Hotel Peter and Paul. Dance the evening away under the stunning stained glass prisms of the former church. There will also be music by DJ Sailor Hank, Alexis & the Sanity, and The Slick Skillet Serenaders, a Royal Tableau featuring Vinsantos, Tsarina Hellfire, and the Mudlark Puppeteers, and a presentation of the inaugural Tennessee Williams Ball Angel, LadyBEAST. Be sure to catch the tarot readings, tiny rose tattoos, and open bar amid the merriment. 7 pm–10 pm. $65 for general admission. tennesseewilliams.net. 1

Events

Beginning January 17th - January 18th

JAN 17th

MUSIC EXHIBITS

BLUES FESTIVAL POSTERS THROUGH THE YEARS

Port Allen, Louisiana

Come check out the West Baton Rouge Museum's collection of Baton Rouge Blues Festival posters, on display beginning January 17. Designed by local artists, the posters reflect how Baton Rouge does the Blues. Free. westbatonrougemuseum.org. 1

JAN

17th

FUNDRAISERS

MPAC PRESENTS: THE BEST OF HOLLYWOOD

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge will again host MPAC (Music. Performance. Art. Community), this year themed "The Best of Hollywood." Show up to celebrate local artists, enjoying an evening evoking the grandeur of Hollywood. There will be elevated cuisine, live performances, and entertainment—all in support of the arts. Guests should draw inspiration from the stars for their attire, whether they go classic or modern. 7 pm–11 pm. $100. artsbr.org/mpac. 1

JAN 17th - JAN 19th

GATHERINGS

CULTURE CAMPOUT

Mandeville, Louisiana

Culture Campout returns to Fontainebleau State Park for an immersive, weekend-long celebration of South Louisiana, from music and dance to workshops and cultural sharing. The event seeks to honor traditions, ancestors and cultures, while simultaneously creating a space where people of all ages and experiences can find connection and community. Festivities include performances by local artists and bands, dance and music workshops, a talent show, food vendors, Salvadorian and Vietnamese cuisine, and more. $3 park entry fee; $26–$92 for a Day Pass, Weekend Pass or Camping plus Admission Pass. culturecampout.org. 1

JAN 17th - JAN 26th

THEATRE

"THE PIANO LESSON" AT SLIDELL LITTLE THEATRE

Slidell, Louisiana

Don't miss Slidell Little Theatre's production of August Wilson's The Piano

Lesson, the powerful, evocative story of the Charles family and the contentious debate over their prized instrument. Set in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the play explores the impact of racism on one family's legacy and whether striving toward self-determination can overcome the weight of history. 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays; 2 pm Sundays. $35; $25 for students and seniors. slidelllittletheatre.org. 1

JAN

17th - FEB 27th

VISUAL ARTS

HUMAN-ART, SURREALIST PORTRAITS

Hammond, Louisiana

Keith Perelli, a New Orleans artist, showcases his mixed-media paintings and collages in his exhibition titled Human-Art, Surrealist Portraits at Hammond Regional Arts Center. His work, which largely delves into florals and abstracts, as well as portraiture, seeks to capture Louisiana's beauty alongside the numerous, often complex challenges of Gulf Coast living. When his work involves figures, it often mixes naturalism with abstraction for a vulnerable, emotional effect rendered in layered, dense compositions. A public opening reception will be held January 17 from 5 pm–8 pm. hammondarts.org. 1

JAN 18th

TREE HUGGING ARBOR DAY AT THE BURDEN CENTER

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Botanic Gardens at Burden hosts Arbor Day celebrations annually, allowing participants to reaffirm their commitment to green, and the planet's future. Visitors are invited to celebrate the day by planting a tree in the Burden woods (and marking its GPS coordinates to track its growth). Baton Rouge Green will also host a tree giveaway. 9 am—1 pm. Free admission. discoverburden.com. 1

JAN 18th

SYMPHONIES

A TALE OF GOD'S WILL: A REQUIEM FOR KATRINA

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will present the world premiere of Terence Blanchard's moving piece titled A Tale of God’s Will: A Requiem for Katrina. Blanchard, a son of New Orleans and lauded jazz trumpeter and

Events

Beginning January 18th - January 23rd

composer, wrote the piece in the wake of the devastating hurricane as a response to communal grief. 8 pm. $40–$125. lpomusic.com 1

JAN 18th - JAN 26th

YE OLDE TIMES

ACADIANA

RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Ville Platte, Louisiana

This winter, journey back to Post Bonhomie in 1699, nestled in the heart of Evangeline Parish. Acadiana heritage meets the fantastical whimsy of an eighteenth century village, now at a permanent site at 629 Mount Carmel Road in Ville Platte. Activities include reenactments, music, fire jugglers, acrobats, Viking battles, belly dancers, and more. Munch on a roasted turkey leg, catch a show, and listen to the minstrel melodies. 10 am–6 pm Saturdays; 10 am–5 pm Sundays. $13 for adults; $20 for adult weekend pass; $7 for children ages 6–12; free for children under 5; $70 for a weekend family pass (two adults, two children). Season passes available. Free parking. acadianarenaissancefaire.com. 1

JAN 18th - JAN 31st

THEATRE 30 BY NINETY: "A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM"

Mandeville, Louisiana

This January, 30 by Ninety presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare's most famous comedies. Follow four besotted young lovers through a forest near Athens as they engage in witty repartee, indulge in folly, and fall in with Fairy King Oberon, Titania, and the mischievous Puck. 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 pm Sundays. $32; $30 for military and seniors; $28 for students; $25 for children 12 and under. 30byninety.com. 1

JAN 20th - JAN 21st PARTIES "ONYX STORM" MIDNIGHT RELEASE PARTY

Denham Springs, Louisiana

Calling all Dragon Riders. Cavalier House Books will be hosting a midnight release party for Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, the much anticipated third

installment in the Empyrean series. To kick off the celebration, the store will re-open around 10:30 pm on Jan. 20, 2025 for a party. Purchasing a

copy of Onyx Storm through Cavalier House Books becomes your ticket to cross the parapet into this release party. bontempstix.com. 1

"Thin Blue Line," pictured above, is one of the works by New Orleans artist Keith Perelli featured in his exhibition titled Human-Art, Surrealist Portraits on display at the Hammond Regional Arts Center throughout January. The piece is mixed media on paper collage on wood. Learn more about Perelli's exhibition on page 20. Photo provided by HRAC.

JAN 22nd

MUSIC

BENJAMIN COUSINS & THE SONIC ARCHITECTS: “WHAT WE DREAM IT TO BE”

New Orleans, Louisiana

Head to the Marigny Opera House for a preview of Benjamin Cousins & The Sonic Architects' highly anticipated upcoming album to be released this summer titled What We Dream it to Be, centered around the power of music to alter and transform spaces. In concert with Cousins' musical thumbprint that reflects on political and social ecosystems, the album delves into morality and internal conflict to explore deeper questions about community and change for the future. By revisiting the complexities and nuances of the past through music, Cousins, a clarinetist from New Orleans, allows for the possibility of creative reflection that can lead to the creation of new, generative spaces. He will be joined in his performance by artists Max Moran on bass, Travis Simmons on drums, and Phil Rinaldi on piano. Doors open at 7 pm, show at 7:30 pm. $25 suggested donation; $15 for students and seniors; no one will be turned away for lack of funds. marignyoperahouse.org. 1

JAN 22nd - JAN 29th

FILM

CINEMA ON THE BAYOU

Lafayette, Louisiana

Located in the heart of Cajun country, Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival is dedicated to presenting narrative, documentary, and animated films and filmmakers with truly original voices in one of the friendliest cultures in the world. The festival, celebrating twenty years, regularly screens a large number of French-language films and presents filmmakers from throughout the Francophone world. This year, more than one hundred and fifty films will be screened throughout the eight-day festival at locations around Acadiana, including Cité des Arts and Acadiana Cinemas' St. Landry Cinema. Find the schedule and more at cinemaonthebayou.com. 1

JAN 23rd

LECTURES

BAYOU TECHE: A BRIEF

ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY

New Iberia, Louisiana

Head to the Shadows Visitor Center to listen to Dr. Shane Bernard, a historian and author of Teche: A History of Louisiana’s Most Famous Bayou as he gives a lecture on the environmental

history of Bayou Teche, which critically connects New Iberia to the wider world. A reception and book signing will follow. 6 pm. Free. shadowsontheteche.org. 1

JAN 23rd

OPERA

MUSICAL LOUISIANA: "MORGIANE"

New Orleans, Louisiana

Musical Louisiana: America’s Cultural Heritage presents the highly anticipated world premiere of New Orleanian Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane (1887) at St. Louis Cathedral. Morgiane, the earliest known full-length opera written by a Black American composer, will be co-presented by the Historic New Orleans Collection, OperaCréole, Opera Lafayette, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Morgiane tells the story of a couple's wedding day interruption by a sultan, and the vengance that follows. The concert will feature baritone Joshua Conyers, bass Kenneth Kellogg, tenor Chauncey Packer, sopranos Taylor J. White and Mary Elizabeth Williams, and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody. A pre-concert panel discussion at the Williams Research Center will be held at 5 pm. Concert 7:30 pm–10 pm. Free. lpomusic.com.

Read more about Edmond Dédé and the collective, yearslong journey to bring Morgiane to life on page 48. 1

JAN 23rd

CULTURE

LUNCHTIME LECTURE ON HAITIAN AND LOUISIANA CUISINE AND CULTURE

Port Allen, Louisiana

Don't miss Food Network’s Chopped award-winning Chef Charly Pierre, owner of New Orleans restaurant Fritai, as he gives a lunchtime lecture on Haitian and South Louisiana culture, with a particular focus through the lens of his food. His talk, held at the West Baton Rouge Museum, will accompany the ongoing exhibit, Haitian Art: The Jacques Bartoli Collection, currently on display at the museum. Noon. Free. westbatonrougemuseum.org. 1

JAN 23rd

SYMPHONIES

BRSO PRESENTS: "AMERICAN RHAPSODY"

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra presents American Rhapsody, a musical exploration of the American experience. Featuring guest artists Paul Merkelo

Events

Beginning January 24th - January 25th

on trumpet and Elia Cecino on piano, the night will include "Dances in the Canebrakes," composed by Florence Price, "Concerto for Trumpet," by Harry James, and Duke Ellington's "Portrait of Louis Armstrong," among other pieces that include classical and jazz elements. Don't miss this celebration of American musical themes. 7:30 pm. Tickets start at $19. brso.org. 1

JAN 24th - JAN 26th

FILM

CLARKSDALE

FILM & MUSIC FEST

Clarksdale, Mississippi

Movies, music, and Missisippi—you can have it all at the Clarksdale Film & Music Festival. Events take place at various locations across Clarksdale, featuring screenings, performances, special guests, and more. Details to come at clarksdalefilmfestival.com. 1

JAN 25th

GOOD EATS

OPELOUSAS ANNUAL

GUMBO COOK-OFF

Opelousas, Louisiana

The annual Opelousas Gumbo CookOff heats up downtown Opelousas once again this year, drawing guests from near and far to experience the savory sensation that is an Acadiana gumbo. Live music, a kids' activity area, silent and live auctions, and dancing will keep the day a-going while the chefs get to a-gumboing. Prizes are awarded for first, second, and third place; and the winner receives a specially designed Gumbo Cook-Off Champ Paddle from last year's champ. All proceeds will benefit a local child and family who are burdened with medical and related expenses. 10 am–6 pm at the Yambilee Ag Arena. Free, or $50 to enter the cook-off. thegumbofoundation.org. 1

JAN 25th

GREEN THUMBS

FRIENDS OF HILLTOP

ARBORETUM 2025 ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Nature lovers and green-thumbers alike won't want to miss this annual gardening extravaganza put on by the Friends of the Hilltop Arboretum. This year titled "Homegrown National Park: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard," the symposium hosted at the East Baton Rouge Public Library

Main Branch will feature speakers such as renowned ecologist Douglas Tallamy, who has championed repurposing America's lawns for ecological use and authored books such as Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard. Louisiana locals William R. “Bill” Fontenot and Cheryl Geiger will also share their experiences and give talks on restoring biodiversity by planting native species to create ecological networks, among other topics. 9 am–2 pm. $85 for members who register after Dec. 31, $95 for non-members, $50 for students. lsu.edu/hilltop. 1

JAN 25th

INTO THE WOODS FOREST THERAPY WALK AT LONGUE VUE

New Orleans, Louisiana

Stroll into 2025 mindful and unbothered with a Forest Therapy Walk at Longue Vue. A guide from Swamp Lotus, a company offering forest therapy, will lead a walk across the estate's eight acres, allowing participants to enjoy the splendor and beauty of the gardens and more while practicing self-care in nature. 10:30 am–noon. $25 for the public; $20 for Longue Vue members. longuevue.com. 1

JAN 25th - JAN 26th

FIXER UPPERS ANNUAL HOME & REMODELING SHOW WITH RALPH’S MARKETS FOOD FEST Gonzales, Louisiana

DIY-ers won't want to miss the annual Home and Remodeling Show and Ralph’s Markets Food Fest coming to the Lamar Dixon Expo Center this January. Come check out the latest in home improvement with side-by-side comparisons and experts to guide renovation plans or answer tough fixer-upper questions. Ralph’s Markets Food Fest also promises a veritable smorgasbord of free samples, tastings, baked goods and, of course, its assorted King Cakes. A lucky winner will take home $500 worth of Ralph's Markets groceries, so you don't want to miss out. Admission coupons can be found in The Advocate and online. Spend $25 at any Ralph's Market starting January 3 for two free tickets. 10 am–5 pm both days. $6 for adults; free for children 12 and under. Learn more at the Home and Remodeling Show of Greater Baton Rouge Facebook page. jaaspro.com. 1

PRESENTED BY VISIT JEFFERSON PARISH

FAMILY GRAS

FEBRUARY 21–23, 2025

FREE CONCERTS with LOCAL & NATIONAL ARTISTS PARADES | LOUISIANA CUISINE | ART MARKET

FRIDAY | KREWE of EXCALIBUR

SATURDAY | MAGICAL KREWE of MADHATTERS

SUNDAY | KREWE of ATLAS

MARDI GRAS 10K/5K ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22

Presented by the N.O. Track Club. Visit runnotc.org to register!

Experience national and local music acts with Mardi Gras parades rolling alongside the festival at Mardi Gras Plaza in Metairie!

Upgrade your experience to VIP with the purchase of a Royal Pass! VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR DETAILS/TICKET PURCHASE.

Events

Beginning January 28th - January 31st

JAN 28th

MUSIC

GEOVANE SANTOS PRESENTS: A BRAZILIAN TRIBUTE TO ANTÔNIO CARLOS JOBIM

New Orleans, Louisiana

Guitarist Geovane Santos leads an allBrazilian cast in "A Brazilian Tribute to Antônio Carlos Jobim" at the Marigny Opera House. The performance celebrates Jobim, a beloved Brazilian composer, through moving interpretations of his classics. Reimagined works include “Waters of March,” “Desafinado,” “Wave,” and “Corcovado.” Doors open at 6:30 pm, performance at 7 pm. $25 suggested donation; $15 for students and seniors; no one will be turned away for lack of funds. marignyoperahouse.org. 1

JAN 29th

PERFORMANCE

CLEO PARKER ROBINSON

DANCE AND THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Lafayette, Louisiana

Don't miss this one-night-only performance of Cleo Parker Robinson

Dance and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra performing at the Heymann Center in Lafayette, remembering the tragedy of Louisiana churches set ablaze in 2019 in a series of incidents that shocked community members and made national headlines. Sacred Spaces, the highlight of their performance, dwells on the trauma brought about by the violence against houses of worship; the piece is inspired by the arson of three Black churches in St. Landry Parish. 7:30 pm. $30–$61. heymanncenter.com 1

JAN 30th

ARTISTIC OUTINGS

FRIENDS OF MAGNOLIA MOUND

PETITE ANTIQUES FORUM

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Lovers of interesting and old items gear up for the highly anticipated twentyfifth Friends of Magnolia Mound Petite Antiques Forum, beginning this year at the Louisiana State Archives with a lecture by Laura Barry, the Juli Grainger Curator of Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture at Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg will celebrate

its ninetieth anniversary of its Abby Aldrich Rockefeller folk art collection in 2025, which features unique portraits, weathervanes, theorem paintings and figural trade signs; it is the first folk art museum to be established in America. Barry will then share pieces from the collection with the audience, along with pieces from the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum.. Attendees will then lunch at the Baton Rouge Country Club before touring Bonnie Glen, a privately owned historic home in Pointe Coupee. $175. (225)-421-3162. 1

JAN

31st - FEB 2nd

CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS

TET FEST: VIETNAMESE NEW YEAR

New Orleans, Louisiana

Head to New Orleans East to ring in the Vietnamese lunar new year (called "Tet") at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church. Expect performances (dragon dances!), games, raffles, authentic cuisine, and a family-friendly environment. Attendees will broaden their palates with a range of Vietnamese delicacies on offer. The festival includes an a live music showcase, drumming performances and, of course, fireworks; Free. neworleans.com. 1

JAN 31st - MAR 16th

PHOTOGRAPHY

POLO SILK PRESENTS: CASH MONEY RECORDS, THE 99 - 2000

New Orleans, Louisiana

This exhibition of photographs by Selwhyn Sthaddeus “Polo Silk” Terrell encompasses New Orleans' Rap, HipHop, and Bounce scene popularized by the famous Cash Money Records. Hosted by Sibyl Gallery, POLO SILK PRESENTS: Cash Money Records, The 99 - 2000 features images of New Orleans-based musical icons before they became household names, such as Lil Wayne, Juvenile, Mannie Fresh, and others. Terrell captures these artists at the beginning of their careers, memorializing the subjects before fame changed them forever. sibylgallery.com.  1

What: Home and Remodeling Show with Ralph’s Markets Food Fest

When: January 25—26

Where: The REV Center at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, Gonzales, LA

Anyonewho’s undertaken a home remodeling project is familiar with the overwhelming flood of decisions: Marble, granite, quartz, or concrete for the kitchen countertops? Double-hung or casement windows? What’s the most energy-efficient HVAC system? And what’s the real difference between a hot tub and a spa? Is now the right time to take advantage of solar tax credits? With an ever-expanding array of home improvement products and services, it’s essential to explore every option before diving into what can often be a complex and challenging renovation journey. Fortunately, the Home and Remodeling Show with Ralph’s Market Food Fest provides an opportunity to do exactly that. Returning January 25—26, 2025, the tenth annual event will be the Capital Region’s biggest and best home show of the year—a one-stop shop packed with all the products and resources required to turn any house into your dream home. Louisiana homeowners will find opportunities to research products, compare prices, and speak face-to-face with experienced professionals to make any home remodeling project a success. Where (and when) else can you do that, all under one roof?

One stop for products, resources, and inspiration

The Home and Remodeling Show is a two-day event that brings more than 110 exhibitors, and literally hundreds of home improvement products and services to Gonzales’s Lamar-Dixon Expo Center. This year’s exhibition brings new and returning vendors, door prizes, and discounts only available to show attendees. Dozens of local and regional vendors showcase building elements—from windows and cabinetry to flooring and doors—giving homeowners a rare opportunity to compare their options. Among this year’s headline exhibitors will be Bullfrog Spas, showcasing cutting-edge spa and hot tub solutions from the only fully customizable spa system currently on the market. Right alongside, a carefully curated lineup of professionals from the homebuilding industry, including residential contractors, interior designers, and systems specialists, will be present to shepherd homeowners through their most ambitious renovation plans.

Something for foodies, too

Ralph’s Market of Gonzales returns to the Home and Remodeling Show, delivering an on-site food fest that keeps attendees fed and refreshed while supporting local and small businesses, too. Ralph’s serves up tasty samples including dips, savory snacks, and a variety of prepared meats— plus coffee, ice cream and, of course, Ralph’s famous king cakes. There’ll be giveaways of store coupons and recipes from more than thirty local vendors. One lucky visitor will go home with a $500 grocery giveaway, too.

Here’s how to get in for free

Regular admission to the show costs $6 for ages 13 and over, but here’re two ways to get in for less.

• Spend $25 at either of Ralph’s Market’s two Gonzales locations between January 3—26 and you’ll receive two admission tickets to the show.

Discount Coupons

• Download admission coupons from The Advocate and online.

The 2025 Home & Remodeling Show with Ralph’s Market Food Fest runs 10am—5pm, January 25 and 26 in the REV Building at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 South St. Landry Avenue, Gonzales. Follow the Home and Remodeling Show with Ralph’s Market Food Fest on Facebook for show updates, giveaways, and tickets. www.jaaspro.com

VISIT NEW ROADS - COME FOR THE

Discover the Charm of New Roads, Louisiana

On the banks of False River, the 200-year-old town attracts visitors with Creole flavor, diverse events, and one of Louisiana’s oldest Mardi Gras traditions

Anyone who ever sat on a dock sipping a cool drink as the sun sets knows there’s something about spending an afternoon by the water that just feels right. Residents of New Roads, Louisiana, have known it for centuries. One of the oldest settlement areas in the Mississippi River Valley, Pointe Coupee parish was the site of a trading post run by French settlers as early as the 1720s. By 1776, colonists had built a Chemin Neuf (French for “New Road”) to connect the Mississippi River with a 22-mile-long oxbow lake known as “False River.”

Today, New Roads’ unique location and history attracts residents and visitors looking for 19th century Creole architecture, diverse dining, a Mardi Gras parading tradition almost as old as New Orleans’s, and outdoor activities

that include fishing, birdwatching, boating, and water-skiing. Nestled along picturesque False River, the historic town bursts with Southern charm and unique treasures. From delectable dining to one-of-a-kind shopping, it’s a destination where every corner tells a story. Savor authentic Cajun and Creole flavors at Ma Mama’s Kitchen, where every dish is a celebration of Louisiana’s culinary heritage. Browse carefully curated goods at The Pointe Mercantile & More and Parish Home & Farm, offering everything from home decor to farm-fresh finds. Step into Estella Boutique for chic fashion that’s as vibrant as the town itself. And discover the community’s creative heartbeat at the Pointe Coupee Historical Society and Arts Council of Pointe Coupee, where history and culture come alive.

Whether you’re a foodie, a shopper, or a lover of the arts, New Roads invites you to explore its undeniable charm and welcoming spirit. Here’re some tasty, tuneful, family-friendly activities coming to New Roads this spring.

New Roads Mardi Gras

Known as “Little Carnival Capital,” Pointe Coupee parish has been hosting Mardi Gras parades since 1881, which makes New Roads the site of Louisiana’s third oldest Mardi Gras celebration! In total, the local sheriff’s office expects more than 100,000 to attend New Roads Mardi Gras this year.

Saturday, March 8

• The 16th annual New Roads Car Show & Spring Street Festival brings more than 300 rare, antique, and collectible cards to downtown New Roads. Come

see them up-close while enjoying a spring street festival and huge raffle event benefiting Pointe Coupee Hospice. 9am–3 pm downtown. Bontempstix.com for tickets and information.

Sunday, March 23

• The Pointe Coupee Historical Society’s annual Jazz Brunch fundraiser will be held at the North Bend Historic Home, 6847 False River Road. Come for cocktails, brunch, and live Louisiana jazz music while touring one of Pointe Coupee Parish’s most distinctive historic homes. Bontempstix.com.

To learn more about visiting, doing business in, or retiring to New Roads, visit newroads.net.

30 THE WOMEN LEADING THE BATTLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN CANCER ALLEY // 35 HOW JAZZ FEST HELPS FUND THE FUTURE // 38 MEET THE ENGINE DRIVING PUBLIC ART IN DOWNTOWN BILOXI •

Women on the Frontline

THE FIGHT FOR A BETTER LIFE IN CANCER ALLEY

Story and photos by Wayan Barre

In the heartland of Louisiana, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, an eighty-five-mile corridor along the Mississippi River holds a legacy of environmental degradation, social injustice, and economic struggle.

Over the past half-century, this riverside region has transformed into an industrial juggernaut— with over 150 chemical facilities and oil refineries, the largest concentration of fossil fuel and petrochemical operations in the Western hemisphere. But the area is also home to the descendants of those once enslaved on Louisiana’s sugar plantations—their roots forever driven into the depths of this land and all that came from it.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), certain areas within this region have alarmingly high cancer risks as a result of industrial air pollution. These findings have led to international scrutiny, with United Nations human rights experts designating the disproportionate health burdens borne by the predominately Black communities of Cancer Alley as a form of “environmental racism.”

Still, new plants in Louisiana’s petrochemical heartland continue to be built in communities already suffering from dangerous air quality, especially in predominantly Black and poor parishes like St. John the Baptist, St. James, and Ascension.

On the frontlines of this battle, women—most of them African American—are leading the environmental justice movement. They are quietly, but powerfully, standing up for their communities. As Jo Banner, founder of The Descendants Project, put it: “My grandmother used to say, ‘She’s a bonhomme,’ meaning a woman who isn’t afraid to work hard and take care of herself—a true strong woman.”

Sharon Lavigne

In St. James Parish, state Highway 18 runs alongside sugarcane fields and industrial sites owned by companies like Koch, ExxonMobil, and NuStar. Near Welcome, a sign by a water tower marks the proposed site of Formosa Plastics’ Sunshine Project—a $9.4 billion complex with fourteen petrochemical plants, one of the largest of its kind in the world.

Sharon Lavigne, seventy-two, lives in Welcome, a small majority-Black community in the heart of Cancer Alley. A retired special education teacher, she has taken a leading role in fighting to prevent the Sunshine Project, as well as expansion of the petrochemical industry in St. James Parish as a whole. In 2018, she founded the grassroots, faithbased organization RISE St. James. Rallying the community around the cause of environmental justice, Lavigne has organized marches, filed lawsuits, and partnered with national environmental groups to challenge both industry and government officials. Her efforts have earned her national recognition; in 2021, she received the Goldman Environmental Prize, in 2022 the Laetare Medal—the most prestigious award given to American Catholics, and in 2024 she was named one of TIME’s "100 Most Influential People of 2024".

For Lavigne, this fight is deeply personal. The proposed Sunshine Project site is alarmingly close to her family’s property, where she raised her children. Over the years, she has watched friends and neighbors die from cancer, illnesses she believes are directly linked to the toxic pollution engulfing the area.

“It’s mostly women out here fighting,” Lavigne said. “I think it’s because of how a woman cares for her children… I’m fighting for my life, my children, and my community.”

“I’M FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE, MY CHILDREN, AND MY COMMUNITY.”

—SHARON LAVIGNE

Wilma Subra

“[ADVOCACY] IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE DESPERATELY NEED, AND NOBODY ELSE CAN PROVIDE.” — WILMA SUBRA

An eighty-one-year-old chemist and environmentalist from Morgan City, Louisiana, Wilma Subra has dedicated her career to protecting the environment and public health. In 1981, she founded the Subra Company, Inc. an environmental consulting firm, and has served on multiple advisory councils, including with the EPA. Subra’s work, particularly in Louisiana, focuses on helping communities fight industrial pollution.

One of her longstanding battles is against Denka Performance Elastomer, a company in St. John the Baptist Parish that produces neoprene, a synthetic rubber. Denka’s emissions include chloroprene, a chemical classified by the EPA as a likely carcinogen. According to a 2011 National Air Toxics Assessment, the risk of developing cancer from air pollution next to the Denka neoprene facility is nearly fifty times the national average. This has created serious health risks for nearby communities, especially at Fifth Ward Elementary School, located just 450 feet from the plant. “The school needs to be shut down and the children moved elsewhere. Denka is poisoning them,” Subra asserted. In 2023, the EPA and U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Denka, citing the dangers its emissions pose to public health. While the case is pending, the plant remains operational. Subra continues to raise awareness by providing communities with detailed reports on chloroprene levels and explaining the data in accessible terms.

Subra works tirelessly to ensure the public understands the dangers and continues to advocate for stronger government protections against environmental pollutants. “It is something that people desperately need, and nobody else can provide,” she said.

Joy & Jo Banner

Twin sisters Joy and Dr. Jo Banner, forty-five, live just miles from where their ancestors were enslaved over 200 years ago. In 2020, they co-founded The Descendants Project, a nonprofit focused on protecting Black descendant communities’ land and cultural heritage from industrial threats in Cancer Alley. Grounded in their Creole culture, they are committed to advocating for a healthier, more equitable future for residents of the area.

The Banners played a pivotal role in halting the $400 million Greenfield Grain Elevator project in 2024, which threatened their community in Wallace. “Grain elevators can explode, workers can suffocate in grain bins, and they release harmful dust into the air—a serious threat to our already vulnerable community,” Jo explained. The facility would have also destroyed several neighborhoods and historic sites important to local descendant communities, such as plantation sites and a cemetery. The efforts of The Descendants Project, which included organizing the community and taking legal action, ultimately led to the project’s cessation last year.

Now, the sisters focus on the Atlantic Alumina facility in Gramercy, seeking to prevent the spread of red bauxite dust and increases of toxic emissions—including chloroprene. They aim to protect their community from further harm while raising awareness about the interconnected histories of enslavement and environmental degradation in the region.

In addition to battling threats to their health and ecosystem, the Banner sisters have also recently become the owners of Woodland Plantation—formerly known as the Andry Plantation, and in recent years, the 1811 Kid Ory House. The property is also the site of the 1811 Freedom Fight of the Enslaved, otherwise known as the German Coast Uprising, the largest armed revolt by enslaved people in United States history. As the first Black stewards of the former plantation site in its history, the Banners are currently working with experts and historians to cultivate it anew as a space for healing, reflection, and education about the legacies of slavery and the resilience of Black descendant communities in Cancer Alley.

Throughout their efforts, the sisters have observed the concept of “petro-masculinity” in action—a mindset rooted in both patriarchy and a slave system, where men were expected to accept dangerous work as a duty. “This thinking persists today, especially in industrial areas, where a man’s role is tied to labor, even at the cost of his life,” said Jo. This pervasive culture has influenced the economic framework of the communities in Cancer Alley, where the economy has become intertwined with an industry that is actively harming the people in its vicinity.

For women, especially mothers, the fight is also about protecting future generations. “Even on plantations, women cared for others, balancing family and work. In Creole culture, women often lead, sharing power within their families,” said Jo. “My parents and grandparents modeled that balance.”

“MY GRANDMOTHER USED TO SAY, ‘SHE’S A BONHOMME,’ MEANING A WOMAN WHO ISN’T AFRAID TO WORK HARD AND TAKE CARE OF HERSELF, A TRUE STRONG WOMAN.”

—JO BANNER

“WE HAVE BEEN THROUGH A LOT OF SICKNESS DUE TO THESE CHEMICAL PLANTS. I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK FOR MY COMMUNITY.” —JANICE FRECHAUD

Janice Frechaud

Janice Ferchaud, sixty six, has lived in a trailer since Hurricane Ida made her home uninhabitable in 2021. She reveals the jagged scars from her mastectomy, a reminder of the breast cancer she attributes to the pollution from nearby plants. More than twenty of her neighbors have had cancer, and as a gesture of resistance to this fate, she’s spent years tirelessly working to halt the spread of petrochemical plants in her parish.

Ferchaud has been involved in various environmental justice organizations, including Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Exclusive Ladies, and RISE St. James. She is now founding her own organization, L.O.V.E. (Love Opportunity Victory Everlasting), to help others recover from hurricanes.

“Women are more concerned about health and kids because we have been through a lot of sickness due to these chemical plants,”

Beyond Jazz Fest

THROUGH MUSIC EDUCATION PROGRAMS, THE NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FOUNDATION

IS MAXIMIZING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSICIANS TO SUCCEED

Story by Christie Matherne Hall

Every spring, as we all know, hundreds of thousands of people pour through the gates of the Fair Grounds Race Course over two magical weekends for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, or “Jazz Fest.” This world-famous multicultural music celebration, beloved by Louisianans and international visitors alike, brings some $350 million dollars to the local economy every year while celebrating the fact that Louisiana’s music and culture set the state apart from virtually every other in the union.

The festival’s organizing nonprofit, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, Inc., carries forth that legacy by investing in future generations of musicians and artists in an enormous constellation of educational, music, culture, and art-boosting programs. This lesser-known work of the Foundation is the very thing that Jazz Fest exists to help fund. For our first-ever “Good Deeds” issue, we wanted to highlight one of the foundation’s most inspiring and important initiatives, the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music—which is part of the larger project of ensuring young people in New Orleans and beyond have access to music education, and the many benefits it offers.

Passing on the Torch

Since 1990, the Foundation has operated the free after-school music education program, the Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music—named after the late jazz musician and Foundation board member. Today, the school serves nearly three hundred students, from ages eight to eighteen, every week, and gives them a tuition-free opportunity to learn from some of New Orleans’s best musicians. The students audition for enrollment, get plenty of opportunities to perform on important stages, and at the end of the school year, many of them get to perform on the second Sunday of Jazz Fest on the Lagniappe Stage.

As the program’s director, Derek Douget wears many hats: managing various aspects of the school; and teaching ensemble, woodwinds, horn sectional, and advanced theory. He emcees all performances (and participates in some) and is the liaison between the school and the Foundation, as well as between the school and parents of students.

Douget has been playing music since he signed up for the school band at Gonzales Middle as a ten-year-old. “I kept playing baseball because the coach wanted me to stay in the outfield, but I really didn't want to,” Douget remembered. “All I wanted to focus on was music. ”

Benefiting from the opportunity in high school to study with Alvin Batiste, who encouraged him to further his knowledge of improvisational music, and to later play with Ellis Marsalis as part of his Quintet, along with scores of other influential New Orleans musicians—Douget knows better than most the value of a good mentor—or in his case, a whole stable of them.

“I got really lucky,” he laughed. “The elders that I met along the way, they gave me focus. [Ellis Marsalis], along with Harold Battiste, encouraged me to continue to study the saxophone as well as consider being an educator.”

The Impact of Early Music Education

It’s hard to predict where music education will take a child. Douget cites that the majority of students who partake in some form of music instruction in school will not become professional musicians, but regardless of the path a child ultimately takes, music education plays an important cross-disciplinary role in a well-rounded education.

“Whenever we send our kids to chemistry class, we're not expecting them to become chemists,” Douget quipped.

Students in class at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation's Don "Moose" Jamison Heritage School of Music—an after school education program serving students in the New Orleans area. All photos courtesy of the Foundation.

“But some folks are like, ‘Well, you know, why would a kid study music? Everybody's not going to be musicians.’ And yeah, most of them are not going to be professional musicians. However, [studying music] can help develop other parts of their personality.”

Studies show that music education helps students academically. Ninth-grade musicians score significantly higher in algebra assessments than their non-musically-trained peers, and high school band students generally average higher English, math, and biology scores. Outside of academic scores, music education is shown to help children develop interpersonal skills, focus, perseverance, self-esteem and—perhaps especially in Louisiana—a sense of cultural identity.

Music can also help young people navigate self-expression and big life events, such as losing a loved one. Former Heritage School of Music student Sophia Parigi lost her father while she was enrolled at the school and used her music studies as a way to process her grief.

“I could use music to outlet my emotions; it was the only constant in my changing world,” said Parigi. “The Heritage School of Music is truly doing God's work by offering no-cost music lessons, because if I were not equipped with the skill set provided by learning an instrument when I was younger, I would not have been able to process my feelings and grief as efficiently and would not be where I am today.”

Despite all the clear benefits, music instruction isn’t always available in Louisiana schools—and when it is offered, there’s a plethora of economic and scheduling obstacles for children and their parents to overcome. Instruments aren’t cheap, and some schools require band students to show up before or after the school day.

Specifically in Orleans Parish and those surrounding it, there has been a low enrollment in music programs since Hurricane Katrina, and the fragmented school sys-

tem is increasingly unable to standardize its music education programs.

“You don't have any sort of connective tissue that's connecting these schools together,” Douget explained. “So, some of the schools might say they have a music education program, but it's after school or it's before school. It's not part of the daily schedule of school, which is, to me, not great . . . It should be part of the regular curriculum, especially in the city that contributed probably, you know, the most to improvisational music and American music.”

The result is far-reaching; fewer and fewer students are able to consider pursuing music as a career. “That's going to affect New Orleans economically, and it's going to affect the culture,” said Douget.

The state of music education in Orleans Parish schools changes not just every year, but every semester, and providing the best solutions requires the harrowing task of continuously keeping tabs on the problem. To combat these challenges, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation helped develop a partnership with local like-minded nonprofits. Called the New Orleans Music Education Collaborative (NOMEC), the group meets monthly to work together to define and address shortcomings in local music education. Its members include The Roots of Music, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, the Trombone Shorty Foundation, Girls Play Trumpet Too, and over a dozen more.

“When people want to fund programs, it's important for us to guide those resources into the right direction,” Douget explained. “We're actually sending teachers into the Leah Chase School right now to help that band program start.”

Beyond the Crescent City

The Heritage School of Music is just one of many of the Foundation’s programs that directly support music education, though it’s naturally limited by a student’s proximity to New Orleans. Despite its name, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s mission extends to the entire state, and many of its other educational programs reflect this commitment. One of these is the Class Got Brass annual competition, in which Louisiana middle and high schools send twelve of their best brass or in-the-brass-tradition players, along with any “stepper” performers they

wish, to compete for up to $10,000 in grant support. All competing teams receive a $1,000 stipend—even if they don’t place.

In addition, the Foundation’s Community Partnership Grants program has several categories that assist arts and music instruction in K-12 schools statewide. Schools can use these grants to purchase instruments, sheet music, visual art supplies and other materials, as well as fund instrument repairs. Nonprofits that operate after-school or summer music and arts programs can apply for grants to pay their instructors.

The impact these grant programs have across Louisiana is mind-boggling. In 2024, the Foundation’s Community Partnership Grants program alone impacted 50,000 children in schools and another 35,000 in after-school arts programs; and hired almost eight hundred teaching artists in Louisiana. In 2023, the Foundation’s community investment in grants alone totaled nearly three million dollars.

It’s the Foundation’s Director of Programs, Marketing, and Communications Kia Robinson Hatfield’s personal goal to get this grant funding into all sixty-four parishes in Louisiana. “We’re at thirty-six parishes right now,” she said, “but we’ll get there.”

The Foundation also sponsors several other initiatives to support the business end of the creative arts—even those that aren’t musical in nature. The Sync Up program, for example, is a series of sessions that connects independent artists with top entertainment industry professionals who can advise them on the finer points of making a living as an entertainer.

Another program is the Catapult Fund, which helps creative entrepreneurs from different industries accelerate their ventures by offering focused courses, pairing each participant with a business advisor. This program dives into non-musical ventures; and lately, it’s been focused on culinary arts, fashion, and jewelry-making.

“The coolest thing that we found in the Catapult program is 90% of the accepted applicants were musicians, gig workers, or some kind of culture bearers, like a Babydoll, a Spy Boy … [many of] these folks were in these other facets of culture, but then taking what they know from their culture, and basically trying to make a business out of it,” said Hatfield.

These are only a handful of the many impactful programs offered by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation. Considering all the good they do, a Jazz Fest weekend pass doesn’t seem all that expensive. 1

jazzandheritage.org

Program director Derek Douget teaching a student as part of the Don "Moose" Jamison Heritage School of Music.

When Mississippi Calls

THE

POWER OF COREY CHRISTY'S PUBLIC ART PROJECT IN BILOXI

Story by Mimi Greenwood Knight • Photos by Eddie Robinson

Corey Christy is a Biloxi boy through and through, and even a decade spent in “the deep Midwest” couldn’t change that. “I didn’t realize how unique Biloxi was until I lived other places,” he said. As a Black man, Christy had always felt a sense of welcome in diverse Biloxi. When he left, he discovered it isn’t that way everywhere.

“I was basically ready to return the moment I left,” he said. “The Midwest was fine, and I met some wonderful people, but something was always missing. If you grew up on the water, it’s hard to be happy anywhere else.”

That draw toward home pulled even tighter as Christy watched his beloved Gulf Coast suffer Hurricane Katrina, and then soon after, the BP oil spill. “The things that make Biloxi special are still in place,” he observed. “The people are the same. And I saw it coming back better than it was before.”

Around this time, Christy was working as a promoter for art and music events in Evansville, Indiana, organizing art exhibits, advocating for public art installations, and bringing musical artists in to play around town.

“I don’t regret my time away,” Christy said. By the time he was finally ready to return to Biloxi in 2013, he’d learned a lot about fostering community through the arts. This experience quickly landed him a succession of jobs at cultural institutions like the Walter Anderson Museum of Art from 2013 to 2017, then the Maritime and Seafood Museum from 2017 to 2021, granting him plenty of opportunities to interact with the public and with local leaders.

It didn’t hurt that he was becoming a familiar face on the local music circuit as well. Shortly after returning home, Christy built up a ten-piece brass band called Black Water Brass. For years, they played gigs around the Southeast and still to this day perform with the Gulf Coast Carnival krewes—now under the name Gulf Coast Second Line. “We even march with the Jefferson City Buzzards in New Orleans on Fat Tuesday where we play for millions of people in one day,” he said. “That’s really something!”

Christy started to get more involved in a civic sense, becoming a board member at the non-profit Biloxi Mainstreet Association (for which he served as president in 2020 and 2021) as well as other city and coastal boards promoting local culture. In 2019, he launched the Biloxi Main Street Association’s Public Arts Project—seeing it as an opportunity not only to support local artists, but to revitalize Biloxi’s downtown.

Christy began building the Public Arts Project slowly, organizing art shows in abandoned downtown buildings. “Out of the six buildings where we held shows, five were soon under contract,” Christy said. “These old buildings have great bones and tons of character and our goal was to help people see that.”

To enhance the refreshed downtown’s aesthetic qualities, Christy next turned his sights on commissioning murals, inspired by those he’d seen on trips to Mexico. The night he first presented the idea to the Main Street board, citizens who’d never attended a meeting before turned up to show their support.

“I feel like people want to experience art, but not everyone is going to go to a museum or gallery,” he said. “The idea behind the murals was to bring art to the people, to increase foot traffic downtown and benefit businesses, to celebrate Biloxi’s history, to offer work to

local artists, and to brighten up what was a pretty aban doned-looking downtown.”

The first artist he commissioned refused to take mon ey for his work. “He finally consented to let me pay for the paint.” Christy did so out of his own pocket. Then, the second mural artist not only refused payment but made a donation toward the next mural. Since then, Christy has received mural funding from individual citizens, as well a handful of grants and donations from the Hard Rock Café, Harrison County Board of Supervisors, and others.

Today, the fruits of his efforts are thirty murals displayed on buildings along a one-mile stretch now called the Rue Magnolia Arts District. Some celebrate the culture of Biloxi by featuring shrimp boats and shrimpers, alligators, and magnolias; and others paying homage to local celebrities such as "The Hermit of Deer Island" and longtime downtown business owner Miss Inez. The impact is more than just aesthetic though; each of the buildings Christy has installed murals on has since been leased by a business.

When I visited, I saw a family posing in front of a postcard-style “Greetings from Biloxi” mural on the corner of Howard Avenue and G.E. Ohr Street and two young women taking turns photographing each other in front of a Mardi Gras headdress mural on the back of the Coastal Mississippi Mardi Gras Museum facing Martin Luther King Boulevard. Christy showed me advertisements for downtown business which prominently feature the murals on their buildings.

funky coffee shop called The Greenhouse. Across the street, Christy pointed out a vacant lot. “There were two burned-out buildings on that lot that had been a neighborhood eyesore for years. We placed an interactive sculpture there which motivated the owner of the buildings to have them razed, and we began attracting hundreds of people to art nights on ‘The District Green’.” Now under new ownership, the property will soon be home to a mixed-use building for the spot with shops on the bottom and apartments on top, within sight of at least four of Christy’s murals in the now walkable, bikeable, revitalized downtown.

For his contributions to Biloxi, Christy’s city has thanked him with two Fire Soul awards, the Design Award, the Visionary Award, a Mississippi Main Street Trailblazer Award, a Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence, and Biloxi Volunteer of the Year for Arts and Culture. He’s still hard at work on his mural project, which he sheepishly admits he never wants to end, and continues to hold positions on the boards of Biloxi Main Street and Gallery 782. “I owe this to the city,” he said. “It’s the least I can do to give back and make others feel as welcome here as I always have.” And a couple of times a year, Biloxi residents and visitors can find Christy at Fly Llama Brewing doing what he loves most: playing funk music with his band, The Karate Kids. 1

RESTAURANTS

An Element of Fun

THE PLANTRY CAFÉ ENCHANTS BATON ROUGE WITH PLANT-BASED POSSIBILITIES

Probably the hardest part of hbeing an adult who can now happily eat vegetables—if not always as many as you should—is having kids to whom you have to pretend you’ve always revered rutabaga and basked in the beauty of brussels sprouts. When hypocrisy doesn’t motivate, and I run out of gold stars, and my fridge is bare of ice cream, I may just follow family medicine doctor and Plantry Café owner Katie Crifasi’s example and cut down a tree.

The tree, an unexpected centerpiece inside the Bluebonnet Boulevard restaurant, is painted black now and festooned with white flowers. Under its canopy, my seven-year-old dreamily nibbles on a maitake mushroom slider and smacks down a sip of probiotic cola. Such is the power of the Plantry Café and its enchanting atmosphere, where a diner at Baton Rouge’s elegant, and entirely plant-based, restaurant feels like they’ve just missed the tardy White Rabbit as he hops past to his next appointment.

This environment is by design. Crifasi opted for an element of adventure and fantasy in the Plantry, believing that a healthy restaurant doesn’t need to feel like a hospital. But it was her patients’ well-being that drew the doctor toward opening a plant-based restaurant of her own. “I was seeing that people were more interested in taking supplements than prescriptions,” said Crifasi, who picked up a subspecialty in integrative medicine, or holistic care, to complement a conventional approach.

Crifasi, a Baton Rouge native, has spent years working in travel medicine and living in big cities across the country where plant-based restaurants are in abundance and variety. “In Philadelphia, there was even a plant-based bar I’d go to called Charlie Was a Sinner.” She was visiting family in Baton Rouge when the pandemic broke out and kept her in town. She soon started a small consulting firm of hospitalists, Rowe Consultants, serving Our Lady of the Lake and the Spine Hospital. Faced with a relative dearth of the cleaner, healthier eating options she’d enjoyed in other places—and knowing her patients were suffering from this lack too—she decided she’d open a restaurant as a side project. “I think that unless you have dining options to show people any differently, then you just keep treating the same heart attacks in people's thirties and forties and strokes in their fifties,” said Crifasi. “You have to have a place for people to support their health

Story and photos by Lucie Monk Carter

The slider trio at Plantry Café, featuring beet, BBQ jackfruit, and maiktake mushrooms.

goals, or having a talk with somebody about their health is just a moot point. I mean, we can have a conversation about how your cholesterol is high, your blood pressure is high, and anything else, and it doesn't matter if you don't have places to go . . . So that's how I came to develop the Plantry. It's probably one of the best things I've done with my contributions, I think, to society so far.”

To describe the café’s menu and approach, she’s careful to use the term “plant-based” as opposed to “vegan.” “Oreos are vegan, because they don’t use any animal products, but they don’t come from an Oreo tree,” said Crifasi. “I do like to be clear that we're not just avoiding animal products, we're trying to actually [not use] artificial dyes and chemical grown food here. We’re not here to do imitation chicken and a bunch of Beyond Burgers, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just want to actually show people what you can do with food, not try to pretend to be something else each time along the way.”

I’m eight months pregnant at this writing, and a little fatigued at everything in general, but also by the long list of things I ought not to consume. The Plantry is a reminder that dietary conscience can be an elevated experience. Here I am a vaunted guest at the garden party and not some poor slob watching other people eat prosciutto. The utensils are gold and the napkins pumpkin-hued as my daughter and I make our way through

tastes of beet ceviche, a warmly spiced butternut squash soup, the seasonal fall salad, and a slider trio. The sliders particularly delight my dining companion, who left to her own devices would subsist on cinnamon toast and Cheez-Its. Faced with a beet burger, BBQ jackfruit, and maitake mushroom, she declares each better than the last. (She seems particularly enthusiastic over the textural transformation of a beet into a burger, far preferring this over the chilled beet ceviche.)

Serenity rules in the front of the house and back. Restaurants can be abusive places where tensions run high in the kitchen. Crifasi is deliberate in her hiring process in finding individuals who won’t introduce the bad behaviors they may have learned elsewhere. “It doesn't matter how positive of a culture I have, if people in a certain industry are accustomed to using profanity as they feel like it, or are accustomed to yelling at each other, they’ll recreate what they know.

And I’m not going to tolerate that.”

With the new year, Crifasi will be expanding to grab-and-go options and even a subscription meal service. Monthly tea parties are already a popular occurrence, and there’s a regular who aims to use the Plantry as a wedding venue. I ask if she’s had anyone approach for tips on opening their own plant-based restaurant in Baton Rouge. Not yet, said

Crifasi, “but there was someone starting a bar who asked how I installed the tree.” She’s keeping that information proprietary. “That was a cool thing I did; I’m not going to tell you how. Get your own ideas!” 1

From the Plantry Café menu: (left) the seasonal fall salad and (right) the beet ceviche.

Soupçon

A DASH OF DINING NEWS

By CR Editorial Staff

Baton Rouge Food Influencer Fills Community Fridges

If you aren’t already following Britt Parnell @brittys.kitchenn on Instagram and TikTok for his Cassoulet recipe or tips on perfect steak preparation—you should consider it for the good he’s doing in the Baton Rouge community. Since September, Parnell has been using his platform to raise awareness about food insecurity, encouraging followers to engage with his videos to fuel massive meal preps meant to fill two community fridges in Mid City—committing to donating fifty meals per week. And these are not ham and cheese sandwiches, y’all. Parnell and his wife Holly Liner are whipping up dishes like smoked pork belly and basil fried rice, chicken and sausage gumbo, or charred brussels sprouts with bacon and smashed dates. As of press time mid-December, Parnell had donated seven hundred meals to the fridges—a volunteer-operated initiative which offers free meals to those facing food insecurity in Baton Rouge. Support Parnell’s work by donating or even just following and engaging with his platform @brittys.kitchenn, and learn more about the Baton Rouge community fridges, located at 2303 Government St. and 1600 Government St., at @brcommunityfridge on Instagram.

Jiggly Bits

New Orleans chefs are stepping into the New Year baring all. Distributed by Dirty Coast, Jiggly Bits: The New Orleans Naked Chefs Calendar, features your favorite Crescent City chefs like you have never seen them before, captured by food photographer Kat Kimball—whose retro design and colorscapes infuse the mischief with an extra shot of vintage play. Kick off January with a nude Nina Compton, sipping on a “Copper Bunny” cocktail on top of her bar at Compère Lapin. Other months feature well-known chef personalities including Mason Hereford, Eric Cook, Dan Stein, Sophina Uong, and more. Proceeds will go towards supporting WeHelp NOLA, a nonprofit assisting service industry workers through free mental wellness services. dirtycoast.com

Water Buffalo is on the Menu

Five years ago, when Sarah Roland set out to start Louisiana’s first water buffalo dairy herd, she was being passed between the Department of Health, and the Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Unit, and then back to the Department of Health. After sitting on hold for ten minutes, one woman told her, “Have you ever considered raising pheasants?”

Breaking ground, it turns out, comes with a lot of red tape. Roland, who runs a one-woman farm operation, couldn’t find any USDA facility to process the meat from her herd (who are reproducing, quickly!). The problem was that water buffalo are not listed as a livestock species under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, and there was no existing protocol for inspecting and processing them. Finally, someone from the Department of Agriculture instructed Roland to process the animal at a custom facility, and to sell it that way. Shortly after, a health inspector raided one of the stores selling her meat and forced the owner to pour bleach on all of it. “That was like half a year of earnings,” said Roland, who after calling the Department of Agriculture, learned that she would have to sell direct to consumers. “That’s like nine hundred pounds of meat that I now have to sell pound by pound,” she said. “And it’s just me.”

This is what she did for a few years, until this past summer, a new bill was passed in Louisiana that makes water buffalo eligible for Voluntary Exotic Inspection—allowing Roland (and other potential water buffalo farmers) to sell their meat to stores and restaurants. “We got the first animal done under that inspection a couple months ago, and I just dropped off the second today,” said Roland when we spoke in December.

It's not a perfect scenario for a small farmer, she admitted. This new inspection requires that she pay the inspector $60 an hour and a travel fee, which greatly increases her costs. She is also unable to keep the heads and hooves of her animals, which provided income via taxidermy mounts. “But it’s a start,” she said. The long journey has resulted in her buffalo meat finally being available to consumers at select Louisiana establishments, including Audubon Market in St. Francisville, St. James Cheese in New Orleans, and via a burger at The Saint Restaurant in the St. Francisville Inn. “And it’s a pretty damn good burger,” promised Roland. bayousarahfarms.org. 1

Setting an Extra Table

MEET THE RESTAURATEUR FIGHTING FOOD INSECURITY IN MISSISSIPPI

By Susan Marquez

Sixteen years ago, when a food pantry in Hattiesburg found hitself in dire need, the operators called local restaurateur Robert St. John. Little did they know that they were creating a bridge between two worlds—that of nonprofit agencies fighting food insecurity in Mississippi and the state’s robust restaurant scene— that would come to feed thousands of Mississippians.

The call alerted St. John to the pressing issue of food insecurity in Mississippi, where more than 16% of the population faces uncertain access to food. He quickly collaborated with his wholesale food distributor, Sysco, to get the pantry the food it needed, but he felt he could do more.

“I learned that the model to collect food for the food insecure had been very inefficient,” said St. John. He explained that when schools and other organizations conduct canned food drives, the result is often a hodge-podge of donated food items. “It takes hours to sort the food, and when cooking for many people, it takes forever to open each of those cans. When the canned food goes to a food bank, families may get random items like a can of blueberry pie filling. That may be all a kid coming home from school has to eat until the next morning, and that is not very nutritious.”

Realizing that, with his connections to Sysco through his restaurants, he might be able to offer something better, St. John approached the distributor with the concept for Extra Table, a nonprofit that donates family-friendly, nutritious, shelf-stable food to agencies and pan-

tries across Mississippi. Sysco agreed to participate, a board was formed, and the mission was underway.

Extra Table planted its flag with two main goals: for 100% of the money raised to go toward food, and to always provide healthy food. St. John and the board also hoped to someday be present and active in every county in Mississippi. Today, the organization partners with sixty-three food pantries and soup kitchens in fifty-one of the state’s eighty-two counties. “We served over six million meals last year, and we still have some growing to do,” said St. John. Early on, he dreamt of taking the organization even beyond Mississippi. “We got a little traction in Louisiana but realized we might be less effective if we started spreading out too far.”

Under the leadership of Martha Allen-Price, the organization’s executive director, Extra Table faced the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic—which included higher food costs, less availability of volunteers with social distancing protocols, and a greater demand—with adaptability. They partnered with Chow Purchasing, a food purchasing company for restaurants based in Mississippi, a collaboration that continues today.

“They work to get us the best price on the healthiest food by the truckload,” said Meagan Burkes, Extra Table’s director of strategic communications and development. Burkes gave the example of someone donating a jar of peanut butter.

“They may spend five dollars on a jar of peanut butter, but if they would donate money instead, with those donor dollars we can purchase three or four jars of

peanut butter. But even better, we may be able to purchase peanut butter by the case through Chow and get that for the same amount as one jar of peanut butter from the grocery store.” Burkes said that Chow Purchasing uses their skill sets and industry connections to source 18-wheelers filled with food from producers and suppliers around the country, often below wholesale cost. “We use Chow’s warehouse, and they have a dedicated driver who spends two weeks each month delivering pallets of food to the agencies we partner with, at no cost to them.”

Despite having to navigate the challenges of the pandemic and change within the organization, Extra Table still distributed 5.9 million pounds of food in 2020. “And that was when Martha was our only employee,” said St. John. “She is a machine.”

In addition to the organization’s monthly donors—the lifeblood of Extra Table—to keep the operation running, St. John and the team host a variety of fundraising events throughout the year, including the much-anticipated Bourbon Festival in Jackson, during which premium bottles of bourbon are auctioned off, and bartenders from area restaurants participate in a cocktail competition.

Another popular event is the Farm to Fork Ride or Run, which will take place this year in Hattiesburg on April 24 and 25. “We have participants from all over the state, as well as from Louisiana,” said Allen-Price. And every year, the Empty Bowls event serves participants a handcrafted bowl made by Delta State Uni-

versity art students to fill with soup provided by area restaurants.

A new program, overseen by Allen-Price, called “Extra Full: Red Beans & Rice,” is a collaboration with food scientists at Mississippi State University, nutritionists at the University of Southern Mississippi, Reed Food Technology, and other companies to create a four-serving, one-pot meal product that can be cooked in thirty minutes and is packed with vitamins and nutrients.

“We partnered with Mike Wagner, owner of Two Brooks Farm in the Mississippi Delta, for our rice,” said Burkes. “The seasoning mix has twenty-two added vitamins and nutrients that are missing in many Mississippians’ diets.” Volunteers from churches, schools, and other groups assemble the kits at packing parties conducted by Extra Table. “We load up a truck and set up the packing stations. When the volunteers arrive, they don gloves and hair nets and go to work scooping, weighing, and sealing. In only one hour, 100 volunteers can pack 2500 meal kits that feed four servings per kit. That’s 10,000 meals.”

St. John said that he is proud of how the organization has grown and believes this is the work he is meant to help facilitate. “I was in the right place at the right time to be a vessel for this to happen,” he said. “I am very proud of Extra Table, and very humbled by the leadership, the volunteers, and the donors. We have stayed true to our process, and we have fed a lot of people.” 1 extratable.org

Images courtesy of Extra Table.

Outdoors

OUR SUSTAINABLE GARDEN

A Time for Rest

EMBRACING THE DORMANT SEASON

By Jess Cole

Our first frosts have come, tropicals have been touched by hthe cold or even zapped back to the ground. Flowering hperennials and grasses have taken their final bow. Our yards are slowly settling into some sort of pseudo dormancy—or at least as “dormant” as a garden can become in southern Louisiana, where the sun rarely stops shining and the rains are ever falling.

This time of year, believe it or not, I am thinking about pollinators and my garden visitors more than ever. After all, this is when they need me most. Flowers at the height of summer are important, but it is what is left untouched in the deepest parts of winter that perhaps matter even more.

Thus, my biggest advice when it comes to caring for a winter garden, especially a garden designed to better our ecosystem, is to just ignore it. Let it be. A great rule of thumb within the context of naturalistic gardening, always, is to mimic the natural world. And in winter, the natural world rests.

The greatest reason to leave your garden untouched as winter settles in is to provide nesting habitat. We want to create as much space and resources for wildlife—insects, reptiles, small mammals, and birds—while they overwinter in our gardens. Let's explore some ways this winter habitat can be enriched.

Leave Everything

Starting at summer’s end, stop cutting back your seed heads and stems. Let all those lovely fall blooming asteraceae and grasses brown and linger until spring, and allow your perennial and annual vines to brown and cling to the spaces they have grown about.

These expired seedheads and florets in your garden provide a source of winter food, especially for birds. In addition, insects, called cavity nesters, choose to overwinter in such spaces as hollow stems, fallen logs, and so on—keeping cozy within the tight spaces and laying their eggs there.

Disturb as Little as Possible

Try to not ruffle fallen leaves, step through your garden much, or move fallen logs or branches. Tiny homes are being raised throughout your garden during the winter. All of the fallen leaves and twigs are easy resources for wildlife home building materials. Bumblebees are interesting and create their homes in existing cavities; they like to recycle—sometimes taking up in abandoned rodent homes, sometimes within bunch grasses.

Leave some bare ground before winter sets in for ground nesting creatures. Even when things feel slow and sleepy, the ground holds warmth and infinite resources for various birds, as well as native bees, when things are left still. These petite, solitary creatures burrow their way into bare ground, creating tunnels to overwinter in and raise their young. They especially like a good south-facing space for sun exposure. Find a few spaces—they don’t need to be large—to rake away the mulch, vegetation, and leaf litter.

Provide a Water Source

This is especially important in winter for birds. Help keep it from staying frozen over for too long during our few freezing moments.

Plant Native Plants!

Yes, exotic species can offer winter protection and benefit, but as always, natives are best. Native plants have evolved alongside our native wildlife to provide them just what they need year-round. 1

January Plant Spotlight: Sensitive Fern, Onoclea sensibilis

A tender namesake assuredly, Sensitive Fern is a native fern that belongs in almost every home garden and beyond. I grew up alongside this fern. It flourishes on the land I was raised on, growing in textured and deep green masses beneath the stands of the spindly Swamp Titi trees I frolicked among. The bark of the titi trees is of cinnamon hue, and the contrast between the low ferns and elegant titi bogs is just tremendous to me and of astute design. Some things only Mother Nature can come up with.

This fern is called “sensitive” as it is quickly affected by the first frosts we have. It returns with great vigor each spring, yet is visibly affected by even the slightest frost. I find it grows often in low, moist areas or at a creek's edge—though it seems to be open to growing just about anywhere you place it, even in drought and semi-full sun. The fern spreads beautifully into a colony—strong, yet rarely overbearing. It brings to any garden excellent texture and architectural shape, all with great ease.

Photo by Beth Kleinpeter.

Culture

46 THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF THE TRUE FRIENDS OF LAPOINTE // 48 THE FIRST OPERA WRITTEN BY A BLACK AMERICAN PREMIERES AT ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL // 51 BOOK REVIEW: EVAN RAIL'S "THE ABSINTHE FORGER" • JANUARY 2025

MUTUAL AID

Lasting Friendships

LAPOINTE'S BENEVOLENT SOCIETY LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Story by Victoria Dodge • Photos by Drake LeBlanc

the current True Friends of LaPointe Hall, was completed in October of 1996. Today the Hall still plays host to vital community gatherings and continues to prioritize education opportunities for the surrounding area.

“One of the things (the founders) sought was to make sure that they were able to—[even] if it was just one person that they could reach out to—connect [people] to some form of funding to get them an education,” said Jonathan Narcisse, current True Friends of LaPointe

When you turn down True Friends Road in Parks, Louisiana, you eventually come across a sky-blue events hall. Most weekdays, a handful of people are inside, occasionally speaking Creole French, sitting at the bar retelling stories and sharing ideas of what the future might hold.

Since 1906, the men’s organization True Friends of LaPointe's purpose has been to aid, improve, and sustain its rural St. Martin Parish community. The aptly named group is one of a handful of benevolent societies still active in Acadiana. Historically, in Louisiana, benevolent societies were formed by free and enslaved Africans as early as the late 1700s as com-

munal support systems, sharing resources to provide financial and medical aid and to ensure proper burials. Many are still in operation today, running much like other civic clubs or fraternal organizations while providing mutual aid to their members and the communities they support.

In the early nineteenth century, these Black benevolent societies—usually operating out of a meeting hall of some kind—found that a way to serve their community was to provide a physical space for gathering, especially for Black organizations with few places to congregate.

In 1911, five years after becoming an official nonprofit organization, the

founders of the True Friends of LaPointe purchased its first physical building—a property that included the former St. Martin Normal and Industrial Institute building. Soon after, the group bought a second piece of land owned by the organization’s founding Vice President Isadore Michell, who stipulated that the land be used for educational purposes. This site served as the center of the True Friends’ operations and a community center for the surrounding area for eighty-two years, until in 1993, an electrical fire destroyed the original True Friends wooden building. After nine months of fundraising, two years of building, and hours of contributions from volunteers, a new metal building,

Since 1991, the organization has given out $100,000 in scholarships to local students. In 2024 alone, nine students were awarded $500 each.

Most weekends at the hall, music, chatter, and even the clip-clop of horses can be heard from down the road. The space hosts events ranging from birthdays and trail rides to an annual post-Crawfish Festival party. When it’s not a party, it's a community benefit dinner to offset a community member’s medical expenses or sponsored trips to a local church’s fam-

But despite hosting over twenty-five well-attended events a year for the surrounding community, the True Friends of LaPointe’s biggest challenge in recent years has been its aging and declining membership. In 2024 alone, nine members died, leaving only thirty-eight active members, twelve retired, and ten board

Issues contributing to this lack of participation include shifting generational values, confusion around what a benevolent society is, and lack of awareness of

“The one thing that keeps me up at night is … how do I want, not just my legacy, but the legacy of this organization, to remain intact no matter who replaces us?” Narcisse said. “It's up to us to represent the importance of this organization going beyond just some brotherhood.”

Narcisse, who became president in 2022, knew something had to be done. In the past two years, he and the current board have recruited nine members with a tactic of tradition-meets-modern appeals. Members are chefs, business owners, handymen, and educators—all part of the St. Martin Parish community.

Each current member has a personal reason for joining. Tremaine Rossyion, thirty-eight, one of three members in their thirties, remembers spending time at True Friends with his grandfather, who was also a member. His grandfa-

As a gathering place and cultural center for the St. Martin Parish community, the True Friends of LaPointe Benevolent Society regularly hosts traditional activities such as trail rides.

ther pushed him to join right out of high school, and though he initially resisted, he’s glad to be a part of it now.

For Carl Robertson, a member for fifteen years and a board member with a litany of titles ranging from treasurer to event planner, the motivation was LaPointe.

“I wanted to continue to try to help the community,” the sixty-nine-year-old retired postal worker said, while looking at a photo of his great-grandfather—who once served as president of True Friends.

The current board has also focused on improving the organization's financial health. True Friends was awarded its first grant in 2022, which helped to pay off a loan, replace the stove, expand storage, and update the bathrooms. Since the original grant, two others have followed, allowing True Friends to pour back even more into the community.

Under Narcisse’s leadership, True Friends has held multiple events focused on community involvement and betterment—including a community resource fair and a Juneteenth celebration. Narcisse believes in 2025, True Friends will broaden its reach beyond the hall itself, by taking advantage of opportunities to

speak at the local schools and host additional programs.

As these shifts in approach continue to prove effective, Narcisse knows additional changes, like allowing women to join, are needed to carry forth the founding mission of the True Friends of LaPointe, so that it might celebrate another 118 years of providing for the community while fostering its founding principles of “good character and fellowship dedicated to uplifting humanity.”

And while undergoing the necessary changes to serve a new generation, True Friends holds fast to its traditions as a gathering place for the Black community it serves, a place to create memories and share history—while also providing mutual aid by funding burial expenses and other community needs.

“We continue because of our ancestors,” Narcisse said. “We all have a story in terms of living through their struggles and appreciating what they were able to accomplish. And we can see how much it has transformed us in that we're, in a sense, trying to present that in a way to a different generation.” 1

The Seven Brothers Oak

In the same way that a picture can be said to paint a thousand words, the landscape of a place reveals stories of the myriad ways in which humans and nature have interacted and evolved through the centuries. In Louisiana, no landscape marker is intertwined more deeply with our collective history than the majestic live oak tree. These ancient sentinels have borne witness to generations of change, silently marking the passage of time beneath sprawling branches and venerable strength. One such tree, steeped in local lore, is the Seven Brothers Oak, or Lastrapes Oak, in Washington, Louisiana.

The story of the Seven Brothers Oak begins with Jean Henri Lastrapes, a cotton planter who, in the late eighteenth century, purchased the land still known as the Lastrapes family homestead today. Here, the Seven Brothers Oak has flourished for more than two hundred years. Various versions of the tree’s origin story have been recounted over the years. The most popular suggests that the birth of Lastrapes’ seventh son inspired him to plant seven oak trees—one to honor each son. However, as this idea dawned on him late in the day, he directed workers to temporarily plant the seven saplings in a single hole. Amid the busy routine of plantation life, the replanting task was forgotten and the saplings took root, growing into a single, massive oak with multiple trunks. Another, more romanticized tale claims the tree was named for seven Lastrapes brothers who went to fight in the Civil War, though historical records do not support this story.

While such tales may not be factually accurate, they illustrate our urge to attach deeper meaning to these trees—to see them as symbols of resilience and continuity. During the Civil War, as familiar ways of life in the South were upended, the steadfast live oaks remained. The Seven Brothers Oak, with its multiple trunks growing together as one, stands as a testament to this continuity. Gazing into its canopy we connect nature and history, discerning a realm in which our heritage is intertwined with that of these ancient trees.

The allure of Southern live oaks comes not only from their strength and longevity but also from the stories they embody. The Seven Brothers Oak is a living monument to a family’s legacy, a historical landmark, and a symbol of endurance rising above Louisiana’s fast-changing landscape. This tree underscores the importance of maintaining and caring for our live oaks—keepers of the stories that define us.

Young girls taking part in a December 2024 True Friends trailride with the Avenue Riders— an event held to raise money for Breast Cancer awareness.

Live zydeco performances and traditional dancing are a big part of the cultural landscape of St. Martin Parish that the True Friends Benevolent Society cultivates and maintains.

Bringing Dédé Home

OPERACRÉOLE, OPERA LAFAYETTE, THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION, AND THE LOUISIANA PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA COLLABORATE TO PREMIERE

THE OLDEST KNOWN OPERA WRITTEN BY AN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMPOSER

By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

And he did; he was welcomed by his own community of Black Creoles, and even granted an honorary membership with the Black fraternal organization, the Société des Jeunes-Amis. He performed at several concerts during his time in New Orleans, but ultimately found himself unwelcome, unrecognized in the city’s most prestigious venues, simply because of his race.

It is said that as a farewell, he wrote the song “Patriotisme”—grieving that his fate must rest across the sea because of the prejudice he faced at home.

It’s taken more than a century, but soon, New Orleans will grant Edmond Dédé the welcome home he’s long deserved.

In a program hosted by the Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) in partnership with OperaCréole, Washington D.C.’s Opera Lafayette, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO)—Dédé’s never-before-staged, long-lost operatic masterpiece Morgiane will premiere at St. Louis Cathedral on January 23, before going on

In 1893, the Black violinist and composer Edmond Dédé set foot in his home city of New Orleans for the first time in more than thirty years. hThe journey from France had been difficult, his ship sinking on the way—all his baggage and sheet music lost in the Gulf of Mexico. Since he’d been gone, an entire war over the forced labor of Africans had been fought, the enslaved freed. He was no longer a free per-

son of color, but now a Black Creole—as they were all now “free.” But racial tensions were perhaps even higher than when he'd departed, the prejudice and restrictions of Jim Crow layered nastily over the city. His return, after decades spent building a successful career as a conductor and composer in France, was a chance to present his success to the city of his birth.

to be staged in Washington, D.C. and New York City in February.

The work, which Dédé completed in 1887 while working in Bordeaux at Les Folies-Bordelaises, is believed to be the earliest opera written by a Black

A page from the manuscript score for Edmond Dédé's opera Morgiane, ou, Le sultan d'Ispahan (1887). Houghton Library, Harvard University.

Edmond Dédé, 1857–1893. Gift of Mr. Al Rose, original housed in Louisiana Music Collection, Amistad Research Center, New Orleans

American in existence. Thought to have been lost after languishing for over a century in private collections, the original handwritten manuscript for Morgiane was discovered in 2007 in the stacks at Houghton Library at Harvard, stuck in between other nineteenth century opera manuscripts from a Paris collection the university purchased in 2000.

By the time the New Orleans mezzo-soprano Givonna Joseph, founder and artistic director of OperaCréole, discovered the opera in 2014—she was already a devoted fan of Dédé’s. “I’ve been singing his music since, oh, I want to say before Hurricane Katrina,” said Joseph, who in the years since had collected the composer’s works from various archives, including the Tulane Music Archive, the Amistad Research Center, and the Bibliothèque Nationale.

She is particularly fond of his song, “Mon Pauvre Coeur,” published in 1852 when Dédé was still living in Louisiana, itself the oldest piece of surviving sheet music published by a free person of color in New Orleans.

Joseph came across the Morgiane manuscript when Harvard sent a digital copy of it to Xavier University of Louisiana archives, granting her access to the entire thing, all 550 pages of it. “I was just blown away by the volume of it, the immensity, and seeing the intricacy in the fact that it was all handwritten,” she said. She knew, instantly, that she needed to hear it. It needed to be performed.

“This is a man born in New Orleans, likely the first American-born Black opera composer, and I think America needs to know about him,” she said. “Because too many people have the wrong idea of what opera is and who it is for. And it so clearly has always been for [people of color]. We’ve always participated in it and also created it. And I think that’s just a really powerful and important statement to make in terms of our history.”

Born in 1827 as a fourth-generation New Orleanian free Creole of color, Dédé’s musical journey began with his father, who is believed to have been a clarinetist in a militia band. He went on to train as a violinist with orchestral and operatic masters including Constantin Debergue—the founder of the Philharmonic Society, made up of mostly Black Creoles, Ludovico Gabici—director of the St. Charles Theater Orchestra, Eugène-Prosper Prévost—the French conductor at the Theatre d’Orleans and French Opera of New Orleans, and the Black composer Charles Richard Lambert. By the time he was in his twenties, Dédé was writing his own music and performing in every pit orchestra in the city that included people of color.

But in 1856, at age twenty-nine, Dédé looked around at a New Orleans preparing for the coming Civil War, and realized that, because of the color of his skin, this place would never offer him the opportunity to reach his highest potential

as a musician. Despite nightly gigs, he was still having to work at a cigar factory to make ends meet.

He left for France, where he trained with professors at the Paris Conservatoire, including the composers Fromental Halévy and Jean-Delphin Alard. He then went on to build a career in Bordeaux, first as a repetiteur at the prestigious Grand Théâtre, then as the director of the café concert hall Théâtre de l’Alcazar, and later at Les Folies-Bordelaises—composing hundreds of dances, songs, quartets, ballets, operettas, operas-comiques, and overtures—many of which were published in Paris.

“So, we have this unbelievably prolific composer who fled from the city of New Orleans—which is so tied to the musical life America—and had to go and make his life somewhere else,” pointed out Patrick Dupré Quigley, a New Orleans native who currently serves as the Artistic Director and Conductor of Opera Lafayette in Washington, D.C. “But I think he always really wanted his music to be played in New Orleans.”

Dédé never returned to New Orleans after his visit in 1893, demoralized by the indignity of the experience. He died in 1901 in Paris, before his most elaborate work, Morgiane, could ever see the light of day.

One thousand miles away from his hometown, working for the Opera Lafayette in Washington, D.C., Quigley

discovered Dédé in the midst of a pandemic deep dive. He was reading John Baron’s Concert Life in Nineteenth Century New Orleans. Curiosity sparked, Quigley started searching for his music, eventually coming across Harvard’s digital scans of the Morgiane manuscript in early 2023. The obsession only grew stronger; like Joseph, he felt intensely that this work needed to see the light of day.

By a remarkable twist of fate, Jonathan Woody, one of the musicians at Opera Lafayette, had previously worked with Joseph in New Orleans. Learning of Quigley’s special interest and remembering Joseph’s—he connected them in the summer of 2023. “So, we were kind of going on parallel paths and just happened to be introduced by this musician we had in common,” said Quigley. “It’s just incredible, how unlikely that two people from across the United States found each other and are working on this together to bring this to life, more than one hundred years after the composer’s death.”

Over the next eighteen months, the two organizations reached out into the New Orleans community for support. The project felt like an instant fit for HNOC’s annual “Musical Louisiana” concert, which the Collection has hosted since 2007 in partnership with LPO as an opportunity to present productions centered around the study of Louisiana’s contributions to the classical music repertoire. Through this program, Morgiane will not only premiere for an audience

“THIS IS A MAN BORN IN NEW ORLEANS, LIKELY THE FIRST AMERICAN-BORN BLACK OPERA COMPOSER, AND I THINK AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT HIM.”

—GIVONNA JOSEPH

at the St. Louis Cathedral, but recorded for thousands of viewers all over the world to access on the HNOC's website.

The premiere of Morgiane falls directly into the greater mission of the HNOC, said Dhani Adomaitis, the Collection’s Programming Coordinator. “Our goal is to care for history, to sort of nurture it, and that means also being responsible for its preservation—making history available for future generations, as well as being reflective in our work and remembering the stories and histories that we share today might impact how New Orleans reflects history tomorrow. So, this program, bringing Dédé home, bringing Morgiane home, stands in perfect alignment with that mission.”

When LPO’s Executive Director Anwar Nasir learned about the project, he instantly recalled conversations he’d had with Joseph shortly after he’d first moved to New Orleans. “It was one of the first things she mentioned to me, was this work she had been trying to get performed,” he said. “It’s incredible to finally be a part of bringing it to life.”

Nasir said that the production, even beyond its historical significance, communicates an invitation to contemporary Louisiana artists and musicians that he’s been working to cultivate at LPO. “As stewards of the folks that are keeping our art forms alive, we want to

uplift our artists right here, in New Orleans,” he said. “That [Dédé’s] opera didn’t get performed here, when during that time we had four or five opera houses running . . . And so many artists today still feel that they have to leave New Orleans in order to have their music played or validated. We want to be a part of not only restoring these figures from the past but also connecting them back to the present, where New Orleans artists have a home for their work in New Orleans.”

The actual process of taking Dédé’s music from handwritten notations to the orchestra has been a thrilling challenge for all involved. Quigley—with a team that included transcriber Maurice Saylor and Derek Gretten-Harrison, who created the piano-vocal score—created official orchestrations of the over 60,0000 notes required to tell the story, working meticulously to ensure that what is performed is as true to Dédé’s intention as possible. “It’s like being Indiana Jones in a way,” said Quigley. “You’re going through old archives and rooms that no one has ever been in before, and you open them up and inside is gold. And every time you open a door, there’s more discovery, more excitement, more surprise.”

The music is a wonder in itself, according to Joseph and Quigley. “You can tell he worked with virtuosos and was able to write for them,” he said, describing the work as in the French style but with something “unquestionably American, and frankly Southern American” in the melody.

“It’s really been quite a wonderful process for people who are intellectually curious,” said Joseph. “And it’s not the easiest music. The notes were flying this way and that way.”

Once the handwritten notes were revised into somethrough January 26, 2025

thing legible for modern performers, the singers then had to translate them into sound and discover what emerged—without the benefit of example. “They are taking it off the page, and creating sound, and figuring out approaches; and there’s no video or audio to refer to, like in other known operas,” said Joseph. “Our singers become curators. It’s not work that everybody can do.”

These artists, Joseph points out, are in the unique position of having their names on a work of historic significance, performed in the modern day—“They’re on this wonderful precipice,” she said. “People will know they helped create this.”

Quigley described the premiere of Morgiane as a homecoming for Dédé, a welcome home not only from the cultural descendants of the Black Creole performing arts community that celebrated his return to the city in 1893, but a long-past-due gesture of recognition and reparation from a New Orleans that failed him. “We, the sons and daughters of New Orleans, can get together and bring one of our own back to the shores, to give him the premiere he so rightly deserves.” 1

RE|STORE: Edmond

Dédé’s Morgiane will have its world premiere at St. Louis Cathedral at 7:30 pm on January 23. Prior to the show, the HNOC will host a preconcert panel discussion with Givonna Joseph, Patrick Dupré Quigley, Dédé’s biographer Sally McKee, and musicologist Candace Bailey—moderated by HNOC family historian Jari C. Honora. Admission is free of charge and open to the public. Learn more at hnoc.org, operacreole.org, operalafayette.org, and lpomusic.com.

The Absinthe Forger

THE STORY OF A NICHE CRIMINAL MASTERMIND AND THE NETWORK OF SPIRIT ENTHUSIASTS HE INFILTRATED

By Chris Turner-Neal

During Kath rinamester, as we called it, I decided to get myself a little treat and ordered a bottle of absinthe from Austria. It came from a website devoted to sneaking absinthe past US customs, promising discreet packaging but accepting no responsibility if the Feds caught it. (It also charged nearly as much in shipping as for the absinthe itself.)

When it arrived, I drank it as a twenty-year-old drinks: a lot, relatively quickly, in my friend’s crappy apartment. My amateur verdict was that it wasn’t anything special.

I was the kind of person the various experts in Evan Rail’s The Absinthe Forger enjoy mocking. (And of course, I would have deserved it.)

The frame story of Rails’ delightful book is indeed about an absinthe forger, a niche criminal mastermind who held corks over lighters and doctored liqueurs with fennel oil to create usually-convincing replicas of bottles of absinthe dating from before the WWI-era bans of the spirit across much of Europe. This shadowy figure—referred to for legal reasons with formulas like “Christian, with a common last name hyphenated with an English one”—fails to emerge as the star of the book named after his scam, outshined at all points by the absinthe enthusiasts Rail interviews.

Absinthe has different legal definitions in various countries, but generally speaking, it’s a distilled spirit featuring fennel, anise, and wormwood. This last ingredient is the most exciting and taboo, appearing in Revelation but also blamed for absinthe’s allegedly debilitating effects due to the presence of the neurotoxin thujone in its oil. While thujone seldom, if ever, appears in absinthe in levels able to cause effects on human beings—in part because alcohol neutralizes it in the body—facts seldom interfere with a good moral panic. Blamed for social ills including a sensational murder in Switzerland, absinthe was banned in much of Europe and in the United States in the 1910s, kept alive in Spain and through clandestine operations in Czechia and Switzerland.

But: bottles of absinthe produced before the ban occasionally showed up when cellars were cleaned out, and a network of collectors, beverage historians, and gourmands began buying, selling, and trading them. It was this network of enthusiasts that Christian infiltrated to sell his fakes, and these family distillers, chemists, and antiquarians are who Rail interviews in this delightful book (Better than Ezra alum and Baton Rouge native Cary Rene Bonnecaze makes a cameo.) The resulting combination of investigation, travelogue, and tasting notes is an unalloyed treat to read, as sip by sip, train journey by flight, Rail pieces together the story of the absinthe forger.

To his credit, Rail spends almost the entire book remaining remarkably even-handed before hitting Christian with one of the best zingers I have ever read, accusing him of writing prose so purple it’s practically ultraviolet. (The accompanying Christian-penned tasting note is indeed lurid.) If it feels like he’s treading a little too gingerly at times, it’s understandable: no charges are ever brought against the forger for various reasons, and while everyone Rail interviews accepts that he was up to no good (as did this reader), moral and legal certainty are not the same thing. And if he needs to pull his punches a tiny bit to play fair, it’s the smallest of weaknesses in a book that will make most readers look for the vivid green bottles next time they’re at the liquor store. I give The Absinthe Forger a rating of five drunken poets and recommend it highly. 1

penguinerandomhouse.com

DISCOVER

EAVESDROPPING

What Would Welty Do?

THREE DAYS IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

By Jordan LaHaye Fontenot

In the Preface of The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty, the renowned Mississippi author writes of her stories: “They were part of living [in Jackson], of my long familiarity with the thoughts and feelings of those around me, in their many shadings and variations and contradictions.”

It was only fitting that my first act upon arriving in Welty’s hometown was to purchase her collection at her old favorite bookstore, Lemuria Books. Her words, a constant companion on my trip, served as a guide to the city, urging me to listen for the stories around me with the eavesdropping talent that colored Welty’s masterpieces.

Fairview Inn

I was to spend my nights in Jackson at the Fairview Inn, a boutique hotel occupying a circa-1908 Colonial mansion built for a lumber baron and designed by Robert Closson Spencer, Jr.—an associate of Frank Lloyd Wright (though mid-century modern aesthetics are nowhere to be found at Fairview). There was a sense of stepping back in time, walking past the Corinthian columns to the front door. On the wide, ground-level front porch were sets of rocking chairs, where guests could contemplate Fairview Street before them. Around each corner of the house, obscured by the branches of some of the largest magnolias I’ve ever seen, I could see nooks of tables and chairs arranged for plein air dining or evening drinking amongst the grandeur and the greenery. I’d read that the Fairview was not only a popular overnight stay for visitors to Jackson but, with its restaurant and bar, a community hub.

Inside, the lobby gives way to dining rooms and sitting rooms outfitted in crown moldings, giant chandeliers, and the magic of well-placed windows in the late afternoon. The front desk worker pointed me to my room, the Magnolia Room, on the second floor. The massive, dark-carpeted staircase effused somewhat stuffy old-world luxury, but when I entered my room at the end of the

Lemuria Books

Lemuria itself, celebrating fifty years in 2025, is a fitting place to begin a tour of Jackson. The bookstore is a legend in the South, a literary home for many of the region’s most esteemed writers, from Barry Hannah to John Grisham, Greg Iles, and Jesmyn Ward. And, of course, Jackson’s own Welty.

To get to Lemuria, you must first walk through its neighbor on the first floor of Banner Hall, Broad Street Baking Company & Café (a pause for a scratch-made pastry and coffee is encouraged). Walking through, I also noticed an empty space filled with boxes—which I’d later learn to be the future Levure Bottle Shop, a natural wine project from the folks at Elvie’s Restaurant.

Elvie’s reputation had preceded my visit. Opened in pre-pandemic 2020, Jackson-native Chef Hunter Evans’ French-inspired, sustainability-focused café named after his grandmother was quick to gain national attention and upped the ante for Jackson’s restaurant scene, which has since exploded with a truly exciting collective of award-winning, chef-forward concepts across the capital city. I’d be visiting Elvie’s later on, but was even more curious about the new restaurants that have emerged from the wave of creative culinary momentum post-2020. And here was Levure, with Evans’ literal fingerprints on the bottles.

Back to Lemuria, up the stairs at Banner Hall—well, you can’t miss it. The entryway is iconic, a Hallmark-level charming red façade, through which the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are already visible. Atop the front door is a custom sculpture of a hand holding up an open book—a sign of resistance from owner John Evans when he opened this location at the peak of the e-book craze. Inside, golden light plays upon wooden floors and absorbs into dark green leather couches, all snuggled in between overlapping walls of books, books, books—arranged to create corners and crannies, rooms within themselves. An illusion of chaos, actually carefully curated by subject matter. Mystery, music, Mississippi—an entire corner for it. Legacy is everywhere, with portraits of authors and an entire room dedicated to first editions. It’s a reader’s wonder, and I only wished I could have stayed longer. I left with my Welty, two signed editions for a loved one, and plans to return.

hallway, I was instantly dumbstruck by the airiness, the elegant comfort of the generous space— with its king-size wooden antique-looking bed, gorgeous wood floors that creaked just a little as I walked, and heavy curtains pulled back to reveal a bird’s-eye view of Fairview Street. There were not one, but two fireplaces—one in the bedroom, and one in a separate sitting room, where there was a writing desk in the corner I could as easily imagine Welty sitting at as Hemingway. The suite even included an entire second bedroom, with two queen-size beds, which I didn’t need but noted for future family/friend excursions.

Though I was tempted to revel in this fairytale space I’d call my own for the next few days, I was also curious about the rest of the property. Walking through the back gardens, I noted a fire pit surrounded by Adirondack chairs, gesturing toward late nights with new friends. Most magical, though, was the waist-high formal French-style maze garden, with all paths leading to a Greek statue of a woman at the center.

Left: One of Jackson's newest cocktail bars, The Walk-In extrapolates on Jackson's literary aesthetics, adding in a touch of elegant maximalism. Photo by Andrew Welch, courtesy of The Walk-In. Right: At the Fairview Inn, a beloved spot for both visitors to Jackson and locals, the grounds feature a traditional French garden maze. Photo by Kate Head, courtesy of Fairview Inn.

Fondren Arts District

Considered Jackson’s arts district, Fondren was once known as ‘Sylum Heights, a legacy leftover from the Mississippi Lunatic Asylum that operated here for years. Today, a combination of local investment through the circa-1980s Fondren Renaissance Foundation, Mississippi’s first urban Main Street program; the endurance of deeply beloved businesses that have survived the test of time; and a face lift from the 2011 filming of The Help have resulted in a nostalgic thread energizing the district with vintage cool. Almost every building boasts a stylish façade of architectural significance, and inside of them are eclectic family-owned businesses that serve a diverse and creatively-inclined community.

At the center of it all is Campbell’s Bakery, pastel pink, where I popped in to indulge in a lemon bar. The circa-1962 bakery has held its own as a landmark in the modern age and was named one of the South’s top twenty best bakeries by Southern Living in 2022. Next door, The End of All Music provides the necessary access to vintage records that the stepping-back-in-time sensation of Fondren induces. From Chappell Roan vinyls, to Fleetwood Mac, to a bin labeled “Awesome Tapes from Africa”—the selection is diverse and extensive, packed into an intimate space crowded with music ephemera and art.

Campbell’s and The End of All Music are both part of a collection of storefronts, built in 1939, along the neighborhood’s central artery, called Fondren Strip. In famed Mississippi photographer James Patterson’s former studio, which also holds histories as a drugstore and a Radio Shack, is now a tiki bar called The Pearl. Next door, in the location of the very last Jitney Jungle, is now a high-end bowling alley. Right past it is the circa-1962 modernist

Just down the street, you’ll encounter a Tudor Revival complex—which I initially dismissed as an office space, or a school. Turns out, the building is one of Jackson’s most popular music venues, Duling Hall. Occupying the former Lorena Duling School, the event space regularly plays host to the region’s most popular traveling party bands and singer/songwriters.

Craving a sit-down and a shot of caffeine, I walked all the way back down the main drag past the Strip to The Bean coffee shop—a white cottage bursting out with orange café umbrellas. On the way, my curiosity was piqued by perhaps the most out-of-time building in Fondren—Walker’s Drive-In. Though I wouldn’t have time to dine there during my stay, I did learn that the retro-futuristic Asteroid City-style building, with its mint green walled patio and neon sign, was home to one of Jackson’s oldest restaurants, open since the 1940s and helmed since 2001 by James Beard semi-finalist Chef Derek Emerson, who has elevated the classic diner tradition to require white tablecloths.

At The Bean, I ordered a cappuccino (made with beans from Hattiesburg's Grin Coffee Roastery), then settled at a corner table, taking in the crackly cool effect of the contemporary artwork on the walls of the carefully-restored old house. The fireplace, for instance, was obscured by black and white stripes set inside the stained wooden mantel. I pulled out Welty’s Collected Stories, and allowed the characters of Lily Daw, Mrs. Watts, and the xylophone player to rise up into the Jackson around me.

Before departing Fondren, I walked over to Mississippi’s very first shopping center, now called Woodland Hills, to step into Brent’s Drugs—one of the district’s, and Jackson’s, most famous destinations. It was by now approaching 5 pm, and I kicked myself when I realized the circa-1946 soda fountain was already closed for the day, chairs upside down on the tables.

But I had heard a rumor . . . and the door was unlocked. Feeling a little illicit, I let myself in and walked, haltingly, to the back, waiting for someone to come out and ask me what the hell I was doing in there. But there was a door at the end, past the kitchen. I pushed it open and stepped into the justbarely-lit micro-world, all leather and marble, of The Apothecary. The speakeasy has been well-regaled for its vintage nod to Prohibition-era glamour, but even more for the quality of its craft cocktails—named by USA Today as one of the Best Bars of 2024. There was only one other customer, who was deep in conversation with the bartender. I joined them at the bartop, admiring the ninety-nine drawer pharmacy cabinet backdropping it.

I asked the bartender, Everest Benson, for his recommendation on the short but dizzying list of

movie theater—now renovated as The Capri. And at the very end of the strip is The Station, a restored gas station now operating as a trendy wood fired pizza joint, and Pig & Pint—voted “Best Barbecue” every year since they opened in 2014. Later, I’d come back to try the legendary ‘cue and gorge on pork belly corndogs and tacos filled with fried green tomatoes, brisket, and smoked chicken. Turn the corner, and there's The Beacon—an arts and crafts shop of curiosities, where you can find anything from a totally restored 1950s bicycle to bookbinding kits, collectible comics, and working typewriters. Owned by local artists Jason and Nicole Wyatt Jenkins, the interior is celestially-inspired, the floor painted to resemble the moon’s surface and galaxies spilling off the walls.

drinks, which featured ingredients like acid-adjusted oleo and chili-infused vodka. For whiskey drinkers, Benson effusively encourages the Banana Bread old fashioned—which I’d initially looked at skeptically. The description reads that the cocktail is made with “walnut bitters that we accidentally left in the freezer next to the bananas.” I’m a believer that the craftsman knows best, though, and soon found myself all-too-satisfied sipping the whiskey-forward concoction that contained just a hint of sweetness. And, as Welty would approve, I was eavesdropping. My fellow barmate, it was clear, was also a bartender—at what sounded like a brand-new place in town. I had to ask.

“The Walk-In!” he told me. “They just opened yesterday.” The new spot was attached to the Jackson institution Hal & Mal’s, where I happened to have reservations that very night. The new small plates and cocktail concept was created by the same owners, Chef Damien Cavicchi and Mary Sanders Cavicchi (who also own Campbell’s Bakery). “It looks incredible in there,” my new companion, Ian Hanson, told me. “Definitely worth a stop.” Benson interjected that they were encroaching on

Left: The Library Bar at Fairview Inn, a popular restaurant and bar for locals and visitors to Jackson. Photo by Christian Giannelli, courtesy of the Fairview Inn.

Right: Walker's Drive-In in the Fondren Arts District, one of Jackson's oldest still-in-operation restaurants. Photo by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot.

The Apothecary’s territory, serving Asian-inspired small plates and state-of-the-art drinks. They teased and laughed, but ultimately, as Hanson put it, there is room in Jackson for both. “Really since 2020, with Elvie’s, the food scene here has just exploded,” he said. “There is so much great stuff going on.”

As tempting as it was to stick around and indulge in more of The Apothecary’s potions, there was another cocktail bar on my agenda—I had to head back to Fairview.

The Library Lounge

Nestled on the first floor of the Inn in the building’s original library, the room is intimately cultivated, warmed by a fireplace and lamplight, glowing against dark paneled shelving holding actual books, many written by the Southern greats: Grisham, Faulkner, Morris, Williams, and Welty. The bar has been called the Cheers of the Belhaven neighborhood, and everyone in it looked as if they knew one another. I’d read somewhere that the bar had drawn some famous guests, including Mick Jagger and Matthew McConaughey.

I ordered a “Shelby Foote Mason Dixon”—Evan Williams with black tea syrup, mint, Cointreau, and lemon—and listened to the conversations around me. “Is it your first trivia night?” a server asked the bartender, who nodded, grinning. ‘Good luck,” they laughed. The bartender’s name was Tucker Barefoot, and when I told him I was from Acadiana, he and the man sitting next to me at the bar wondered where my accent was. Before I could answer, a server came behind me and held his hand out for a fistbump. A little confused, I acquiesced, laughing. Later, he’d return to ask me what I was writing this time. I looked at him, confused. “Do we know each other?”

Remarkably, he’d confused me for another writer, a woman who looks just like me, who comes to this seat at the Library Bar and writes, just like I was, a few times a week. We blinked at each other at the kismet of it, and then could only laugh. Before I left, I overheard discussion about yet another new restaurant, and—just lubricated enough—inserted myself. The server who’d been speaking was Kelsi Bouldin, who was opening up a fast-casual concept in nearby Ridgeland, hopefully in early 2025, called County Line Fish Hut.

Hal & Mal’s

Housed in a historic freight depot building along the old New Orleans Great Northern Railroad, Hal & Mal’s was opened by brothers Hal and Malcolm White in 1984 with a concert performance by Albert King, Otis Clay, Jack Owles, and Willie Dixon.

Compared to the elegant spaces in which I’d spent much of the day, the restaurant was blessedly casual, with a kind of cultivated, funky griminess of a hometown joint. The walls were covered in neon and memorabilia, and as I sat down, the bass player from the Raphael Semmes Quartet came to let me know that it was jazz night. I ordered a sour from the Jackson-based Fertile Ground Beer Co., and for an appetizer, the Comeback & Crackers—a “Jackson tradition” I’d heard much about. The famous dipping sauce was a total delight, served with a basket filled with individually packaged “Wheat Twins” crackers that already felt a little wasteful on my solo diner’s table. However, when the server brought over my entrée—the highly recommended Indian Butter Chicken Nachos, which could have easily fed three—the people a few tables over ogled. It was a lot of food. One woman eventually came over and offered to take a photograph of me with it.

Later, another woman approached my table and introduced herself as a longtime Jackson teacher. “I must have taught you before,” she said. “You look so very familiar.” I assured her I’d never been to Jackson before, and she looked as though she didn’t quite believe me.

Left alone with my butter chicken, I wondered about my Jackson doppelganger(s), and whether they’d ever read Welty’s “A Curtain of Green.”

Midway through my meal, another woman sat down at the table beside mine. She told me that this was her first day off work in weeks, and she was treating herself. She clearly knew the musicians, and some of the servers. Together, we sipped our drinks and pulsed with the rest of the room to the jazz standards coming from the stage.

Mississippi Museums

The next morning I stayed in for breakfast, coming downstairs to try Fairview’s 1908 Provisions. At a table right by the window, I was able to look out at the gardens while sipping a piping hot cup of coffee. I ordered a fruit bowl to start, with fresh berries and cream, while I considered the beignets (Café du Monde’s recipe, purportedly) and the benedicts, but ended up with the croissant sandwich—pressed panini-style with eggs, prosciutto, cheddar cheese, and Duke’s.

My second day in Jackson was devoted to the city’s museums. I started at the Two Museums Mississippi complex, opened as recently as 2017 in honor of the state’s bicentennial. The building is imposing as it is impressive, clearly designed to accommodate enormous crowds in its two institutions: the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History.

I quickly realized that the two hours I had reserved for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum were not nearly enough. The story of Civil Rights history in America is multifaceted and complex, and this museum presents it with courage, creativity, and Smithsonian-level quality. It’s worth reserving an entire afternoon for, all on its own.

Newspaper clippings from the height of the slave trade set the scene, in which human beings were viewed and treated as commodities, with headlines reading, “Slaves! Slaves! Slaves!”, advertising a sale at the Forks of the Road in Natchez. In a carefully arranged display of texts, interactive exhibits, multi-media moments, and artifacts, the first few rooms take you through the dark history of oppression that set the stage for the Civil Rights movement less than a century ago.

Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech adorns one wall. As you walk through exhibits laying out the history of Reconstruction, depicting the ways in which African Americans persisted and resisted, voices shout out at you from the corners, “Boy, get off that sidewalk!” I spent time reading and listening to oral histories regarding the rise of Black farmers, the impact of the

“Mammy” stereotype, and how enslavement was ultimately replaced by mass incarceration as a strategy for maintaining white supremacy. A series of pillars serve as monuments to the thousands of individuals lynched in Mississippi, including their names with dates, the cities where their murders took place, and their supposed crimes. A quote from former Mississippi governor (1904–1908) James K. Vardaman demonstrates the unabashed, brutal dehumanization that racism infused into the very government systems: “If it is necessary every Negro in the state will be lynched, it will be done to maintain white supremacy.”

An entire gallery was devoted to the impact the Civil War had on African Americans, demonstrating that they were equal in expectation, ability, and heroism in every way to the white soldier—only to be treated as inferior when they returned. Another focused on the ongoing struggles for education equality in America. Jerry Knight, the Museum Educator at Two Mississippi Museums, joined me for a multi-media presentation inside a replica of a schoolhouse, for which we sat in school-style desks. He told me about how Cleveland, Mississippi, where he used to teach, didn’t integrate its schools until as late as 2015. Another incredibly compelling immersive theater experience, narrated by Oprah Winfrey and shown in a convincing replica of a church, told of the hope and danger of Freedom Summer, 1964. Others honored the legacies of the movement’s martyrs, including the child Emmett Till and activist Medgar Evers— whose assassination inspired Eudora Welty’s short story, “Where Is the Voice Coming From?” It is the only one, she is known to have said, that she ever wrote out of anger.

The museum’s heartbeat is a center gallery, from which an enormous glowing light sculpture called “This Little Light of Mine” pulsates and broadcasts gospel songs, such as the Civil Rights anthem, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round.”

While I was there, I overheard a man speaking to a group of students, most of whom were Black. He told them, “This is your information. This is enlightenment. Don’t let anybody take this information from you.”

Before heading to the Museum of Mississippi History, I stopped for lunch at Nissan Café, a casual counter concept by long-reigning Best Chef in Jackson Nick Wallace, who Food Network fans might recognize from Cutthroat Kitchen, Top Chef, and Chopped (which he won in Season 34). I ordered what sounded like the most interesting thing on the menu—the Southern-style Ramen Noodle Bowl—and was once again defeated in the serving size battle. Each spoonful of

The center gallery at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, which features the light sculpture, "This Little Light of Mine," created by Transformit Designs. Photo by Jordan LaHaye Fontenot.

vegetable broth, soaking through the noodles, smoked pork belly, and pineapple, felt as though it were filling my belly to the top with its sheer (dare I say daring) richness.

If I were to visit Jackson again, I would absolutely return to these museums, but I would allot a separate day for each. I fear that after so many hours reading and contemplating the most fraught moments of our nation’s and region’s history, I glazed over a bit in my experience of the Mississippi Museum of History. That said, I was once again impressed by the quality of the exhibitions, which carried me through the history of the state beginning with stories of the Chickasaw and Choctaw—told through audio features and written text, in English and their original languages—and moving through the exploration and settlement of the Europeans, the enslavement of Africans, the impact of agriculture, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and into the social changes wrought by the twentieth century. The experience begins in a dark circular room, with benches set up around a central audio-visual installation meant to imitate the feel of stories told around the campfire, with Morgan Freeman as the teller. Some of the most interesting artifacts included an early copy of the famous Bowie knife, the Mississippi Civil War Flag Collection, an outfit worn by Ike Turner, and a replica of a Juke Joint called “Lucille’s Place.”

My next stop was the Mississippi Museum of Art, where I wandered through the permanent collection exhibition in the Gertrude C. Ford Galleries titled, New Symphony of Time. Drawing together 170 works by artists from Mississippi and beyond, the curation is meant to consider how Mississippi, as a place and metaphor, has inspired artworks concerning time. This translates to artistic explorations of ancestry, memory, migration, and home. Included were artworks by legends like Elizabeth Catlett, Georgia O’Keefe, and Benny Andrews, as well as Mississippi’s first Abstract Expressionist and Modernist painter Dusti Bongé, the “Mad Potter of Biloxi” George Ohr, and Eudora Welty—who when she wasn’t writing, dabbled in photography.

Some works that especially stood out to me were Titus Kaphar’s “Darker Than Cotton”—a traditional portrait of an eighteenth century landowner, peeled away to unveil a close-up, hyper-realistic portrait of a Black woman’s face—revealing the hidden stories and individuals behind history’s mythmaking. Earlie Hudnall, Jr.’s gelatin silver print portrait, “Mama with her Collard Greens” moved me, and I stood in front of Noah Saterstrom’s mesmerizing “Road to Shubuta” so long that I had to rush through the rest of the exhibition.

The Walk-In

In stark contrast to its sister restaurant Hal & Mal’s, the Walk-In is totally “vibey,” intentionally eclectic. The literary influence I’d observed at so many of the institutions here prevails—this time in a more eccentric, rich librarian sort of way, with velvet, Persian-style rugs, and animal print everywhere. The barstools are fringed, and the cabinetry is green. On one side of the room are what appear to be old oil portraits of historic figures, on the other, abstract art. I ordered a “Sage Against the Machine”—Four Roses with Cointreau, blackberry shrub, lemon, and torched sage—with an order of egg rolls. Perfectly portioned for a pre-dinner snack, and served with mango sweet and sour sauce, I had a feeling this was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to the experience of their menu—which also featured a pupu platter, a bulgogi grilled cheese, and crab rangoons.

Belhaven Town Center

Ian Hanson from The Apothecary had told me Belhaven was the beating heart of Jackson’s developing culinary and entertainment scene. Sparked by Chef

Hunter Evans’s opening of Elvie’s in 2020, the energy of the neighborhood has drawn a collective of complimentary concepts. There’s Poppy Pies, a beloved pizza pop up that had only opened their brick and mortar the Sunday before my visit. Pulito Osteria, which opened in January 2023, brings forth Michelin-experienced Chef Chaz Linzey in a concert of traditional Italian-style cooking. Good Bar, another concept by Evans, is a post-dinner cocktail joint and neighborhood hangout. Then there’s Fertile Ground Beer Co, where I grabbed a pilsner. The brewery’s origins go back to a 2014 TEDx event in The Capri Theater, titled “Fertile Ground,” which led to several entrepreneurial efforts around Jackson, including the city’s only brewery. The folks there are currently in the process of partnering with Mississippi/ Louisiana coffee roasters Northshore Specialty Coffee to open the Cultivate Coffee Project. And finally, Mayday Ice Cream rounds things out with a dessert option.

Sipping my pilsner, it occurred to me that the Town Center is a perfect example of how success can be a domino effect in a community like this one. You can see the whole thing taking shape. The origin story of Belhaven’s Wing Mouth says as much—the owner and his wife were having a date night on the greenspace at the center of it all, she enjoying a glass of wine from Good Bar, he a beer from Fertile Ground, sharing a pizza from Poppy Pies. And he pointed at a recently closed space and said, "I am going to turn that into my wing shop.”

Sambou’s African Kitchen

Unassuming in a strip mall, this easy-to-miss destination dining spot has been recognized in publications across the country and by the James Beard Foundation, as well as recognized as a "Best New Restaurant" by Southern Living in 2023 and 2024. It’s been around since 2022, when Sally Demba, a Jackson transplant from Gambia, finally listened to friends’ years-long insistence that she should open a restaurant for traditional Gambian cuisine, scratch-made every day. She runs the restaurant with her son, Joseph, and daughter, Bibian Sambou, and has quickly developed a passionate following in the area. The night I went, there was only one other table occupied, but take-out orders flowed in a constant stream. Following the advice of a 2022 New York Times article titled “25 Restaurant Dishes We Couldn’t Stop Thinking About,” bolstered by the waiter’s recommendation, I ordered the Oxtail Plate. When it came out, it interestingly resembled something very similar to the rice and gravy I’d grown up with in Cajun country, though the spices were different—warm instead of hot on the tastebuds, with a strong dose of ginger. The meat was spoon tender, melt-in-your mouth good, and the cabbage side on its own was worth shouting over. It was the kind of meal I couldn’t wait to call and tell my husband, the cook in our house, all about.

Elvie’s

On my last day in Jackson, I finally made it to the epicenter of the city’s emerging culinary scene: Elvie’s. Evans’ dinner menu is his true claim to fame, but his Hangtown Fry French Omelet may have been the best thing I ate during my entire visit. Prepared in the French style, the eggs were decadently buttery with a texture more akin to a custard than a scramble. The omelet was served with three fried oysters on top—fresh from the fryer, fresh from the Gulf—and hollandaise. I paired the savory with a mellow sweet—the bruléed grapefruit, served with cool mint and almond yogurt. The sustainably (mostly locally)-sourced ingredients were simple, but brought together so artfully. It’s easy to see how someone could eat here and be inspired to create something else for their city.

Eudora Welty House & Gardens

I took a quick detour to Native Coffee Co. down the street, a local favorite that was named the best coffee shop in Mississippi by Food & Wine in 2022. Fueled by lavender mint tea, I made my way to Pinehurst Street, where Welty lived for most of her life.

The incredible thing about Welty is that she was a living legend; she knew, while she was alive, that her work was of great significance. And partly because of this, so much of her world has been preserved. In 1986, she bequeathed her circa-1925 Tudor Revival home (“with some timbering,” as she once put it, “à la Shakespeare”) to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and when you enter it today, it appears undisturbed by time. Our tour guide told us that everything in the home—the blankets, the furniture, the knick knacks, the art—was hers. And the books. Walking through, they are everywhere, piled onto every surface, lining countless shelves along the walls. The guide numbered them at over five thousand, and told us that when Welty had guests, she’d just advise them to move the books out of the way to take a seat on the couch. She was also well-known to offer a shot of Maker’s Mark to her guests upon arrival, and to leave all the windows open to the world so that she might better see, smell, and hear it. Her favorite place to write was her bedroom, beneath the window that looked out to Pinehurst Street—where Jacksonians remember her often visible, at work, window open. This was the side of her bedroom reserved for imagining, the other side—with her bed—assigned for dreaming. The “museum” feels much like a lived-in home; you can almost expect Welty to walk out of the room you’ve just left. Her presence is inescapable. 1

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Disclaimer: This trip was hosted and partially funded by Visit Jackson, though the opinions of the writer are entirely her own and formed independently of this fact.

The Eudora Welty House in Jackson, Mississippi. Courtesy of the Eudora Welty House & Gardens.

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PERSPECTIVES: ART OF OUR STATE

Golden Waste

ARTIST MANON BELLET TRANSLATES THE ESSENCE OF PLACE THROUGH SCENT

By Sophie Nau

At artist Manon Bellet’s instillation last year at Yes

We Cannibal in Baton Rouge, visitors found themselves immersed in the world of Delacroix, over one hundred miles away. Not in a visual sense, but instead by way of their noses. The extracted scents of Delacroix’s bayous and wetlands were suspended in a wooden box—part of Bellet’s larger research project titled Golden Waste, which explores how scent can function as an archive. These smells, Bellet posits, are a living document of a rapidly changing region.

A Swiss artist who has called New Orleans home since 2016, Bellet started thinking about scent as a medium while living in Berlin as a visual artist. She had wanted a break from working with images, and started asking questions about the nature of art itself; did the identity, or value, of the artwork lie in the creating of it, its installation, or the reaction it provoked in a viewer?

Scent, Bellet found, is a curious no-

man’s-land transcending that temporal space, vividly evoking memories in the viewer (or smeller)’s mind, while simultaneously creating a singular moment of present concentration. But it wasn’t until she moved to New Orleans that the idea fully took shape. As she biked through historic neighborhoods, the scents of her new home and its persistent environmental challenges surrounded her, vividly.

“I was experiencing the new territory I was living in, the new climate, the new temperature, you know, the humidity, the heat. [I thought], oh, this is a place that has something to tell me,” she said. “And so that was the first time I started to really think about space, smell, geography, orientation, territory, memory, and loss, and how we can, through scent, open a dialogue, and try to have a substance of the non-substance, in a way.”

With fellowships from Tulane’s ByWater Institute and the New Orleans Center for the Gulf South, Bellet began research for her olfactory project at A

for artists to create work exploring our relationship to the environment. For six weeks, Bellet extracted the scents of an eroding Louisiana coastline, interviewing fishermen in Delacroix who knew the land and waters intimately. While accompanying them on their boats, she listened as they shared first-hand knowledge of the Bayous Terre-aux-Boeufs and Lerry, and how smells play key roles in our ecosystem. The fishermen pointed out to Bellet the trout whose eggs are protected from predators thanks to a sharply scented liquid layer; they showed her the scent of spilled oil and how to sniff out a change in salinity levels, which can vastly affect the species that call these waters home.

“For them, it’s super easy to say when the different waterways are changing and where they are mixed together,” Bellet said, although it’s becoming harder to distinguish the waters as they shift more rapidly.

On these outings, Bellet collected soil, plants, and water to later preserve

as long-lasting scents. She also spent time with the fishermen’s families, capturing smells from their homes as they shared stories about their lives. She extracted scents from the ephemeral objects of their stories: the smoke of burned photo albums one family had rescued from a house fire, earthiness from a home garden.

As Bellet explained, the best way to give scents longevity (so as to display them in a gallery) is to molecularly recreate them via what she calls the “headspace method.” After she collects her organic materials, she seals them (and the air surrounding them) in a glass jar with a vacuum system that chemically captures the smell. She then sends this to Andreas Wilhelm, a perfumer in Zurich, who analyzes the scent and recreates the molecules.

“It’s like a translation,” Bellet said of the process.

While Bellet is more focused now on teaching and raising her young son, she sometimes leads olfactory workshops where participants explore a location and its smells and discuss their experience together.

“It’s a little bit like a cartography of trying to recognize the environment we are [in] at the moment,” Bellet said. Most importantly, the workshop is a way to facilitate conversation about our environment, and an opportunity to slow down and notice what we experience daily, often without even realizing it. As Bellet put it, each scent has a “testimony”—something to tell us about where it came from and where it’s going, that is only heard when somebody stops to breathe it in. 1

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Studio in the Woods, an art center that provides residencies

Visitors inhaling the scent, Ferme Asile, Sion, Switzerland, solo exhibition Between us Photo by Olivier Lovey, 2022

Left: The end product of Bellet’s work: jars holding natural extractions and scents. Photo by Sabree Hill, 2019

Right: Visitors inhaling the scent, Ferme Asile, Sion, Switzerland, solo exhibition Between us. Photo by Olivier Lovey, 2022.

Artist Manon Bellet collects water from a swamp while working on her olfactory project, “Golden Waste,” during her residency at A Studio in the Woods. Photo by Sabree Hill , 2019.