Louisiana Life Magazine May-June 2024

HATCHING

Crawfish Daze

CRAWFISH SEASON is one of my favorite times of year. I can’t get enough of the spicy little mudbugs and will accept any invitation (and sometimes invite myself) to eat them. However, this year, we’re all a little dazed and concerned about the availability and price of crawfish. Earlier in the year the Louisiana State University AgCenter said that the crawfish burrows had been dried out by the previous summer drought. That sent the price of boiled crawfish up to anywhere between $12 and $15 a pound. Live crawfish prices were also high. The unfortunate effect of the weather will likely impact many areas of this industry, but thankfully, it looks as though things are leveling out a bit.

There’s more hope on the horizon in the form of festivals like the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival that takes place May. This lively festival has grown exponentially since the early days.

Happening from May 3-5, the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival includes music on three different stages, a crawfish eating contest and Cajun dance lessons, to name a few of the fun activities. There’s a three-day pass as well as individual tickets. Though the festival has gotten big, it’s still a fun affair and a good time.

Though it dates back to 1960, I remember going some thirty years ago when it was a small-to-medium size festival, at least from my young perspective. What else I remember is eating my body weight in crawfish that day — the crawfish were too good not to.

If I’m not at a festival like that, I’m happiest going to a crawfish boil in someone’s backyard. My brother’s crawfish boils are my favorite — he does them just right. I love to see what he will throw in a pot of crawfish: Mushrooms, asparagus, sweet potatoes (my new favorite) and more. Anything goes really, as long as it doesn’t mess up the taste of the main attraction, the crawfish.

There’s nothing better than gathering around with family or friends for a boil. When you see tables covered with newspaper, you know it’s about to go down. Ice chests of cold drinks or beer, a few loaves of crusty French bread and if you’re lucky, someone brings the special garlic butter, and that’s really all you need. Anything else is lagniappe. When that first batch is spread out across the table, the bright red crawfish steaming from the heat, corn and potatoes tumbling down the mound, it has to be one of the best sights in Louisiana's culinary world. I do feel lucky to live here on days like that — to be able to enjoy such delicious food with the people I care about most.

In this issue, you’ll be able to read more about the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival and if crawfish aren’t your thing, read on for some amazing steak recipes. If you aren’t doing a boil this month, you’re likely grilling outside before the shimmering summer heat sets in, but either way, it’s all a sign of good times.

Reine Dugas EDITOR REINE@LOUISIANALIFE.COM

Might Of The Pelican

WE BEGIN with a limerick about my favorite bird:

A wonderful bird is the pelican, His bill will hold more than his belican, He can take in his beak

Enough food for a week

But I’m damned if I see how the helican!

Written by Dixon Lanier Merritt, a Nashville editor and humorist, and also kin to Tennessee Williams on the Lanier family side, he had the talent to create strange looking words, i.e., “belican” and “helican” that nevertheless functioned perfectly — just as a pelican. The bird with its prominent head and dangling pouch is strange to behold, but boy, can it dive for fish!

In this, the magazine’s conservation issue, we behold that Louisiana, with its delicate balance of coastal barriers, estuary systems, forests, bayous, swamps and rivers has so much worth saving.

Pelicans are among the best of nature’s creations. I love watching pelicans at work gliding gracefully over water seemingly at peace with the breeze that carries them. Then there is a sudden interruption of solitude as they plunge, beak first, mightily into the water. Within moments, the surface is broken again as the bird is propelled out and upward like a missile fired from a submarine. He quickly returns to gliding, only now his pouch is filled with fish. He tosses his head back and forth to discharge the water and then chaws on his bounty while anticipating the next plunge.

In Louisiana, the pelican has extra status as the state’s flag emblem depicting a mother white pelican with three chicks pecking blood from her breast for nourishment. In 1966 the more common brown pelican was declared to be the official state bird. There could be no better choice.

Hard times were ahead though. By the 1970s, the prized pelican population was dying out. On the barrier islands, there were nests containing the shattered fragments of eggs whose shells were made too thin to bear progeny because of poisonous DDT agriculture runoff. All birds were endangered, including the state symbol who no longer had her chicks.

There would be good news, however. DDT was a national problem, the scourge of waterways. Eventually, federal law curtailed its use, and the streams became cleaner. Louisiana still had the challenge of rebuilding the pelican population it had lost. In what might be the state’s greatest conservationist effort of all times, in 1968 arrangements were made to import 1,276 young brown pelicans from Florida. Pelicans are an ancient breed but probably never before had they migrated by truck. The program was a huge success. In 2009, the brown pelican was released from the federal endangered species list.

Pelicans tend to nest in colonies. A spot off the Louisiana Gulf Coast, Queen Bess Island, is now a haven for pelicans whose population explosion is not good news for the fish, but great for those who appreciate the beauty of nature. Around 4,400 pelicans are estimated to colonize the barrier island annually.

There would be another setback in 2010 caused by the BP oil rig explosion. Many of the birds were coated with the slimy gunk caused by the spill, but due to rescue workers, some were saved. Nevertheless, the state was estimated to have lost approximately half of its pelican colonies because of the spill. However, within 10 years, using money from fines dished out by BP, the island was declared to be restored and made fully habitable.

Having survived hard times, the pelicans are now at peace; many having Queen Bess as their own home island. Can the pelican endure?

I am sure as helican.

Louisiana Insider

Catch up on the latest podcast episodes

Words are for reading, but sometimes it is good to pause and

a word or two about words themselves: how they are used; where they have taken

Editor

Dugas joins Louisiana Life’s Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, to discuss Southern literature and who have been some of the best practitioners. They also discuss the art of writing, as well as the future of the book industry and some of their own writing tips. (They might have added a list of cliches that should be avoided “like the plague.”)

EPISODE 174

A Department Store, a Sugar Refinery and the Man Who Founded Both

Peter M. Wolf, the author of “Sugar King: Leon Godchaux: A New Orleans Legend; His Creole Slave and His Jewish Roots,” joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with producer Kelly Massicot, to discuss the history of an amazing man who also secretly purchased a Creole slave in order to liberate him, and would later become a business partner. Wolf also reveals what happened to the engine for Godchaux’s train that was used to haul items throughout the refinery. Hint: It was relocated to a major theme park.

Kevin Rabalais Writer and Photographer

Kevin Rabalais, an Avoyelles Parish native, writes and photographs the Natural State series for Louisiana Life. His work has appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Australian, the New Zealand Listener, and the Argentine magazine Revista Ñ. He teaches in the Department of English at Loyola University New Orleans.

What are you Reading?

Kevin Rabalais

“The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi” by James Beard Award-winning journalist Boyce Upholt. The book, which will be published in June 2024, gives us a riveting history of the Mississippi and provides urgent insight into what ongoing attempts to tame it mean for the future of our region.

Danley Romero

“Dark Star: An Oral Biography of Jerry Garcia.” Garcia is one of my favorite guitarists and was a smart guy with interesting thoughts on many subjects. The book is a great read, especially if you’re a fan of his music.

Jeffrey Roedel

“The Creative Act” by Rick Rubin. It's been my favorite book the past year. I'm on my second read through it, although I'm skipping around on my second time. ."Rubin's meditations are so deeply thought-provoking and gently instructional on how to stay open to inspiration, flexible with your artistic flow, and motivated to express yourself in meaningful ways."

A native of Lafayette currently residing in the Lake Charles area, Danley Romero specializes in portrait photography.  He considers it an honor to contribute to his state’s flagship magazine, Louisiana Life, and takes a particular sense of pride in his association with Acadiana Profile.  Most gratifying are the experiences that collaborating with the two magazines afford: meeting and photographing many of Louisiana’s most talented, accomplished and interesting citizens — the people who help to make our state the wonder it is.

Jeffrey Roedel is a producer, director and journalist focused on Southern makers, artists and creative thought. A graduate of LSU and the University of Southern California’s Production Workshop, he’s the former editor of 225 in Baton Rouge. In 2020, he released a collection of mantras for creativity called “Life Is Gonna Try to Put a Lot of Polo Shirts on You.” His album of pandemic poetry and music called “Distance” was released in 2021.

NEW ORLEANS

Hurricane Protection via Coastal Conservation

A large grant offers Terrebonne, Lafourche additional protection

BY LISA LEBLANC-BERRY

Thanks to a generous grant administered by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, construction is underway for Phase 2 of the Houma Navigation Canal Lock Complex, led by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District. The $300 million contract has been awarded to Sealevel Construction of Thibodaux. It is the largest council grant awarded for any project to date. Once completed, the complex will help distribute fresh water, safeguard the ecosystem and instigate storm surge protection for 150,000 Terrebonne and Lafourche residents. (coastal.la.gov/news).

BATON ROUGE

The Contest is On!

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has announced the requirements for the 2025 Louisiana Waterfowl Conservation Stamp, better known as the Louisiana Duck Stamp. The featured species will be the black-bellied whistling duck (aka squealers). Artists must submit an original, unpublished work of art with a signed and notarized artist’s agreement and a fee. Entries will be accepted from October, 14-22, 2024. (for rules and forms: wlf.louisiana.gov/page/louisiana-duck-stamp).

Professor Awarded Coastal Grant

UNO Environmental Science Department Chair Mark Kulp, Ph.D. was recently awarded a two-year, $814,000 grant from the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to conduct sediment sampling along the Louisiana coastline. The work will be done by graduate and undergraduate students in support of the Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring program that was established to provide long-term data on the state’s island system for planning design, evaluation and maintenance of restoration projects (uno.edu/news/2024).

LAKE CHARLES

A Wondrous Summer Debut

Recently recognized in Southern Living’s “The South’s Best Cities on the Rise 2024,” Lake Charles was especially commended for Port Wonder, opening this summer. The $20 million, 32,000-square-foot educational lakefront complex features an innovative Children’s Museum and a state-of-the-art Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Nature and Science Center in addition to outdoor entertainment options, walking trails and an ADA-compliant fishing pier (southernliving.com).

JACKSON PARISH New Organic Farm

In Louisiana, there are very few USDA Certified Organic producers. The tiny town of Eros (nestled in the piney hills of Jackson Parish) boasts the 43-acre diversified DeLaTerre Permaculture Farm that is transitioning to USDA Certified Organic with financial and technical support from the USDA’s Organic Transition Initiative. The farm is establishing a thriving ecosystem, with plans to market certified organic produce. “We’re farming in a way that builds soil for generations to come,” said the owners (delaterre.farm).

Rebel Tunes

The Posts rock Lafayette with their raw energy

BY CYNTHEA CORFAH

Some of the music industry’s hidden gems can be discovered in a Lafayette dive bar. The Posts is one of those bands. This rock band with a nostalgic sound and female lead singer embody what made ‘90s rock music so special: grit, unruliness and a playful rebellious spirit. The Lafayette band can be seen performing at local venues and bars like The Loose Caboose, Blue Moon Saloon and Freetown Boom Boom Room. Listen to The Posts on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube.

SHREVEPORT  Seratones

Who would have thought a funksoul-rock band from Shreveport would take the music world by storm? This three-person group blends gospel, rock, soul, electronic and funk influences into vibrant bodies of work. Their latest album “Love & Algorhythms,” released in 2022, was nominated for the Best Soul/Funk Album at the 2023 American Association of Independent Music’s A2IM Libera Awards. Their unique sound has landed them on the stages of festivals and concerts like the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Highball festival in Atlanta, SXSW in Austin and Musicians Corner in Nashville. seratones.com

EUNICE

Ann Savoy

Get a taste of authentic Cajun music with musician and producer Ann Savoy. As the member of multiple Cajun bands including Savoy Family Cajun Band, Magnolia Sisters and Ann Savoy & Her Sleepless Knights, the singer’s soothing voice can be heard all over Louisiana. The Savoy Family Cajun Band performed at Jazz Fest this year. The Cajun singer also plans to release her new album “Another Heart” on May 4. annsavoy.com

NEW ORLEANS ET DEAUX

This Valentine’s Day, New Orleans music artist, DJ and producer ET DEAUX released his love letter to beatmaking with his latest EP “Copenhagen.” The 13-track record features imaginative instrumentals that take the listener on a journey from slower, jazzy and ethereal sounds to upbeat, dance-friendly bangers. This album is the first of its kind for the artist. His previous album “Adults Swimming” showcases his lyrical expertise through old-school hip-hop raps and a range of beat styles. Listen to ET DEAUX on Bandcamp, iTunes, SoundCloud and Spotify.

NEW ORLEANS

Mikayla Braun

New Orleans singer and songwriter, Mikayla Braun, has the kind of timeless and soulful voice that puts listeners in a trance. She serenades listeners all over New Orleans at places like Picnic Provisions & Whiskey, Marigny Opera House, Siberia, Maple Leaf Bar and Commons Club at Virgin Hotels. The piano and ukulele player released her latest jazzy EP “Drift” in 2023. It is the ideal soundtrack for a cozy coffee shop, a rainy day or a slow Sunday. mikaylabraunmusic.com

Journeys of all kinds

Spiritual, magical and historical

BY CHRISTOPHER LOUIS ROMAGUERA

The Fetishist

“The Fetishist” follows Kyoko, in her early 20s, as she tries to avenge her mother’s death, who she blames on Daniel, a middle-aged man who had previously seduced her mother; Daniel, who is going through a midlife crisis and yearns for his ex-lover Alma; and Alma, a KoreanAmerican classical musician, who spends her days wondering how good a musician she is, and how loved she is. Equal parts funny and tragic, “The Fetishist” deftly alternates between these three characters until you reach the amazing climax. Written by the author Katherine Min, this book was posthumously published with the help of her daughter, Kayla Min Andrews. $28, 304 pages

In Ghostlight: Poems

“What we seek here, we find / There is no other story.” Ryan Wilson gives the reader some beautifully simple, yet mentally complex, lines in his newest collection. “In Ghostlight: Poems” is the second collection of poems by author Ryan Wilson. Here, Wilson uses many different classic forms, from sonnets to Pindaric and ballad stanzas and other ancient and classic forms, in order to find the poetics in our modern experience. This collection is part of LSU Press’s “Southern Messenger Poets” Series. $17.95, 69 pages

Luna and the Heart of the Forest

“Luna and the Heart of the Forest” is a story about a daughter and father as they travail through the magical world of Newfoundland. It is part fantasy novel, part young adult, part father-daughter story. Newfoundland provides a rich setting for the reader to explore, both for its setting, and as the backdrop to Luna’s imagination — the story is told from Luna’s perspective. Karlin is a New Orleans resident who got his MFA at the University of New Orleans. He works for Lonely Planet, including writing the Newfoundland edition. “Luna and the Heart of the Forest” includes monsters and ghosts and a darkness that could eat everything that Luna loves. $19.95, 224 pages

DR. MICHAEL ALLEN

Mississippi River Valley: The Course of American Civilization

Iowa State University Digital Press published

Dr. Michael Allen’s “Mississippi River Valley: The Course of American Civilization.” While many people tried to write books in the late 19th century and early 20th century about the importance of the Mississippi River Valley, there has not been much writing about the ever-growing importance of this region. The book ranges from the beginning of the Mississippi River Valley’s origin as a key part of the country to music in the 1960s. Free at iastatedigitalpress.com, 739 pages

ADAM KARLIN

KATHERINE MIN (EDITED BY KAYLA MIN ANDREWS)

RYAN WILSON

BY JEFFREY

Ironclad Veteran ironworker Josh Guillory and wife Erin launch a new clothing line in Lake Charles

ROEDEL

PHOTOS BY ROMERO & ROMERO

Josh Guillory is a man of few words. Actions? Absolutely. One look at his masterful spiral stairwells, classic driveway gates, or sinewy, modern art-inspired floor lamps proves that. But the veteran iron craftsman’s dialogue is often choice and contemplative these days.

Unless he gets going about virgin wool or raw, organic denim.

“Wool is pretty much a magic fiber, man,” Guillory says. “Being from Louisiana I didn’t think about wool much growing up, but it’s incredible. It clams up in the cold and breathes more when its warm, so it really reacts to the weather.”

Walking out of his office and into a showroom increasingly overtaken by boots, jackets and jeans instead of iron railings and ornamental metal finishes, the creative is musing about the new 100% virgin wool shirt he designed from scratch with creative cohort Duncan Aubrey.

From the lamb’s “first haircut,” soft virgin wool will be a staple material for the new USA- and Japan-made clothing line Guillory and his wife, Erin, have launched from their workshop in downtown Lake Charles.

With 2024 the year the longtime welder goes fully beyond the anvil as a creative, the pair behind popular men’s boutique Iron Shop Provisions has named its original Louisiana-inspired clothing label A New Medium.

“Josh has always had his own style, so he’s wanted to create his own line for a while now,” says Erin, who

At a Glance

Ages Josh, 44; Erin, 31

Hometown Lake Charles, Louisiana Online

Customironbyjosh.com, ironshopprovisions.com, @customironbyjosh and @ironshopprovisions on Instagram

manages sales and business operations. Josh calls her “the mom of the shop keeping us in line.” “Of course, the margins are better on your own clothing, but A New Medium is our baby, and there’s a real pride factor there. I think in every piece that shows.”

Whether it’s their dark, robust denim jacket or a colorful soft-knit beanie, the Guillory’s premium clothing aims for longevity.

At 16, Guillory assumed he would weld forever. He fell hard for the craft and launched Custom Iron By Josh in 2005, after Rita had ravaged Acadiana and rebuilding and renovating were essential.

His metal shop has welded for hundreds of homes and several public civic projects, though at 44, the entrepreneur employs a small team of welders and installers now for doing the very literal heavy lifting on his iron designs — “Assembly line style,” Guillory says.

For six years, the Guillorys have operated Iron Shop Provisions in Lake Charles, and now they have expanded into the Warehouse District of New Orleans, too.

Offering classic-minded, American-made menswear brands, carefully curated and tested by Guillory, the shop’s online sales have boomed since the pandemic. But the team remains as small and custom as A New Medium's pieces. To this day, Erin shoots their social media photos, and Josh serves as the signature model.

“I take the photos and he poses, because he’s got the angles down,” Erin says. “It’s like everything with the shop, we decided to just go for it and figure it out as we go.”

But owning two very different businesses doesn’t sustain success without its challenges.

“You have to be an artist, a people-person and very

business-minded,” Guillory says. “And you have to have a good eye and weld good. It’s hard to be everything! Maybe that’s why we don’t have a lot of competition.”

While Guillory is focused on the future of A New Medium and expressing his deep desire for quality threads through Iron Shop Provisions, his legacy in welding strikes him most when relaxing on the water with his family.

Looking out at the sprawling Lakefront Promenade at the heart of Lake Charles, and across the facades of the surrounding waterfront homes he has fortified with gates and fences, fixtures and staircases, the impact Guillory has had in nearly two decades of ironwork in the city is not lost on the creative Louisiana native.

“Anytime I’m on the boat and looking out at these houses, I can tell my kids I did that, and it’s a beautiful scene,” Guillory says. “It’s been cool, and it’s fulfilling to know that these things are long-lasting, and for a lifetime. I love that about what we’ve done.” T

Q&A

When you’re not working, what do you love to do? I play tennis when I’m feeling up for it, and we get out on the water as much as we can. We love the Saints, so we watch football. We try to eat downtown mostly, and stay close, and support the locals that are near our shop. There’s Thai Lake Charles, which is amazing. 1910 is a good wine bar on Ryan Street. And Mazen’s has been around forever. We love their Mediterranean food.

If you could outfit one well-known person or celebrity in your clothes, who would it be and why? Ideally, I’d like the clothing line to remain small batch, and to be able to serve our customer base with great pieces. But seeing one of these items on anyone we don’t know would be a super cool experience.

What is something that welding and clothing design have in common? It’s different textures and design, but both are providing something useful for someone. Both take a creative eye, for sure. I appreciate the satisfaction of someone absolutely loving the custom gate I’ve made them or a customer purchasing something that’s their new favorite piece to wear.

Jay Davis A Monroe Artist Returns Home

BY JOHN R. KEMP

NOVELIST THOMAS WOLFE ONCE WROTE, “You Can’t Go Home Again.” Well, that didn’t discourage Monroe artist Jay Davis who returned to his North Louisiana hometown after a long and successful career as an artist and animator that has taken him from Dallas, Los Angeles, London, Austin and Vancouver to the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

Born in the mid-1960s, Davis has been on quite a journey since his boyhood days exploring the woods and bayous near his home in Monroe. He has lived his dream of working at Disney for over a decade as an animator on several successful movies. With drawings, computer graphics and remarkable technical skills, he created the illusion of life, mystery and drama in imaginary images that filled movie screens around the world. Today, Davis is back among the bayous and wooded North Louisiana landscape, capturing on canvas what he describes as “the beauty and complexity of the natural world.”

Davis’s journey began at LSU where he received a degree in architecture in 1990. He then moved to Dallas where he worked as a draftsman but soon discovered he didn’t like drawing up plans for buildings, so signed up for a relatively new program in computer graphics at Texas A&M.

“I loved the technical aspect of drawing and designing,” he says. “I just didn’t like buildings. When in grad school, I focused on animation because I had wanted to work at Disney. I just thought it would be a great company to work for.”

While in grad school, Davis took a course in medical illustration at the university’s medical school. There he drew detailed elements of the human anatomy, an experience he says is a “mixture of art and science to describe something in the natural world.”

Left Alligator King Top Floating in the Flowers Above Blue Heron

All the while, Davis sent samples of his animations to people he knew at Disney. It worked. In 1994, Disney hired him. His first assignment was to work on the 1996 animated musical “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Others included “Dinosaur” and “Atlantis: The Lost Empire.” Davis animated the leviathan that attacked the submarines. His final film at Disney was the 2007 sci-fi “Meet the Robinsons.” He was the supervising animator on Doris, the evil hat. “I probably would have stayed there forever,” he says, “but it was an odd time at Disney.”

Next, a British production company hired Davis to help animate “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.” Working both in London and Budapest, Hungary, he completed his part in 2008 and returned to Los Angeles. “I was burned out,” Davis says. “I set up a studio in my garage and started painting with oils because it was something I always wanted to do. I was working on a lot of erotic art, dark surrealism at the time, really different from what I’m doing now. It was more LA and New York.”

After a couple of years in Los Angeles, Davis decided to return to the South. He visited New Orleans in 2010, but it was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Instead, he moved to Austin, Texas, where he taught animation and attended a botanical illustration workshop that prompted him to move away from his erotic surrealism to painting flowers. Five years later, he moved again but this time to Vancouver, Canada, when a friend there hired him to help animate the fantasy films “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” and JK Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts.”

While in Vancouver, Davis got word his father had cancer. It was 2016 and he was back home again in Monroe — this time to settle. “My mom is here and I have a lot of friends here,” he says. “I decided to stay. I bought

a craftsman house in the Garden District that I love.”

During long walks with his dog and drives into the countryside with his fiancée, Davis has rediscovered the Monroe of his childhood, especially the magnolia blossoms that he hadn’t seen in years. He enjoys exploring the natural landscape and capturing photographic images for paintings back in his studio. At times, especially when out on the bayous, he finds those moments “kind of creepy, scary and exciting.” He’s talking about the snakes and alligators below the water’s surface.

In recent months, Davis’s painting style has begun to change. While his earlier paintings were tightly controlled, his new work is more gestural, abstract and colorful. But the subject matter, wildlife in its natural state, remains the same.

That inspiration, he explains in an artist statement, is found “in the subtle shapes of clouds, the gnarled branches of trees, the peacefulness of landscapes and the vibrancy of creatures that inhabit our world. For me, the curves, rhythms and patterns found in nature are visually thrilling and serve as the catalyst for a new painting or drawing.”

Those “rhythms and patterns” have gained Davis a following for his art, which can be found in private collections in Los Angeles, North Louisiana and along the East Coast. He also painted the “Crawfish Dinner” mural at Monroe’s Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo.

Like most artists, Davis wants viewers to feel something when viewing his work. “I want to make beautiful things that other people find beautiful,” he says. “I want to give them that satisfaction and that pride and appreciation of where we are.”

You see, Thomas Wolfe, one can go home again.

Visit jayndavis.com T

Exhibits

CAJUN

Artisans’ Gallery: Spring Show

Multimedia art show featuring 20 local artists, through June 15. Historic City Hall, Lake Charles. facebook.com/artisansgalleryshow/

CENTRAL

Enduring

Concepts: People, Place, Spirituality, & Emotion

Recurring themes in the museum’s collection, permanent exhibit. Alexandria Museum of Art. themuseum.org

PLANTATION

Pinpointing the Stars

History of the planetarium, through Aug. 1. Louisiana Art and Science Museum, Baton Rouge. lasm.org

NOLA

Wangechi Mutu: Intertwined Art by this KenyanAmerican artist, through July 14. New Orleans Museum of Art. noma.org

NORTH

The River is the Road: Paintings by George Rodrigue. Rodrigue’s use of the river as a metaphor for his Cajun heritage, through Oct. 2024. Masur Museum of Art, Monroe. masurmuseum.org

Warm Spot

A historic center hall cottage overlooking Lake Pontchartrain gets a cozy refresh

BY LEE CUTRONE

PHOTOS BY SARA ESSEX BRADLEY

HISTORIC RENOVATIONS require looking to the past and to the present. Such was the case when Seth and Jen Smiley purchased an antebellum raised center hall cottage on the Mandeville Lakefront and hired New Orleans architect and interior designer Wendy Kerrigan of Atelier Designs to give the 175-year-old house an update for their family of four.

The Smileys were so struck by the classic charm of the house and breathtaking waterfront sight that they approached the owners about selling the house which wasn’t on the market. As it turned out, the house was built in 1849 as a summer home for a New Orleans family who named it High Tide. The “history and power of the house,” according to Jen, were major selling points.

Above Seth and Jen Smiley’s raised center hall cottage was built in 1849 as a summer home for a New Orleans family. Right The dining room features wainscoting and a painted floor.

“Think of all the storms it withstood,” said Jen.

But the Smileys also wanted the house to be a practical haven for an active family with two young sons and two French bulldogs, and a place where both Seth (an attorney) and Jen (the clean eating food coach behind wakeupandreadthelabels.com) could work from home.

“The house was in very good condition,” said Kerrigan. “It was about making it their house. We wanted to respect the structure that was there and work within that.”

The two-story, U-shaped house consists of the original rectangular structure, still intact with original floors, fireplaces and layout, and rear additions on either side that were made later but didn’t have the same classic bones. To highlight the historic character, Kerrigan retained the existing placement of doors, windows, walls and fireplaces and peeled away layers to reveal the materials beneath. Plaster was removed to expose brick; in the addition that became the primary suite, the low, flat ceiling and joists were taken out to showcase the now-paneled vaulted roofline.

Kerrigan redesigned the use of the rooms, turning a front bedroom back into a living room and the primary bath into a bar. The dining room became a large kitchen and the original kitchen became the scullery or prep kitchen. The dining room was moved to an open hallway, now a separate room with casement openings. She also enhanced the historic feel by bringing in new features designed to look old: Wainscoting, wall and ceiling moldings and custom cabinetry add layers and depth; Farrow & Ball colors and carefully selected wallpaper and fabric patterns evoke vintage warmth.

“The detailing was very intentional,” said Kerrigan.

Facing page The foyer’s historic character and swamp-scene wallpaper are juxtaposed with modern lighting and furnishings. Left Rustic meets refined in the kitchen, where Jen often livestreams content for her cleaneating website. Right Farrow & Ball’s French Gray and a mix of pattern warms the family room.

The Smileys furnished the house from scratch with Kerrigan and Atelier Design team member Sarah Ott taking cues from a swamp-scene wallpaper that they found early in the project and used in the central foyer.

“The wallpaper really speaks to the fact that the house is on the water in Louisiana and set the tone for the rest of the house,” said Kerrigan.

From there, they worked their way outward with complementary colors — soft greens, blues and magenta. The kitchen marries old and new, rustic and refined, within a palette of blackish-gray, whitewashed cypress and warm grayish-green. In the bar, Orobico Rosso marble makes a dramatic pairing for the original red brick walls.

Throughout the house, everything from furnishings and fabrics to wallpapers and window treatments were also chosen to be durable and function well for the inhabitants, who want to see the house last well into the future.

“The spaces in a house shouldn’t be so sacred that it’s a museum,” said Kerrigan. “The house was beautiful to begin with and we wanted to respect that and still give it new life for a young family.” T

Steak Three Ways

BY LIZ WILLIAMS PHOTOS AND STYLING

BY EUGENIA UHL

There is nothing like the rich taste of beef steak. It is a treat when you eat it. And there are many classic dishes that have been developed to bring out its goodness. With classics, knowing what you like and what to expect with different dishes is part of the experience. When you get what you are anticipating, you are happy and satisfied.

But we don’t always want the same thing. Sometimes we want to emphasize the unctuous side of beef, so a beef stroganoff with its creamy sauce may fill the bill. Other times, a little acid will bring out a more balanced

Butter-basted Ribeye

1 ribeye

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons peanut oil or other high smoke point oil

4 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons rosemary leaves

SELECT your ribeye. Salt and pepper the steak on both sides. Place the oil into a cast iron pan and heat on high. When the oil is very hot, place the steak into the pan. Cook on high heat, turning regularly. (Turning helps the crust form.)

WHEN the steak is close to being done, add 1 tablespoon of high fat butter into the pan. As it melts, tilt the pan to pool the butter. Using a spoon, scoop up the butter and begin basting the steak. Add the rosemary leaves to the pool of butter.

CONTINUE to baste the steak. Turn the steak as you are basting to keep cooking it and developing the crust. Add more butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, basting continuously. Serve when it reaches the degree of doneness you prefer. Serves 2 to 4 depending on the size of the ribeye steak

The pan juices should not be left in the pan. Be sure to have good bread for dipping. You can make even more dipping sauce by just adding another tablespoon or 2 of butter to the basting oil. The oil will taste sweet and meaty on good bread. It is a perfect, simple accompaniment to the meat.

bite, so a marinated skirt steak or a steak salad will be your choice.

Make sure that your meat comes from a good source that you trust. It doesn’t have to be prime, which is considered the top grade of beef because it comes from young cattle and has the most marbling. Choice, the second grade, is less fatty and has a beefy taste in the muscle. You decide if you want to experiment with grass-fed beef, which has a strong beefy taste, but less fat. Try to avoid animals treated regularly with antibiotics and with growth hormones.

When you are cooking a steak dish, all the accompaniments should be top drawer also. This isn’t the time to skimp on ingredients. Use good butter with a high fat content. Get fresh peppercorns, not the ones that have been hidden in your pantry for three years. If you are going to indulge in a beef dish, do it with your eyes open and your appetite ready. T

Steak au Poivre

4 filet mignon medallions

Salt

¼ cup whole black peppercorns

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 thyme sprigs

1 medium garlic clove, minced ½ large shallot, minced

2 tablespoons brandy or cognac ¾ cup chicken stock

¾ cup crème fraiche

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

PREHEAT oven to 375 F. Salt medallions on both sides and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

PLACE peppercorns into a selfsealing plastic bag, remove the air and pound it with a rolling pin to crack the peppercorns. Place half in the bottom of a shallow pan. Reserve the rest for later. Press one side of each medallion into the pepper so that it coats each medallion.

HEAT the oil in the pan. Sauté the pepper side of the medallions for 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and shallot and sauté for 5 minutes. Carefully turn over the medallions with tongs. Be sure to not break the pepper crust. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add butter and thyme and cook until the steaks have reached the desired doneness. You can baste the steaks as they cook. Remove from the pan.

ADD the garlic, shallots, and remaining peppercorns to the pan. Cook, stirring gently, until the shallots are soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add brandy to the pan and stir, deglazing the flavorful bits sticking to the pan. Cook to evaporate most of the brandy, leaving about 3 tablespoons. Remove the thyme and discard.

ADD stock and crème fraiche and stir. Cook until the cream sauce forms a coating on the back of a spoon. Add the Dijon mustard. Stir. Add the steaks back to the pan, pepper crust up. With a spoon, glaze the medallions and then serve them on warmed plates with spoonsful of sauce over each medallion. Serve immediately with well-buttered mashed potatoes. Serves 4

Flank Steak Salad

1 pound of flank steak

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons oil

1 large head of romaine lettuce (you can add a few whole basil leaves to kick up the flavor of the greens, but you need sturdy greens for this salad — no spring mix.)

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

¾ cup dried figs, quartered

1 cup buttered croutons

Dressing

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons good balsamic vinegar

1 clove of garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon salt

SALT AND PEPPER the flank

steak on both sides. Slice the steak into thin slices (about ½-inch wide) against the grain with a very sharp knife.

IN A CAST IRON SKILLET, place the oil and begin to heat the skillet. When it is hot, add the meat and allow it to cook on all sides by using tongs to keep the steak moving. Be careful not to dry out the meat. When cooked, set the meat on a plate and allow to rest and come to room temperature.

ASSEMBLE the salad in a large wooden bowl. Tear the romaine lettuce and place it in the bowl with the tomatoes, figs and the cooled, cooked steak.

To make the dressing:

PLACE all of the ingredients into a jar, and screw on the lid and shake well. Pour the dressing onto the salad.

JUST BEFORE SERVING, toss the salad. Add the croutons at the last minute and re-toss. Serve immediately. Serves 4

Get beef stroganoff and marinated skirt steak recipes online.

Hatching a Way Forward The Work of the Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery

STORY AND PHOTOS BY

Above ceaseless bubbling in the algae-pungent lab, conversation turns to the sex lives of mussels.

BRETT HORTMAN AND LINDSEY ADAMS lean over an oxygenated bath, their backs to cinderblock walls lined with 60 aquariums. They discuss gene mixing, inbreeding, “the process of impregnation.” Adams, a fisheries biologist, dips her hand into the 500-gallon bath, or “grow-out system,” and scoops a kidney-shaped mussel from the bottom. Holding it in one palm, she strokes the slightly corrugated shell and speaks its name, Louisiana pearlshell, the white whale of Louisiana mussels, a species so rare it’s found only in two parishes, Rapides and Grant.

“We’re the only ones working with these mussels,” says Hortman, manager of the Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery. The Louisiana pearlshell is one of several endangered or threatened species that he, Adams and the other four staff members here work to recover. Founded in 1931, the state’s sole federal hatchery also continues its original purpose: to raise fish for recreational purposes.

Two miles south of downtown Natchitoches, located on 100 acres where Cane River Lake makes a 90-degree turn from its due south course before shifting northeast in the general direction of

Washington, D.C., the hatchery’s facilities are at once makeshift and cutting edge. In five labs devoted to species that include Louisiana pearlshell mussels and gopher tortoises (both threatened species), and alligator snapping turtles and paddlefish (species of concern), the staff, along with volunteers from Northwestern State University, work seven days a week, taking turns on weekends, and never closing during government shutdowns. “There’s always work,” Hortman says.

That work includes maintaining the property’s 52 ponds, each approximately one acre, where the staff culture and raise largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish, channel catfish and hybrid striped bass. The fish remain in the ponds until they reach target size, typically after two or three months. Then the Natchitoches facility — one of 69 federal hatcheries throughout the United States — partners with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the state hatchery in Woodworth to transport the fish, 75% of which remain in local waters.

Inside the mussel lab, Hortman and Adams move between the aquariums and the oxygenated bath. The Louisiana

pearlshell received a federally endangered listing in 1988, sparking the state to begin a recovery plan. Since 1990, the species has been discovered in new locations, typically in shallow (one to two feet deep), narrow (16 feet wide, maximum) sandy- or small gravel-bottomed spring-fed streams. This led to a downlisting from endangered to threatened. Recently, however, the Louisiana pearlshell population has declined.

“We’re not exactly sure what’s driving this,” says Adams. Potential factors may include sediment runoff from farmlands and tree clearing, which opens canopies and increases water temperature. To combat the decline, in 2010 the Natchitoches hatchery began researching methods to replicate the way the Louisiana pearlshell reproduces and grows in the wild. Propagation of the mussel began here in 2018.

“An adult mussel’s chance of success is very small,” Hortman says. “We’re trying to develop a technique from the ground up.” Adams approaches the grow-out system. Born and raised in Michigan, she began her field work by studying freshwater mussels. Before beginning her role at the hatchery, she hadn’t heard of the Louisiana pearlshell. “It’s really a whole world that

Found only in Rapides and Grant parishes, the Louisiana pearlshell mussel was listed as federally endangered in 1988. That listing was downlisted to threatened in 1993. In 2010, the Natchitoches hatchery started researching methods to propagate Louisiana pearlshell mussels in the lab.

Brett Hortman, manager of the Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery, inspects tanks in which snapping turtles grow for two years before his staff returns them to nature.

no one knows exists,” she says, turning as Hortman opens a small refrigerator. Inside are several glass flasks filled with algae, which automated pumps deliver to the oxygenated bath. Set under 71 degrees, the bath temperature mimics a spring-fed stream. “We’re not sure how fast they grow in the wild,” Hortman says. “It still takes us about two years to get them to around 30 millimeters, a size where we believe they can survive in nature.”

If Adams didn’t know about the Louisiana pearlshell before assuming this work, she certainly didn’t know about its twin. The two species of Louisiana pearlshell bear such close resemblance that even after five years of study she finds them indistinguishable. “Each species has a genetic component,” she says, “and they don’t mix.” The hatchery doesn’t mix them either. The Red River, however, does. On each side of the Red are host fish, in the case of the Louisiana pearlshell, grass and chain pickerel.

“These host fish do all the work,” Adams says, noting that Louisiana is also home to more than 60 species of Unionidae mussels, including half a dozen that live alongside the pearlshell. Unionidae mussels entice the host fish by displaying a lure from their shell. The lure looks like a small fish. When that bigger fish approaches, the mussel releases a bloom of glochidia larvae. “They’re 70-100 microns when inside the adult mussel,” Adams says. “1,000 microns equals one millimeter. Under a microscope, they look like Pac-Man.”

The larvae latch to the fish gills, occasionally a fin, and for the next 35 to 50 days, they triple in size to become juvenile mussels before releasing themselves into the sediment, where they grow into adult mussels. Then the whole process repeats itself.

“Their life cycle is mind blowing to me,” Adams says. “It’s all about timing.” Work inside the mussel lab strives to replicate those natural rhythms. So does the research next door, where fisheries biologist Emmet Guy maintains the gopher tortoise lab.

Each spring, the hatchery team travels to the De Soto National Forest in Mississippi to collect, on average, 60 gopher tortoise eggs. Once back at the hatchery, they place the eggs in a chicken egg incubator for nearly three months.

The staff then moves the tortoises to tubs and raises them through the period when in nature their soft shells make them vulnerable to predators. Guy opens a refrigerator and removes a plastic container of salad mix and commercial tortoise food that resembles olive tapenade and prepares what you might pay $25 for at a trendy New Orleans restaurant.

Such meals come five days a week for these 90 tortoises. Half are between three and four months old. The other half have

reached their first anniversary in the lab, their shells now hardened. Here, with a steady temperature of 70-76 degrees, the tortoises stay hungry, growing at twice the rate they would in nature.

“You try to get them through that early period,” Guy says as he listens to the steady scratching, like fine sandpaper over wood, emanating from each tub. For several seconds, it holds steady. Then, seemingly all at once, the scratching ceases. A few moments pass before the chorus resumes. “They like to scratch,”

Fisheries biologist Emmet Guy makes regular rounds in the gopher tortoise lab. The Nature Conservancy deems these tortoises a keystone species and “about as charming as a tortoise can get. Originating 60 million years ago, it’s one of the oldest living species on the planet and the only native North American tortoise species east of the Mississippi. River.”

“It’s definitely rewarding to know you’re making a difference for not only one or two species but also to know that if species like the gopher tortoise do well, they will benefit others. That’s why we do it.”

Featuring species such as paddlefish and albino catfish (pictured here), the hatchery aquarium is open to the public Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Opposite Fisheries biologist Lindsey Adams inspects host fish tanks in the mussel lab.

Guy says. “And they like to burrow.” Thus the name. With forelimbs like clawed shovels, a gopher tortoise that fits in Guy’s palm can send sand flying out of its tub and several feet across the room. “I’m constantly cleaning up after these guys,” he says, searching for a broom, “and I’m constantly refilling their sand.”

All the while, the tortoises eat. They grow. And after two years, Guy and the hatchery team transport them back to the same location where they began. Once home again, they can become 16-20 pounds and live to age 90.

“They provide an entire ecological system,” Guy says. “By helping these guys, we help a whole habitat.” The Nature Conservancy estimates that 300 species benefit from the survival of the gopher tortoise and its burrows, including eastern indigo snakes, gopher frogs, and hundreds of rodents and invertebrates that seek refuge from predators and fires in the tortoise’s tunnels, which can extend to 40 feet long and 10 feet wide.

Once finished sweeping sand, Guy exits the tortoise lab to check on the alligator snapping turtles. Inside this facility, he finds Hortman inspecting tanks. In fall 2023, when Hortman awaited news about whether the snapping turtle would move from the federal list of threatened to endangered (a decision that has still not been made), he and the team released the largest alligator snapping turtle they’ve ever housed at the hatchery, a 167 pounder.

Native to the Southeast U.S., alligator snapping turtles live in rivers and streams that feed into the Gulf of Mexico. Each year in early April, the University of Louisiana at Monroe sends faculty and students to monitor nests and harvest alligator snapping turtle eggs from two of the state’s national wildlife refuges, Black Bayou Lake and Red River. UL Monroe incubates the eggs and then delivers the snapping turtles to the Natchitoches

hatchery. Here, snapping turtles eat and grow for two years before the staff returns them where they were collected.

Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtles in North America. Males can grow to nearly 250 pounds, with shells sprouting horny scutes that resemble alligator skin. “The snapping turtle … has a reputation for being an aggressive monster on land,” reports the Menunkatuck Audubon Society. “But consider this: Most turtles are able to withdraw into their shells when threatened. The snapping turtle cannot because, although its top shell, the carapace, is large, its bottom shell, the plastron, barely covers its underside.”

Like those gopher tortoises, they have soft shells when young, making them vulnerable to prey. Unable to fully retreat, the young simply play dead. Guy lifts one from the tank. Immediately, it goes limp in his hand. “That’s their best chance of survival,” he says. As they age, their shells harden. Their bony beak, that famous snapper, grows and becomes their defense. Alligator snapping turtles also have their own lure, a red tongue they wiggle to mimic the movements of a bloodworm. The snapping turtle rests at the bottom of a riverbed, mouth open, to tempt prey, and then the beak-shaped mouth snaps.

Outside the alligator snapping turtle lab, Guy fills a bucket to feed catfish at one of the ponds while Hortman checks on the hatchery aquarium. Inside the free, self-guided exhibit, a father and daughter inspect the tank filled with paddlefish, yet another of the hatchery’s priorities. Among the aquarium’s exhibits is a history of the Caddo Tribe, original occupants of this land. In 1930, when construction began here, builders realized they were working on a burial site. They collected artifacts and sent them to the Smithsonian and Northwestern State University. In 2008, those artifacts were repatriated.

The tribe’s history, and the near century of work at the hatchery, is something that Natchitoches born and bred Hortman understands and respects. He’s made this his life’s work. While a student at Northwestern, he volunteered at the aquarium. After graduating in 1996, he began a full-time role here as a fisheries biologist. Later, he left to work at various national wildlife refuges in Louisiana, returning as hatchery manager in 2019. “It’s definitely rewarding to know you’re making a difference for not only one or two species but also to know that if species like the gopher tortoise do well, they will benefit others,” he says. “That’s why we do it.” T

COOL OFF THIS SUMMER

Hotels around the state offer a cool respite with pools, snacks and cold drinks to beat the heat

BY CHERÉ COEN

SUMMER

It’s hot out there. But we don’t have to tell y’all that. We do love our state, but summers can be long and a bit on the sweltering side. However, there’s good news. Throughout Louisiana there are numerous hotels offering awesome ways to cool off. We’ve compiled a few. I

GOLDEN NUGGET

HOTEL & CASINO

Lake Charles

Matt Young, director of public relations for Visit Lake Charles, calls Golden Nugget’s H2O Pool + Bar complexes “a sanctuary of enjoyment.” Visitors may relax in one of the casino resort’s 250-plus chaise lounge chairs or 30 daybeds scattered throughout the palm-lined property. Pool amenities include hot tubs, waterslides and a lazy river, plus a bar where visitors may pick up a drink or lunch item. “And as the sun sets, gather around one of seven fire pits for a cozy evening ambiance,” Young said. The waters open year-round are heated in non-summer months.

Hours: Pool hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The Lazy River is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The H2O Bar is open noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

MARGARITAVILLE RESORT CASINO Bossier City

At Margaritaville in Bossier City, visitors may enjoy a view of the Shreveport skyline and Red River while swimming in a tropical ambiance, soaking in the hot tub and imbibing tropical cocktails and perhaps a cheeseburger in paradise. The casino pool is open daily for guests who want to close their eyes and pretend they're sailing with

Jimmy Buffett. A good way to get you there is a poolside cocktail, such as Ocean’s Cruise made of Pyrat Rum, Blue Curacao, pineapple juices and cherries.

Hours: For those 21 and older 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For those 18 and under, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. No children under the age of 5 are allowed in the pool area.

HOTEL MONTELEONE

New Orleans

Go for the cool and refreshing waters, relax in the lounge chairs but don’t miss the incredible view. Hotel Monteleone is on Royal Street near its intersection with Canal so from its roof, one can gaze up and down the Mississippi and receive a wonderful sight of the French Quarter skyline. Visitors may grab a unique cocktail, lunch entreé or cold treats such as popsicles or ice cream sandwiches at Acqua Bella poolside bar.

And if you’d rather visit during months outside of summer, the pool is heated.

“The pool is open for business year-round, weather permitting,” said Andra Imbornone, Hotel Monteleone marketing manager.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

L’AUBERGE CASINO RESORT

Lake Charles

This long-standing casino resort is known for many things — top-notch performances in its concert hall, oversized casino floor, spa. But many come just for its lazy river. There are other ways to get cool — a heated family pool and an adult pool — but the lazy river is pure fun. Float along and pause at the swim-up bar, then repeat. Stocked cabanas

NOPSI HOTEL

New Orleans

Enjoy sweeping views of the city at NOPSI Hotel’s rooftop pool and bar, Above the Grid, but be sure to stay for sunset. The ninth-floor lounging-style pool provides the perfect perch to watch the setting set pour colors over New Orleans, and sometimes the hotel provides live performances. Above the Grid offers small bites and handcrafted cocktails, the perfect after-dipping accompaniment while lounging in a cabana. Hours: Above the Grid is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The pool closes at 8 p.m.

and daybeds may be rented and L’Auberge offers ongoing pool promotional packages throughout the year, said Taylor Bradley, L’Auberge advertising manager. The Mimosa Mayhem, for instance, includes two bottles of Wycliff Brut Champagne, a carafe of fresh juice, two buckets of hard seltzers and a fruit and cheese platter.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

JUNG HOTEL

New Orleans

The historic Jung Hotel, claimed to be the largest hotel property in the South, now offers guest accommodations and residences at its location on Canal Street, several blocks from the French Quarter and Caesars Superdome. The rooftop pool on the sixth floor looks out over Canal, providing a vista of the avenue and the Medical and Central Business districts.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

ST FRANCISVILLE INN

St. Francisville

The pool at the historic and elegant St. Francisville Inn might be on the small side but it’s delightful, surrounded by a lush garden. Guests may utilize the pool in summertime and enjoy items from the Inn’s restaurant along with refreshing poolside drinks. The St. Francisville Inn is owned and operated by the Louisiana Hospitality Group, which also runs The Royal Inn and allows guests at that property pool access. Guests must be 13 and older to stay at both inns so the pool rules apply there as well.

Hours: No set hours, but guests using the pool at odd hours should adhere to the rules about noise.

PARAGON CASINO

Marksville

The entire property remains a great destination for cooling off in the summer, unless you take in the hiking trails and 18-hole golf course. But even so, there are three swimming pools to choose from. Two outdoor pools are available — one at the RV park which includes a splash pad where adults and children alike may frolic and sunbathe, not to mention lounge in a private poolside cabana. Our favorite is the tropical-themed indoor Quiz Quiz Pool located in the Atrium with a swim-up bar, waterfall and hot tub.

Quiz Quiz pool and bar hours: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 2 p.m. to 10 p. m. Friday and Saturday.

ACE HOTEL

New Orleans

Yes, this ninth-floor oasis boasts of having astonishing views of downtown New Orleans from its location on Carondelet by Lafayette Park, as well as Alto, a cool poolside bar. And they would be correct. But most adult swimmers who visit the Ace pool and garden come for the hip vibe that Ace Hotels provide. Guests 21 and older may purchase limited day passes (ID required) to the outdoor heated pool and bar and rent a lounge chair or daybed, then indulge in piña coladas and craft pizza from Alto’s pizza oven.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday but may close early due to inclement weather. T

L’AUBERGE CASINO HOTEL

Baton Rouge

Six private cabanas, full-service bar and, of course, that cool pool wait at the rooftop of L’Auberge Casino Hotel south of Baton Rouge. An adults-only swimming hole, it’s the perfect place for those 21 and older to soak up the delicious waters — and there’s an astounding view of the Mississippi! Pool day passes are available in the summer for $30 a day which includes a beverage. The passes must be booked before 10 a.m. for same-day admission. Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily during the summer.

TRAVELING AROUND LOUISIANA

THERE IS A WHOLE WORLD OF EXCITING LOCALES TO VISIT THROUGHOUT OUR GREAT STATE THIS SUMMER. EMBRACE THE UNEXPLORED, AND VENTURE FORTH TO DISCOVER YOUR NEW FAVORITE CORNER OF LOUISIANA.

Ruston Lincoln CVB

The 74th Annual Louisiana Peach Festival is almost upon us and for the first time in 30 years, admission is free!

Come down to Ruston, Louisiana on June 1 for a fun filled day of sweet treats and beats. Featuring twelve hours of live music from Louisiana born or based musicians, with one hundred food and art vendors; the Louisiana Peach Festival is overflowing with activities, entertainment, and real good food.

Make the drive for a jam-packed day bursting to bits with exciting events. Get your steps in for the Run for the Peaches 5k, get your motor running at the Ruston

Antique Classic Car Show presented by the Antique Car Club, pick up some new recipes at the Park Haus Peach Cookery Contest, or cheer on your favorites at the Queen Dixie Gem Peach and Princess Peach Pageant.

Visit the 2024 Louisiana Peach Festival on June 1 and learn more at lapeachfest.com.

Lafayette CVC

Summer is here, and Lafayette, LA is open for business. If you're looking to spend some time in the heart of Louisiana's Cajun and Creole Country, you are in for a treat.

The summer, live deliciously with the EatLafayette celebration. EatLafayette™ is a yearlong celebration of Lafayette's local restaurants where diners are treated to deals offered by some of the EatLafayette™ restaurants as well as culinary events throughout the campaign. With locally owned eateries ranging from Cajun, Italian, Mediterranean, Asian, BBQ and everything in between you can be sure there's something for everyone's taste buds.

As a bonus, every time you dine in or pick up from a participating restaurant, check in on the EatLafayette Passport for a chance to win airfare and three (3) nights for two (2) in Austin, TX courtesy of Wings Global Travel.

There’s always something new and exciting happening in Lafayette, the

SPONSORED

Happiest City in America. Learn more at lafayettetravel.com/eatlafayette.

Shreveport-Bossier

Shreveport-Boosier boasts some of the finest food, tunes, and times in all Louisiana. As the Summer sun heralds relaxation is on the horizon, come on down and visit for these sensational events:

As Memorial Day swings around, Shreveport gets ready to host Mudbug Madness, a three day celebration from May 24 - May 26 of all things Cajun! Tickets start at $10, or opt for a four day pass for $15, with comprehensive access to all the festivities. Also, join us at as Red River in Shreveport Bossier comes alive with the roar of F1 powerboats, as the Red River Rumble F1 Powerboat Showdown takes center stage.

This June, join the fun for Shreveport’s Q-Prom, Shrevepride Field Day, the Pink Party, or the family friendly Pride in the Park. Show out and spread love as we celebrate everyone in the LGBTQIA+ Community!

And, finally, the skies will come alive on July 12-13 for the Red River Balloon Rally as hot air balloons of all shapes and sizes ascend spectators are treated to a mesmerizing display.

To learn more about these and many more events, please visit visitshreveportbossier.org.

Paragon Casino Resort

Visit Paragon in May & June for exciting promotions and entertainment. MAY includes a free Health Expo on May 4, Mother’s Day gift giveaways on May 11, a live comedy dinner show on May 25, and a concert by The Chee-Weez on May 26 (Memorial Day weekend). JUNE includes concerts by R&B favorite Keith Sweat on June 1 and country star Travis Tritt on June 29, along with live comedy on June 15. And the promotions, giveaways, and dining deals continue every single day as we celebrate our 30th anniversary!

Paragon Casino Resort features 1,000 slots, 30 table games, live poker, sports betting, 500+ rooms/suites, several restaurants including a buffet and steakhouse, spa/salon, 18-hole championship golf course Tamahka Trails, 3 swimming pools, fitness center, retail shops, movie theater, full-service RV resort/cabins, childcare/arcade, meeting/convention space, and the only live casino alligator habitat in the country! To learn more, visit paragoncasinoresort.com or call 800-946-1946. T

(Left) Peach Festival (Below) Paragon Casino Resort

Cat Island is home to a 1,500-year-old Champion Bald Cypress, the largest bald cypress specimen in the United States. At 96-feet tall, 17 feet in diameter, and 56 feet in circumference, it’s the largest tree in North America east of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the sixth-largest tree in the country.

“We’re underwater most of the year most years,” says Matt Sieja of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Mississippi River flows due south near the refuge’s western border before making a 90-degree turn at Morganza, where it darts east across Cat Island’s southern edge. Heavy rainfall can make Refuge Road impassable. In 2016, flash flooding destroyed a portion of Creek Road. Two years passed before the refuge was accessible by car.

PONDER THE EUPHORIA of thirty middle school students as they step from their yellow bus into the first breath of a field trip. Along a dirt trail in Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, they bounce for several hundred yards before reaching a clearing. There, 18 saplings and an array of shovels await. This planting, a collaboration between West Feliciana Middle School, Friends of Cat Island, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was scheduled for the middle of January, but got postponed due to freezing temperatures. Now, with six inches of rain predicted in the coming days, there’s an urgency to get the trees into the ground before it’s too late.

Plant Happy

BY KEVIN RABALAIS

PHOTOS

At Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge STORY

“If Creek Road isn’t passable, the refuge is useless,” says William Daniel, president of Friends of Cat Island, a group that works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain access into the refuge, clears roads and trails for hunters and birders, offers classes in environmental education, and organizes volunteer efforts — all essential work for this unfunded and unstaffed refuge.

“We can’t build structures out here,” says Daniel. “Build it, and it will soon be under water.” In several weeks, he expects this clearing, where students now gather around potted saplings, will be four to six feet underwater. Some years, the refuge floods as much as 12 feet. “Once it floods, we’re in a bowl,” Daniel says. “So we’ve decided to focus on what we can.”

The Friends have made education part of their mission. For the past four years, they’ve worked with West Feliciana Middle School on this annual planting project. One student in each group of three or four takes a turn with the shovel. Most use them like pogo sticks as they dig holes for cypress, green ash, and overcup oak saplings, all suitable species for Cat Island, home of Louisiana’s approximately 1,500-year-old Champion Bald Cypress.

“They’ve got to be able to keep their head above water,” says Friends of Cat Island Vice President Don Puckett about the saplings. “And they need to hold their breath for a while.”

In such a volatile environment, tree planting helps to establish clusters of regeneration. “It’s an all-around habitat improvement,” Sieja says. Acorns from oaks provide sustenance for animals. Older trees create canopy for birds, including migratory neotropical species. For Daniel, tree planting efforts began as a hobby. Now, he says, “It’s become an obsession.”

After half an hour, with all eighteen saplings in the ground and watered, the students move to today’s second classroom. A quarter of a mile from the Champion Bald Cypress trailhead, Margaret Milling, retired plant ecologist with thirty years of experience at the U.S. Forest Service, demonstrates how to extract a core of wood with an increment borer. “You take a sample from the middle of the tree, but the middle isn’t always where you think it will be,” she says with the wonder of someone encountering nature’s mysteries for the first time.

Students surround her to receive their own increment borers, and soon they’re taking samples. Milling continues to work with one group while others walk another quarter mile down the trail. They’re hiking toward “the tree.” For anyone who’s ever seen it, the tree needs no other name. The largest tree in the United States east of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the sixth-largest tree in the country, Louisiana’s Champion Bald Cypress has become a pilgrimage for people from around the world. Walk through clusters of cypress, each a highlight on any other trail, and suddenly it’s there, monumental, a tree nearly 1,000 years old when the first English settlers arrived at Jamestown.

Mans

retired plant ecologist

Milling volunteer to help West Feliciana Middle School students on planting day. “The main reason we do this is for education,” says Mans. Cat Island lies west of Bayou Sara. Its floodplains extend from St. Francisville south to the Mississippi River.

See it for the first time. Gauge your response: gasp or goosebumps? On a wooden observation platform that the Friends have repaired and upgraded, a dozen students work on today’s final project, an 11-line poem, a literary love letter to the tree. They scribble a few words and glance up to behold it. Once finished, they begin another kind of homage. One by one, they ascend the tree, their young bodies touching grace. T

Clockwise Friends of Cat Island board member Jesse

and

Margaret

A Louisiana Tradition

How Breaux Bridge sparked our crawfish obsession

BY CHERÉ COEN

Where to Stay

There are numerous chain hotels in Breaux Bridge, most located near Interstate 10, as well as bed and breakfasts, Bayou Cabins along Bayou Teche, Bonne Terre farm retreat and several RV campgrounds.

The new kid on the block is Camp Margaritaville RV Resort Breaux Bridge at the I-10 Henderson exit, offering RV sites and cabins as well as on-site bars and restaurants, a water zone, dog park, playground and other amenities. The theme for the Crawfish Festival weekend at Camp Margaritaville is “5 O’Clock Somewhere” to coincide with Cinco de Mayo. The weekend with include special margaritas for adults and activities for the kids, plus live music Friday and Saturday.

WE TAKE OUR STATE CRUSTACEAN FOR GRANTED, routinely imbibing crawfish at those enormous family crawfish boils or enjoying the more sophisticated crawfish étouffée or bisque in a white tablecloth restaurant.

But serving up those popular crawfish experiences wasn’t always a Louisiana tradition like it is today. Our modern intense love affair with crawfish appears to have started in Breaux Bridge.

“Mrs. Charles Hébert, the proprietress of the Hébert Hotel on South Main Street in Breaux Bridge is said to have been the first to put crawfish on her restaurant’s menu, early in the 1920s,” writes Jim Bradshaw in “Our

Lafayette is only 10 miles to the west and offers a wide variety of accommodations.

Acadiana: A Pictorial History of South Louisiana.” “There was probably a local market for her crawfish dishes, but it was probably very local.”

In the 1930s, Bradshaw continues, a U.S. Department of Agriculture agent found the bayou crustacean to be a prime source of protein for rural Cajuns and recommended its cultivation, “but that he could not convince them to eat crawfish frequently,” Bradshaw writes.

Imagine that!

Crawfish was consumed in Louisiana before the 20th century — it’s noted in several historic texts, cookbooks and songs — but its popularity really took off in the 1940s and 50s with the advent of crawfish tails being produced commercially and advanced crawfish traps allowing for easier farming.

In April 1959, Breaux Bridge celebrated its 100th anniversary of incorporation, attracting about 50,000 visitors. That same year, the Louisiana Legislature named Breaux Bridge the Crawfish Capital of the World, so naturally crawfish was on the menu.

“Needless to say that among the thousands of people attending the Centennial Celebration, many were hungry and thirsty and that crawfish to satisfy that hunger and whatever was required to quench that thirst were served in abundance,” writes Grover Rees in “A Narrative History of Breaux Bridge, Once Called ‘La Pointe.’”

The success of that event spurred organizers to create the Breaux Bridge Festival Association and host the inaugural Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival in early May 1960, following the conclusion of Lent. The festival once took over downtown, with crowds enjoying live music, dancing, the crowning of festival royalty and, of course, lots of boiled crawfish. Today, the three-day, first-weekend-in-May festival encompasses the more spacious Parc Hardy with 30-plus bands, crawfish vendors, crawfish eating contests, live crawfish races, arts and crafts and more.

The once governor of New France in Canada, Samuel de Champlain organized the “Ordre de Bon Temps” with his companions in 1605 in Nova Scotia, the first home of Acadians in North America. Rees attributes the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival as a “modern-day adaptation” of that celebration.

IF YOU GO

The Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival will be May 3-5 at Parc Hardy in Breaux Bridge. Admission is $10 Friday, $15 Saturday, $5 Sunday or a $25 for a weekend pass. For more information, visit bbcrawfest.com.

“However, in their festivals,” he writes about the early French Canadians, “they consumed lobsters and wine, while the celebrants of Breaux Bridge festivals use crawfish and beer.”

That’s because Louisianians discovered a good thing.T

On the Coast

Florida’s Navarre Beach is a naturalist’s paradise

BY CHERÉ COEN

SITUATED BETWEEN TWO FLORIDA HOTSPOTS — Pensacola and Destin — lies a more natural coastal getaway. Navarre Beach sits nestled around the Santa Rosa Sound with a quick bridge crossing to Santa Rosa Island with both public beaches and the Gulf Island National Seashore, a protected natural coastline. It’s the best of both worlds. Great dining, attractions and accommodations are to be had in Navarre Beach but alongside there’s a naturalist’s paradise for those who wish to escape the crowds and see wildlife in their natural habitats. For more information, visit getrelaxing.com.

Do

Santa Rosa County gets folks on the water in several ways. Visitors may enjoy public beaches near the center of town, cast a line off the longest fishing pier in the Gulf of Mexico or enjoy the pristine dunes and beaches of Gulf Islands National Seashore, one of only 10 national seashores in the country. The Seashore encompasses eight miles of undeveloped Gulf-front beaches on the west side of Navarre Beach and a Visitor Center at Naval Live Oaks where four out of the world’s seven sea turtle species nest. Gulf Islands National Seashore is also home to migratory and resident bird species and miles of trails to explore.  On the east end of the island, learn more about sea turtles, such as loggerheads and green sea turtles, at the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center at Navarre Beach Marine Park. Afterwards, explore the park’s dunes and have a picnic beachside.

Dine

You can spend all day at Juana’s Pagodas & Sailors’ Grill, situated right on the Santa Rosa Sound within walking distance of the Gulf waters and fishing pier. Juana’s is a bar, restaurant and watersports rental shop all in one so it’s easy to enjoy a meal at Sailors’ Grill, rent a kayak to work it off or play on the volleyball courts, then grab a drink at the beachside bar. There’s even live music at night!

The Navarre Bakery & Creamery “mom and pop” café serves up homemade pastries, desserts and lunch menu items from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. This might be the ideal place to stop on your way into town to stock up on goodies for the trip. Or perhaps for the drive back home.

Stay

To open your balcony doors to the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico, check into SpringHill Suites Navarre Beach where the crystal sand is mere steps away. All rooms are suites with fridges and microwaves, plus there’s a restaurant on-site, so it’s easy to bring the family and settle in for a long holiday.

For the nature lovers, Coldwater Gardens in nearby Milton, above Interstate 10, offers numerous fun accommodations in the 415acre piney woods adjacent to Coldwater Creek: private cottages, treehouses, cabanas and luxury tents. Visitors may enjoy the resort’s sustainable greenhouses, animals such as chickens and rabbits and a vibrant butterfly garden.

Great paddling opportunities also exist in the neighboring town of Milton, known as the “Canoe Capital of Florida.” Blackwater River State Park is a short drive from the historic town and offers numerous ways to get on the water, and Adventures Unlimited hosts canoe and kayak trips. Visitors may camp at Blackwater, while Adventures Unlimited features a variety of rentals, from camping sites to secluded cabins.