Louisiana Life May-June 2016

Aneighborhood with character: Lake Charles' charpentier districtp54

cooking fresh: 4 recipes p24

Weekend Getaways R++++

may/june 2016

20 jaunts around the state p46

Campers at Chicot State Park

Ernest gaines: Literary Legend p40

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contents In Every Issue 46

4 From the Editor A Bad Night on the Road Pondering an accident 6 photo contest Fog on the Swamps A spectacular sight 8 biz bits Moving Forward Louisiana businesses shake off oil sector woes.

10 health Stroke Awareness Month Prevention and treatment 12 rural life Life on the Highway Surprising visitors 14 reel news The Louisiana-Shot Remake of “Roots” Reappears Author Alex Haley’s epic tale is retold with an all-star cast, fresh scholarship and a contemporary take for a new generation.

16 made in louisiana A New Orleans Gem Jess Leigh Jewelry

28 24 Kitchen gourmet Local Abundance 4 fresh recipes 28 home A Modern Blend A home in Baton Rouge gets a sleek makeover.

32 Artist Aron Belka Painting Louisiana’s wetlands 36 traveler A Pirate’s Life Trekking to Lake Charles for Contraband Days and more 65 around Louisiana Highlights and Events 70 special section Arkansas Travel Exploring Little Rock and Beyond.

18 great louisiana chef Deep South Flavor, West Coast Style Shreveport’s Anthony Felan of Wine Country Bistro 20 roadside dining A Visit to Pop’s Poboys In Lafayette, Collin Cormier takes the sandwich to the next leve.

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84 Lifetimes Statewide calendar 86 great louisiana quiz Native Foods Test your culinary knowledge 88 A Louisiana Life A Gift of Laughter Comedian Chris Trew of New Orleans

features

on the cover

40 literary legend

Some of you think that a perfect weekend is a “staycation” in a luxury hotel; others prefer to rough it in the wilderness, away from technology and the hustle and bustle of city life. Others prefer something in between – maybe a stay at a bedand-breakfast in a quaint town with optional outdoor activities. Whatever your idea of a nice getaway is, three of our adventurous travel writers found 15 places around the state to suit different budgets and ways of life. Pictured here is a group of campers at Lake Chicot.

At 83, Ernest J. Gaines reflects on his hopes and passions from his home in Eunice. by melanie warner spencer

46 weekend getaways 15 places for every budget by chris jay, danielle kalamaras & jenny peterson

54 charpentier homes Exploring Lake Charles’ Historic Neighborhood photos by danley romero

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from the editor

may/june 2016 VOl. 36 No. 5

A Bad Night On The Road

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specter in the night sky looked like something from an ancient picture of Michael the Archangel descending to earth while outlined by a glow. Hundreds of people driving along I-10 slightly east of Lafayette gawked at the sight.

Instead of promising salvation, the object may have been a savior as it lowered to the scene of the crash. With each second the line of vehicles screeching to a halt along the interstate grew longer. By now it probably stretched past Lafayette and was building up toward Lake Charles.

Feeling claustrophobic – and also curious – I got out from the van’s passenger side and walked alongside the other stopped vehicles, each with someone wanting to know what was happening. Obviously there had been an accident, but how bad?

Who better to ask than truck drivers who are always connected to the world along the roads? “It was a motorcycle,” one said.

“No word on the condition of the victim.

By the time I delivered the news to my fellow travelers, the light in the sky was ascending. It was a marvelous vision of a glow having come to the rescue and now rising rapidly, if not toward the heavens, to a Lafayette hospital.

Stopped traffic does not start moving all at once. It does so in spurts as each row builds up in acceleration. The incident had cost us about 45 minutes but at least we were moving again.

To this day, I do not know what happened to the motorcyclist but he must have survived. Death on the highway would have certainly earned a headline, but there was nothing in the news media. No matter what happened, to be in an accident on an interstate while riding a motorcycle must be frightening enough to warrant a ride to an emergency room. Just surviving while vehicles whiz by is damn near miraculous.

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What surprised me the next day when I tried to learn more about the accident is just how many such incidents there are, on any given day. When I Google-searched “I-10 motorcade accident” there was a list of incidents not just in Lafayette but across the long stretch of the highway from Florida to California. Statistically the incidents are few but the reality of a motorcycle crashing on roads designed for speeding vehicles is quite real. The riders on the bikes don’t seem to have much of a chance, especially the further away they are from a city and the longer the distance a helicopter has to travel.

What if the accident occurs on a bridge or tressel where a copter cannot land?

Louisiana once had a governor, Mike Foster, who loved to ride the bikes.

There were stories of Friday afternoons after work when he would leave the governor’s mansion and putter home to Franklin – a state police sedan was always a polite distance behind. Motorcycles evoke the free spirit as man rides through the elements. As the testosterone kicks in there must be a primal feeling of freedom, power and being at one with the outdoors – until there is a bump in the road.

I know that not many of you, our readers, ride motorcycles, especially on interstates, but maybe you know someone who does or who might. I remember the sight of the helicopter hurriedly disappearing into the darkness.

It is better to be safe than to have to be saved.

Editorial EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Errol Laborde MANAGING Editor Sarah Ravits Art Director Sarah George lead photographer Danley Romero ASSOCIATE editor Melanie Warner Spencer web Editor Kelly Massicot travel EDITOR Paul F. Stahls Jr. FOOD EDITOR Stanley Dry HOME EDITOR Bonnie Warren Intern Starlight Williams

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Subscription rate: One year $10; Mexico and Canada $48. Periodicals postage paid at Metairie, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Louisiana Life, 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2016 Louisiana Life. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Louisiana Life is registered. Louisiana Life is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Louisiana Life are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner.

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photo contest

fog on the swamp Chris Coffee of Destrehan captured this image saying “Heavy fog covered much of the greater New Orleans area. I had spotted this place before, but thought it wasn’t right until the fog came in.”

Send in your photos by going to myneworleans.com/ photocontest

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biz bits

NEW ORLEANS

Short flights take off

navigating business Business owners keep commerce on tracks BY KATHY FINN

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s it has done throughout dozens of economic cycles across many decades, Louisiana continues to navigate the choppy waters of the latest downturn in the oil and gas industry.

Persistently low commodity prices have taken a toll, with many energy and service firms laying off workers. Everyone knows that oil and gas prices will rise; the big unknown is when.

In the meantime, businesses in other sectors keep the economy chugging along. Here are a few highlights of what company owners and entrepreneurs are doing to grow business around the state.

BATON ROUGE

Attention, shoppers: It’s time to grill ’Tis the season for grilling, and a Baton Rouge-based provider of outdoor grills that has enjoyed several years of rapid growth hopes to ratchet sales up a notch this year.

ShoppersChoice.com is the brainchild of Mike Hackley, who started the company 18 years ago as a retailer of outdoor grills. He began with a store on Tiger Bend Road in Baton Rouge, but his sales really took off when he shifted the business to a strictly online ordering system. As he expanded into patio furniture and other outdoor products, Hackley reached $72 million in sales in 2015 and recently told The Baton Rouge Advocate that revenue could hit $100 million this year. The company, which employs 140 people, is finishing construction on a $1.8 million, 60,000-square-foot warehouse near its Airline Highway offices to accommodate more inventory.

Options have increased for travelers who want to make quick, short hops from New Orleans to points east and west in coming months, as several airlines announced new service to and from the Crescent City. Budget carrier Allegiant is adding twice weekly flights to Tulsa, Oklahoma, from Louis Armstrong International Airport between late May and mid-October, with one-way fares starting as low as $39.

In addition, JetBlue will offer nonstop flights to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, once daily beginning Sept. 29.

Meanwhile, public charter carrier GLO Airlines is running a Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule from New Orleans to Destin-Fort Walton Beach through early September.

And Branson AirExpress shortly will resume nonstop seasonal flights to Branson, Missouri, four times a week through August. The carriers cite consistent demand by travelers for flights between New Orleans and Gulf Coast destinations and selected other locales

CAMERON PARISH

Gas still powering growth While low commodity prices are bad news for many Louisiana energy companies, the low cost of domestically produced natural gas relative to that in other countries makes gas a prime candidate for export, and the state is beginning to feel the impact of rising foreign demand for the commodity. Cheniere Energy recently made Louisiana business history by sending its first shipment of liquefied natural gas from a $20 billion plant in Cameron Parish to South America. A Cheniere spokesman said during a meeting in Lafayette that the exporting of liquefied natural gas could generate 74,000 jobs in Louisiana during the next 30 years as the benefits become clear to foreign buyers.

Cheniere Energy broke ground on its plants, which liquefies, purifies and compresses gas for shipment, in 2012 and expects to have the full facility in operation by 2019.

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SHREVEPORT

Networking security firm gets a boost A technology firm that has set its sights on a nationwide expansion has landed $1.3 million of assistance to get the ball rolling. CyberReef Solutions, whose technology enables secure communication and transactions across many data networks, received the boost from a New Orleans-based investor group that specializes in helping promising startup businesses position themselves to grow.

CyberReef, headed by CEO Hilton Nicholson, opened its downtown Shreveport office in November 2015, after landing a contract with Verizon Wireless. Nicholson sought expansion capital from the north Louisiana branch of the venture group that has raised money from more than 50 area investors.

LAKE CHARLES

Chemicals drive southwest economy Site preparation has begun for two chemical manufacturing plants that are slated to employ some 200 people in the Lake Charles area. The projects, a $3 billion collaboration between Axial Corp. and South Korea-based Lotte Chemical Corp., will include an ethane cracker and will be capable of producing 1 million metric tons of ethylene annually.

An official with the joint project says the site has been cleared and construction will begin soon. The companies expect the plants will begin operation in 2019, according to a report in the Lake Charles American Press.

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health As always, prevention is crucial. The risk factors for strokes are the same as they are for heart disease – hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, bingedrinking and family history.

actions

what to do

Stroke Awareness Month A Shreveport expert weighs in on prevention and treatment

BY FRITZ ESKER

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ccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 130,000 Americans die from strokes each year. That’s a death every four minutes. More than 795,000 people have a stroke each year, and it is a leading cause of long-term disability.

Physicians emphasize the importance of time. Time lost equals brain lost. Dr. Alan Little, medical director of the Willis-Knighton Pierremont Stroke Center in Shreveport, says the effect of a stroke can be improved or reversed if treated promptly (generally 3-6 hours from the onset of symptoms). A stroke begins from a core area of dead brain tissue. If untreated, it will spread and create more dead brain tissue.

“It’s all about the time. Time is brain,” says Little.

It’s important to call 911, not try to reach the hospital yourself or ask a loved one to take you. The EMS team will call ahead to the hospital and have its stroke team activated and ready in the emergency room as soon as a stroke victim arrives. If you arrive on your own, you will initially be placed in the waiting room and into triage.

“The quickest ticket to being seen is by ambulance,” Little says.

Once a stroke patient enters treatment, there are a variety of options. Since the mid-1990s, doctors used the clot buster medication Activase for stroke patients who reported to the emergency room within three hours of the onset of symptoms. Little says that now the time window can expanded to four-and-a-half hours. Patients who are over 80 years of age, diabetic or have a previous history of strokes should not take Activase.

“We are learning more about who can and can’t receive it,” Little says.

Endovascular therapy is an increasingly popular treatment option. The doctor inserts a catheter through the groin that travels all the way to the head to retrieve the clot blocking the artery.

If the catheter is inserted within six hours of the first symptoms, the patients can benefit from it.

symptoms

fast – an Acronym to remember An easy way to remember the warning signs of a stroke is the acronym “FAST” – Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call 911. Not all symptoms have to be present for a stroke to occur; it could be just one. Little says the key thing to consider is if you can no longer do something you’re normally able to do with ease. Lastly, a stroke is not characterized by pain. People expect a life-threatening event to be painful. That is true of a heart attack, but not of a stroke.

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rural life

life on the highway Surprising and sometimes unwanted visitors are not uncommon.

BY melissa bienvenu illustration by jane sanders

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ne Saturday morning last winter, my husband and I noticed a truck parked in our driveway out close to the highway. This did not seem strange. Between customers picking up hay, a family who lives at the back of our property and family members camping or hunting on the farm, there always seems to be somebody coming or going around here.

At that moment, in fact, there happened to be a customer at the barn loading hay onto his trailer. We surmised that perhaps he had brought help – help who arrived in a separate vehicle and then left their vehicle parked at the entrance to the farm for some particular reason. We thought nothing more about it.

A few minutes later, I hopped into my car to run to a neighbor’s house up the road.

As I drove around to the front of the house and then slowly maneuvered past the truck, which was still in the driveway, I caught something startling out of the corner of my eye. There was a man slumped over the steering wheel.

Clearly, this was no hay customer. For one freaky moment, I wasn’t sure if he was dead or asleep. I stopped,

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got out, tapped on his window and called out to the man. I tapped and called for a minute or two before getting a response.

Finally he stirred just enough to lift his head groggily (without acknowledging me at all) and to pass out again. It became apparent he was drunk and most likely had been there all night.

(Thinking back on it later, my husband did remember the dogs having a barking fit sometimes during the wee hours. However, anyone who has outdoor dogs in the country knows that that is perfectly ordinary and 99 percent of the time the source of the commotion is nothing more than a possum.)

I considered calling the police – ordinarily I feel no compunction whatsoever about reporting drunk drivers – but in the end we let the guy sleep it off. I figured that at least he’d had the presence of mind or

decency to get off the road, (although, needless to say, never getting on the road in the first place would have been the far more decent decision). After a few hours, I heard the truck crank up and drive away.

Just another weird chapter out of Our Life on The Highway.

Of all the ways my life is different since I left my city life for the farm, having a major state highway in my front yard is one I cannot fail to mention.

Before my life as a farmer’s wife, I passed my days in cozy neighborhoods, predictable subdivisions, bustling apartment complexes. There, I was cloistered from the ebb and flow of the great big world out there, not perched all alone and exposed to the unwashed masses as they drove past my front door by the hundreds or thousands each day. Some are neighbors.

Many more are just passing

through. And you never know what the open road will deliver to your door.

Many times, like the drunk in the driveway, the highway brings unwanted surprises. One night several years ago when our boys were small and I was the only person in the family still awake, watching TV in an otherwise completely dark house, somebody knocked on our front door at midnight. You have to understand that nobody who knows us ever knocks on our front door. If someone knocks on our front door, I am automatically on alert because I know it is a stranger.

To take it a step further, let’s also say that when you live on a barren stretch of highway (with only a couple of other houses even visible from where you live), and you hear a knock on the front door that nobody ever uses at midnight,

and you haven’t seen or heard a car drive up, you will immediately be as wide awake as you have ever been.

My heart was pounding when I went to wake Harvey up. As it turned out, the visitors were only a young couple who had run out of gas and meant us no harm. Harvey helped them and sent them on their way, but not before I had multiple panic attacks about a stranger knocking on our darkened front door at midnight or about my foolishly brave and kind husband disappearing into the darkness for 10 minutes going to fetch our can of spare gas. I still fuss at him about that.

Naturally, we also have a front row seat for quite a few wrecks and blowouts, along with the damaged fences to prove it. Fortunately, none of the crashes in front of our house have been serious. That’s amazing considering we live on a long, flat straightaway where everyone floors it trying to get around the slowpoke they’ve been tailgating for the last five miles. That’s one reason I can’t

I caught something startling out of the corner of my eye.

There was a man slumped over the steering wheel. make up my mind to cut down the two poorly-placed live oaks in our front yard even though they will eventually block out all my beloved morning sun: I figure they might make a good safety barricade if an 18-wheeler ever flies off the road.

We never know when the next highway apocalypse is coming. One sunny afternoon a few weeks after Hurricane Katrina, when everyone in

south Louisiana was getting ready for Hurricane Rita, we were watching the weather with a visitor in our living room in the front of the house. As were chatting, I thought I heard a soft, strange “poof” out front.

Finally, I got up and peeked out the front door. There, in front of our house, parked on the shoulder of the road, was an old camper engulfed in a fireball.

I kid you not – it looked like something out of a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. The owners were desperately trying to unhook it from their truck.

No one got hurt, but the camper was toast. I doubt you get that kind of excitement on a cul-de-sac.

Yet, there are some positives to living on a major rural thoroughfare. Like the strategic location: If you ever have a yard sale or peddle horse hay or watermelons or U-pick turnip greens, you are almost guaranteed to get noticed by at least a few of the hordes driving past every day. I believe that is how we first attracted the attention of our two most famous hay customers – or, more accurately, only two famous hay customers: a TV fish and game personality and a retired football player whose life story is one of ESPN’s most popular “30 for 30” sports biographies.

Having a celebrity in da house – or da barn – from time to time certainly makes farm life a little livelier.

Once, we heard a rumor that Kevin Costner had a horse farm not too farm from here. For the longest time, I amused myself with fantasies of walking outside to greet a customer and finding a superstar in my driveway.

Sadly, we never confirmed the rumor, and he never made an appearance.

Still, if Kev ever needs collard greens or some good hay – or just a place to sleep it off – we’ll be here for him. u LouisianaLife.com | 13

reel news Mark Wolper, the pioneer of the “Roots” remake, is president and executive producer of the Wolper Organization that has produced over 500 films.

The Louisiana-shot Remake of “Roots” Premieres Author Alex Haley’s epic tale is retold with an all-star cast, fresh scholarship and a contemporary take for a new generation. BY lisa leblanc-berry

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photo courtesy A+E Studios/HISTORY

hirty-nine years after the original television mini-series “Roots” first pierced the nation’s consciousness, earning a record 36 Emmy nominations and nine wins with its gripping portrait of American slavery, a big-budget, star-studded eight-hour “Roots” remake premieres on Memorial Day, May 30.

The original 12-hour “Roots” that aired in 1977 is still the third highest-rated TV show of all time. An unprecedented 100 million people watched the last episode; this marginally trails the Super Bowl’s record 114 million TV viewers in 2015.

The subject of slavery, which has become a veritable Hollywood sub-genre, has been central to successful films including the last movie produced in Louisiana that won an Oscar, “12 Years a

Starring Forest Whitaker (“The Last King of Scotland”), Anna Paquin (“True Blood”), Laurence Fishburne (“Blackish”), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (“The Tudors), Anika Noni Rose (“Dream Girls, “The Princess and the Frog”), Grammy winner “T.I.” Harris and a dozen other A-listers. Four writers were selected for each of the four episodes: Lawrence Konner (“Boardwalk Empire,” “The Sopranos,” “Planet of the Apes”), Mark Rosenthal (“Mona Lisa Smile,” “Planet of the Apes,”), Alison McDonald (“Alpha House,” “Nurse Jackie”) and Charles Murray (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Luke Cage”).

Slave.” Curiously, three recent Louisiana-shot productions involving slavery are running contiguously, including WGN’s TV series “Underground” that premiered in March, the new “Roots” May-June and “The Free State of Jones” starring Matthew McConaughey, to be released June 24.

It appears that producers of the new “Roots” may have stumbled, albeit serendipitously, into a much larger cultural conversation, considering the current, tense political climate preceding presidential elections. While it arrives amid the plethora of slave narratives, including the 2016 Sundance Film Festival sensation, “The Birth of a Nation” that won the Grand Jury Prize, its primary objective is the enlightenment of a new generation.

Blazing a historical trail with new information in the film industry is something to be saluted. The networks worked closely with many prominent historians for the newest adaptation of Haley’s best-selling novel, discovering and correcting facts along the way. The powerful story that spans multiple generations is being co-produced by original series star LeVar Burton, who played the young Kunta Kinte in 1977. English actor Malachi Kirby was tapped to play lead Kunta Kinte in the remake, after a search that spanned several countries.

“There’s a huge audience of young Americans who do not know the story of ‘Roots’ or its importance,” states Burton. “I

believe now is the right time to tell this story so that we can all be reminded of its impact on our culture and identity.”

Simulcast as a four-night event on History, A&E and Lifetime, “Roots” is an A&E Studios production in association with Marc Toberoff and The Wolper Organization, the company that produced the original Roots that was filmed largely in California.

The 2016 “Roots” reboot was filmed in South Louisiana and South Africa. Will Packer (“Ride Along,” “Think Like a Man”) is executive producer with Mark Wolper, Marc Toberoff, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal. Directors include Philip Noyce (“Patriot

Games”), Mario Van Peebles (“New Jack City”), Thomas Carter (“Coach”) and Bruce Beresford (“Driving Miss Daisy”).

Local production crews reported elaborate sets for the filming at various plantations including Evergreen, Felicity, Madewood and Oak Alley.

The highly anticipated four-night mini-series, which wrapped in February, was also shot at the Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge, Imahara Botanical Gardens in St. Francisville, Tickfaw State Park in Springfield, St. Joseph Abbey in Covington, Longue Vue Gardens, UNO Aquatic Center and City Park in New Orleans. u

Q&A Why do you feel that now is the best time to finally retell this powerful story?

We started on this idea long before President Obama’s second term, interestingly enough.

I kept refusing to do it. But it wasn’t until almost four years ago, when I sat down with my son, then age 15, to watch the original “Roots.” He said something very wise: ‘You know, Dad, I understand why this is important, but it’s like your music. It doesn’t resonate with me.’ At that moment I realized that we had to do “Roots” because it doesn’t mean anything to their generation. Black or white, you don’t really understand who you are until you understand where you came

from. This is our collective story.

How is your contemporary perspective different from the original series?

When Alex Haley wrote the book, there wasn’t the kind of historical and archeological research for the original mini-series that was prompted for the remake.

We were going to produce it for the History Channel.

They had the same mandate as I did, that everything had to be as historically accurate as possible. For instance, we found that the city he was captured in wasn’t a village, it was over 10,000 people, a center of education and culture. And he wasn’t actually captured by black slavers. Even

his passage to America, we found new information.

Why did you engage different writers and directors for each of the four episodes? Because I wanted each night to be its own distinctive night. I wanted the writers to give their different perspectives through their own eyes.

Why did you select Louisiana as your filming location?

Because of the great people, the food, the great deal, and because of the great, experienced crews we had to work with. Also, the people really take care of their plantations, which are meticulous. I will keep coming back because of this.

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louisiana made

A new orleans gem Jess Leigh Jewels

BY JEFFREY ROEDEL PHOTOS BY ROMERO & ROMERO

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or all of its glittery attractions, New Orleans does nothing better than allow its residents and revelers to simply – or complexly – be themselves.

It’s the radical well from which all of the city’s culture springs. And in this continual celebration of self-expression, oneof-a-kind jewelry made with an artful amalgam of vintage raw materials might be as Big Easy as one can get.

Jess Gholston’s one-of-a-kind pieces are inspired by her surroundings and the history of New Orleans.

Since January of 2010, Ohio native Jess Leigh Gholston has been creating unique necklaces, earrings and more with Jess Leigh Jewels. Three months before launching her line with 20 stretchy bracelets featuring stones and charms, she was visiting a New Orleans friend for Halloween festivities and fell completely in love with the city. She was living in Jacksonville, Florida, at the time, and after a few more trips, she felt inspired both by the city’s wild costume culture and its rich, more austere historical touchstones, to make the move. Just 18 at the time, Gholston says she already knew she wanted to create memorable pieces as individual as everyone she saw walking the streets of her new home.

“I love being able to look someone in the eyes and tell them that it’s the only one – ever,” she says. “It makes everything about that exchange so very special.”

Sourcing antique stones, metals, cameos, tassels and more both locally and as far as New York City, Gholston quickly ingrained herself and her work into the fabric of New Orleans festival culture. Jess Leigh Jewels can be found at Frenchmen Street Arts Market, Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo, Voodoo Music + Arts Experience and specialty cultural events and markets.

Gholston’s work is a delicate balance of recognizable forms and colors and a quirky dash of surprise that can be dressed up or down, fine dining or funky. One bracelet is called the “Dainty Jet.” It’s that piece your never slacking friend found at an estate sale, or even what grandma might wear if she was always on trend. It feels comfortable. Comforting. And yet the maker says she feels the most creative when she’s under pressure.

“I make a huge mess,” Gholston says.

“I really like to gather a few abstract ideas and then crunch them together under a time limit – I love it. Usually, I’ll come up with a concept for one item, but then five more will pour out.”

In 2010 she had a few connections with local boutiques, so shared her first creations with them and lined up a simple consignment arrangement. For those just starting out, she recommends not spreading one’s work too thin. Her advice is to be very choosey. She values

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having just a few select shops in one city carrying her work.

Most of her sales are online, anyway, and those sales have doubled every year.

“You don’t want to end up fronting the cost of enough product for 10 stores and not seeing any income from that investment until a specified amount of time,” Gholston says.

She is developing a plan to market her jewelry nationally, but is taking her time to get it just right.

Gholston takes her branding seriously, and while the current generation of makers seems obsessed with calling their creations “Something & Else,” her decision to put her name on her line was not one she took lightly.

“I wanted to make a lasting brand,” Gholston says. “There

is accountability in using my name. There is responsibility and trust built into that kind of vulnerability in my opinion.”

Whether combing through old warehouses, street markets or vintage shops for raw materials or bouncing around her house with treys of jewels in her hand and daydreams in her eyes, New Orleans itself remains this artist’s biggest influence. She relishes hearing a marching band before she even leaves her house in the morning and getting dressed up for Mardi Gras and Halloween.

“Costuming is definitely a competition here,” she says.

“There are constant reminders that this city has not forgotten her inner child, and that speaks directly to me.” u

Q&A Which jewelry designer do you really admire right now? I really admire Chan Luu. She has created a lasting brand and also developed a wide spectrum without compromising her personal style.

Are there any unexpected influences in your work? For my next collection, I’m trying to do a little “then and now” inspiration; so dandelions to represent my roots, and then touches of the art from the Baroque period and moths to represent now.

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If you could only wear and own three accessories for the rest of your life, what would they be? A large cocktail ring, a choker and a long statement necklace What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

“Listen to your heart.” It seems cliché, but it is frightening how hard it is to stick to your guns, especially in design, and then release something out into the world for everyone to see and judge.

What do you do for fun when you aren’t working?

I love to be outside.

I run, I ride my bike around the city, and visit any of the parks for a picnic or take a canoe down the bayou.

Recently, I went out to Manchac Swamp and out to Lake Maurepas.

Gorgeous! Lately, I’ve been focused on seeing my dear friends and really making time for them. It’s all too easy to just be “busy.” My friends are very important to me.

For more info, jessleighjewels.com

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great louisiana chef

Deep South Flavors, West Coast Style Anthony Felan of Wine Country Bistro has helped cultivate a community of locavores in Shreveport. BY CHRIS JAY PHOTOS BY ROMERO & ROMERO

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nthony Felan, executive chef at the helm of Wine Country Bistro, is a Bossier City native who grew up tending his grandfather’s chicken coops and gardens before moving to San Francisco to attend Le Cordon Bleu. After graduating, he spent years “scrubbing floors and peeling vegetables in some tough kitchens” before cooking alongside revered West Coast chefs like Fabrice Marcon.

Skyrocketing rent and a desire to be with his family drew him back toward home, and he found a kindred spirit in restaurateur Jason Brady, owner of Wine Country Bistro, who supported efforts to source ingredients from local farmers. “I’d pack up the car and cruise around to area farms, knocking on doors and buying anything they had to sell,” Felan says. A steady supply of local produce now fills the kitchen.

Popular dishes at Wine Country Bistro include fried pickled green tomatoes with tarragon shrimp salad, pan-seared duck breast with roasted jalapeño and basil corn pudding, and crispy local pork belly served with an apple chive salad and house-made pickles. u

Wine Country Bistro 4801 Line Ave., Shreveport (318) 629-9463 cadrehg.com/wine-country

20 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

“Shreveport is a town where you’ve got to keep one foot in tradition, but as long as you do that, you’re able to push the boundaries at the same time,” says Felan.

Confit Pork Belly with Apple Chive Salad, Louisiana Sweet Potato Pureé and Abita Root Beer Glaze confit pork belly

Apple chive salad

½ pounds pork belly 2 (skin on )

1 Granny Smith apple cut into match stick size

3 quarts duck fat ( You can also use canola oil)

2 tablespoon chopped chives

2 large shallots (sliced )

Extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves garlic (crush and leave whole)

1 lemon

1 bay leaf

Salt to taste

4 sprigs fresh thyme

Abita root beer glaze

4 tablespoons belly cure

2 cups cane vinegar

Pork Belly Cure

3 bottles Abita root beer

1 teaspoon ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1⁄8 teaspoon ground clove 1

⁄8 teaspoon allspice

1 bay leaf crushed 2 sprigs thyme chopped 3 tablespoons salt

2 cups granulated sugar

1

tablespoon pickling spice (use cheese cloth to make sachet)

Louisiana Sweet potato puree

2 large sweet potatoes 4 cups cream ¼ teaspoon cinnamon Salt and pepper to taste 1. Pork Belly Cure

Mix all ingredients together.

2. Before you

confit pork belly, you must first cure for 24 hours to pull moisture out.

Season pork belly with cure. Place in a container big enough to hold belly. Let cure in refrigerator overnight.

3. Confit Pork Belly

Preheat oven to 275°F. Remove belly and lightly brush excess cure away (leaving some on is OK). Place in pan big enough to hold belly and 3 quarts of fat. Place sliced shallots, garlic, bay leaf and thyme on top. Before you place belly in oven gently fold parchment paper over belly to keep submerged in oil while cooking, cover with foil and cook for 4-5 hours.

4. When belly is nice

and tender, gently remove from oil and place in casserole dish, weigh down with plates and let cool. Portion belly by removing skin

and cutting into 2 x 2 inch squares.

Using some of the oil from cooked belly, sear portioned belly in cast iron pan till golden brown on all sides.

5. Apple Chive

Mix apples and chives in bowl, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and salt to taste. Garnish crispy belly with salad.

Salad

6. abita root beer glaze In saucepan

add sugar and vinegar and cook till sugar is dissolved.

Add root beer to sugar mixture (careful mixture will be hot and root beer will foam up). Add sachet of pickling spice to mixture.

Cook till reduced by half and is a nice glaze. Remove sachet. Strain into clean vessel 7. louisiana sweet potato pureé Wash,

peel, and chop sweet potato into two-inch pieces. Place sweet potato in to medium size pot and cover with cream, add cinnamon and salt and pepper. Simmer potatoes till fork tender. Strain cream and set aside. Place cooked sweet potato in to blender and add enough cream to help blender puree sweet potatoes.

You want a smooth silky puree. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serves 6

Collard Greens

LouisianaLife.com | 21

roadside dining

a visit to pop’s poboys In Lafayette, Collin Cormier takes the sandwich to the next level.

BY Bernard C. Frugé III PHOTO BY ROMERO & ROMERO

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efore Louisiana was purchased by the United States, it passed hands between France and Spain several times, leading to a unique gumbo of Western European influence. When the U.S. purchased Louisiana

22 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

in 1803, immigrants flocked to the area in droves, particularly to the renowned port city of New Orleans.

Americans, French, Creoles, Africans, Germans and Italians flooded the Crescent City, adding to the cultural

mélange of Franco-Spanish influence. The result is a rich cultural tapestry, one which South Louisianians take quite seriously, especially when it comes to culinary traditions.

An instance of this heritage is the poor boy sandwich, a

street fare staple that arose in Great Depression-era New Orleans, historically consisting Pop’s Southern Style Burger poor boy with fried pickles

of seafood and/or terrestrial proteins stuffed into a massive loaf of crusty French bread.

There are hundreds of poor boy vendors in Louisiana, and dozens of “best poor boy” lists on the Internet that can intimidate and befuddle even the most seasoned food Googler. In New Orleans, poor boys are offered on virtually every corner, but there is a new entrant to the scene that is churning out the best French bread sandwiches in the state. Two hours west of the Big Easy, in the heart of Cajun Country, is Pop’s Poboys, the enfant terrible of the traditional Louisiana sandwich scene.

Pop’s is the brainchild of Lafayette native Collin Cormier, who is no stranger to deviating from conventional sandwich norms. For years, he owned and operated a food truck called Viva La Waffle, which served taco-style sandwiches using waffles in lieu of tortillas. Cormier opened Pop’s in April of 2015, and his menu offers more traditional Cajun poor boys such as fried catfish or oysters in addition to innovations like sandwiches stuffed with stewed meatballs, Asian-style shrimp, and falafel made from red beans – the go-to regional legume.

Pop’s is located on the main drag of historic downtown Lafayette, which looks like a lot of quaint small town downtowns. Ordering takes place at a counter in front of a monstrous chalkboard

Pop’s Poboys 740 Jefferson St. Lafayette (337) 534-0621 popspoboys.com

displaying the regular menu and specials du jour. While I cannot recommend filling up on starters, the pimento cheese dip and fried pickles and hushpuppies were all outstanding. The hushpuppies at Pop’s are perfectly crispy with moist and airy interiors, and the cane butter dipping sauce is decadent without being overly rich.

While “best of the best” lists will always be debatable and while there is no accounting for taste, Pop’s Poboys offers a sophisticated and well-thought-out marriage of tradition and innovation often lacking in the poor boy world. If you find yourself in Cajun Country, Pop’s is not one to be missed. u

what to get Our table ordered a half of almost every sandwich and while everyone gushed about everything they tried, opinions were mixed about which sandwich was best – the sign of a great dining experience. The “Cajun Castro” comes with Cajun-style roast pork in addition to the usual ham, pickles and mustard. It was delightful, as the two pork preparations paired perfectly with the mustard. If spicy fried chicken is your thing, the “HOT HOT” features Nashville-style chicken topped with a creamy homemade scallion buttermilk ranch dressing to cut the heat a little, a combination which tasted as superlative as it sounds. My favorite was the “Surf & Turf,” the constant crown jewel of poor boy joints from St. Charles to New Orleans, stuffed with slow roast beef in thick gravy and fried oysters. The crispiness of the oysters offsets the velvety roast gravy perfectly, and the horseradish peppercorn sauce lights up the sinuses with a sharp kick.

LouisianaLife.com | 23

kitchen gourmet

local abundance 4 fresh recipes BY STANLEY DRY PHOTOS BY EUGENIA UHL

This dish incorporates both fennel bulbs and the fronds. Fennel belongs to the Umbellifereae family – closely related to parsley, carrots, dill and coriander.

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f April is the cruelest month, perhaps May and June are the most confusing, at least when planning dinner. Why this should be is something of a puzzle. Since so many vegetables and fruits are in season and seafood is plentiful, one could reasonably assume that this time of year is a cook’s paradise. And it is. But that’s the problem: there are simply too many choices. When faced with so many options, we’re often just overwhelmed and suffer a form of paralysis.

Still, dinner comes once a day, and since we love to eat, we need to resolve our dilemma. For gardeners, choice is mostly dictated by abundance.

Their decision involves what to do with all the tomatoes or zucchini or cucumbers. For shoppers, it’s what to buy.

Everything looks so good at those farmer’s markets, so the temptation is to take home some of everything and then figure out what to do with it.

The four recipes this month draw on both the garden and the sea. Three of them make liberal use of garlic and olive oil, two include shrimp in the ingredients, one features tomatoes, there are also artichokes and fennel. As we move into the summer season, my preference is for foods that can be cooked in advance and served at room temperature.

All of these dishes fall into that category. And all go splendidly with a chilled bottle of dry rosé.

Stuffed artichokes are a delicious staple of New Orleans cooking, a contribution of Italians to the multi-ethnic Creole repertoire. My recipe doesn’t hew strictly to that version, but it shares enough common ingredients – bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan – to be instantly recognizable. If the artichokes you purchase still have a length

off stem attached, don’t discard it. Cut off the peel and thinly slice the interior. Eat it raw sprinkled with salt and lemon, accompanied by oil-cured black olives, thin slices of Parmesan, and crusty bread.

Fresh fennel is a vegetable primarily associated with Italian cooking. For those who haven’t eaten it, it is very different from fennel seeds, which come from a different plant. The vegetable is very mild, almost sweet, and it lends itself to a variety of preparations, including raw salads or crudités. Braised in white wine with olive oil, anchovies, garlic, and red pepper, and garnished with feathery fennel fronds and Parmesan – well, it is simply divine.

There was a time when tomatoes Provençal showed up on menus everywhere, and for good reason. They are a superb accompaniment to grilled meats.

With both tomato season and grilling season upon us, it seems like an opportune time to revisit this dish. It’s one that is very simple, easy to make, and a fine addition to summer meals.

The last recipe is for a shrimp spread that couldn’t be simpler to make. Served in a crock with crackers or croutons, it is a nice accompaniment for cocktails or chilled wine. Mascarpone, a fresh Italian cheese, called for in the recipe, while once difficult to find, is now widely available in supermarkets. u

Cooking tip To punch-up flavor in any shrimp or seafood dish, replace salt with ground, dried shrimp. For example, you could make the substitution in this month’s recipe for artichokes stuffed with shrimp or in the shrimp spread.

LouisianaLife.com | 25

recipes

Braised Fennel With Garlic & Anchovies 2 fennel bulbs ¼ cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic, sliced 1 cup dry white wine ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper 4 anchovies Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ cup chopped fennel fronds ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan 1. Cut off stalks at the bulb.

Reserve fronds. Cut a thin slice from bottom of bulb and trim any brown spots. Cut bulb lengthwise into quarters, remove core, then cut into thin slices. Wash and drain..

2. Cover bottom of large

nonreactive skillet with olive oil, add fennel, garlic, wine, red pepper and anchovies. Mash anchovies into a paste with a fork. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender – about 20 minutes.

Remove cover, increase heat, and cook until liquid has evaporated. Turn off heat.

3. Season to taste with

salt and pepper. Garnish with fennel fronds and grated Parmesan. Serve hot or, preferably, at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

Shrimp Spread 1 cup cooked and peeled small shrimp ½ cup mascarpone 1 tablespoon lemon juice Coarse salt and cayenne Hot sauce

Tomatoes Provençal

Artichokes Stuffed With Shrimp

4 medium tomatoes

4 artichokes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon

4 teaspoons chopped parsley 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs

1 cup cooked and peeled small shrimp

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400

degrees and oil the bottom off a baking dish.

2. Cut off tops of tomatoes and save for another use.

Invert and gently squeeze tomatoes to extract their juice. Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and grind over some black pepper.

Place shrimp in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until finely ground. Add mascarpone and lemon juice and process until well blended. Season to taste with salt, cayenne, and hot sauce. Pack in a serving container and chill. Serve with crackers or croutons.

4. Bake until tomatoes are softened and tops are browned, about 20 minutes.

Makes about 1 cup.

Makes 4 servings.

26 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

3. Combine garlic, parsley

and breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Divide the breadcrumb mixture among the tomatoes and drizzle with olive oil.

¼ cup chopped mint 1 cup breadcrumbs ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan Coarse salt, cayenne and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1½ cups olive oil, divided 1. Fill a container large enough

to hold the artichokes with water and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Cut off the stem of the artichoke and remove several layers of the large tough leaves. Rub all cut surfaces with half a lemon to prevent discoloration.

2. Using a large knife, cut

about 1 inch off the top of the artichoke, leaving a flat surface. Spread the artichoke open and, using a spoon,

remove the choke. Place artichoke in the acidulate water and repeat with the others.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine

shrimp, garlic, parsley, mint, breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

Season to taste with salt, cayenne and black pepper. Add lemon juice and 1 cup of olive oil.

Mix well and adjust seasoning.

4. Invert and squeeze artichokes to remove water and place in a nonreactive pot large enough to hold them upright. Spread open the tops of artichokes and and pack them with the shrimp mixture.

5. Pour water in the pot to come halfway up the artichokes. Add some salt and ½ cup olive oil.

Place a square of wax paper on top of each artichoke and cover the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until artichokes are tender, about 20 minutes.

6. Remove artichokes and place in a serving dish. Serve hot, at room temperature or chilled, accompanied by lemon wedges.

Makes 4 servings.

LouisianaLife.com | 27

home

A Modern Blend The home of Cheryl McCormick and Derrell Cohoon in Baton Rouge gets a sleek makeover while preserving its architectural integrity. By bonnie warren photos by craig macaluso

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heryl McCormick and Derrell Cohoon enjoy living in Spanish Town, a friendly, historic neighborhood in the heart of Baton Rouge near the Louisiana State Capitol where residents wave warmly from their porches to passers-by walking their dogs.

In 1999, the couple purchased the Hart House, built around 1896. “We knew it would be ideal for us,” says Derrell, a lobbyist.

28 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior, the 3,000-square foot house was transformed by interior designer Ty Larkins to make it a showplace – with each

room picture-perfect. “Ty was great to work with,” Cheryl, also a lobbyist, says.

“He listened to everything we had to say and never forced his ideas on us.”

Adds Derrell, “I liked that Ty had respect for the history of the old house while being mindful of making it more livable. He gave us the handsome style of a New York City apartment, which we mentioned we admired.”

The couple asked Larkins to design a home with sophisticated, clean and elegantly

FACING PAGE: The

foyer became an art gallery for the couple’s extensive art collection. ABOVE: The light-filled kitchen received a new center island and large new windows to take in the view of the new rear deck and private garden below. Repurposed copper marine pieces were transformed to create the hanging light fixtures. LEFT: Cheryl McCormick and Derrell Cahoon

LouisianaLife.com | 29

ABOVE: The bold light

fixture in the center of the living room is made of steel with the interior of the pendant gold leafed to create the special sleekness to the space. FACING PAGE, TOP LEFT: The historic home features a comfortable front porch. TOP RIGHT: Statuary white marble is featured on the vanity with floorto-ceiling white tiles added to the walls in the total renovation of the master bathroom.

BOTTOM: A sun-filled sunroom at the rear of the house further showcases the classic design that was used throughout the home.

30 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

modern, in the context of the existing architecture.

Larkins made each room in the home more functional and added new furnishings and accessories. “I think of myself as both an architect and interior designer, and I am always looking for ways to improve on the existing spaces,” he says.

A step into the home reveals an inviting foyer and living room. The kitchen is bright; Larkins saved the historic triple windows over the sink and added new windows facing a deck that he designed. He also added a new island in the center of the kitchen.

Cheryl’s favorite space is the newly completed master bathroom. “It reminds me of a grand Parisian bathroom with its floor-to-ceiling white tiles, statuary white marble vanity top and a new freestanding tub,” she says. Derrell’s favorite aspect is the living room, which has a bit of a New York City industrial style and all new furnishings. “The bold, large light fixture in the center of the room that is made of steel with the interior of the pendant gold leafed to create the warm glow you see is exciting and gives a special sleekness to the space,” he

says. “I like that the furnishing are tailored to make a finished elegant design statement.”

The Hart House clearly embraces the present while honoring its rich history.

“It’s everything we dreamed of having in a home,” Cheryl says with a smile, and Derrell steps up and puts his arm around her waist and adds, “This is a perfect marriage of the old and the new. The analogy of living in a sophisticated New York City apartment in a treasured historic Spanish Town house tells the whole story. We love it.” u

artist

Aron Belka Painting the Louisiana Wetlands By John R. Kemp

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ron Belka arrived in New Orleans in 2004 and, like many other artists before him, was seduced by the south Louisiana landscape. His large and painterly images of the fishing villages of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands capture the drama and resilience of a people struggling to survive the devastating hurricanes and oil spills that threaten a centuries-old way of life.

Although numerous painters and photographers responded to the horrors left in the wakes of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Isaac, Belka is among the few who sought to understand the lasting human toll those storms have taken on the state’s coastal communities and their people. His remarkable “Working the Wetlands” series blends the introspective nature of abstract painting with the visual connections and passion of realism. His

32 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

large paintings are like a veil that separates illusion from reality. Belka’s spontaneous and gestural brushstrokes create abstract spaces that frame identifiable places and weathered faces of commercial fishing men and women. His finished paintings appear much like the chaotic destruction that littered the landscape after the storms fractured so many lives. What he found

also profoundly affected his painting style.

South Louisiana was a strange new world for Belka and his wife, Lina Moses, when they moved to New Orleans from Albany, New York. Living in the Deep South, especially Louisiana, was never their plan, but then, that’s how life goes.

The Salt Lake City native graduated from Utah State University in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.

He and Lina married, moved to Portland, Oregon, then to Albany in 2001 where Lina got a job working in public

health. Three years later, they were off to New Orleans and graduate school at Tulane University.

“We were excited to be in New Orleans for the one-year program and then move back to the Northeast,” Belka says with a smile. “Katrina hit and Lina decided to stay at Tulane to get a doctorate in public health. Our plan was then to move to Boston or London after she finished the program.

Things changed again. We are still here. The girls (their two daughters) got older and Lina got a faculty position at Tulane.”

New Orleans is now home.

“I love New Orleans, the people and the culture,” Belka says. “New Orleans has a lot to offer, but it is still a small city.

I am a New Orleanian.” His only hang-up with the city and south Louisiana is the infernal summer heat, which is why the family travels north or west each summer. That is, until last summer, when they stayed in the city to complete his aforementioned “Wetlands” series for a show later that year at in New Orleans. “Now I know why we leave every summer.”

Belka’s series was his effort to understand an existential threat to a culture he barely knew. “When we first moved here I had never been south of Virginia and therefore had no experience with hurricanes or had ever seen a swamp,” he says. “Katrina was a sobering introduction that spurred my curiosity about the impacts these storms leave in their wake and the resilient response to rebuild and remain. When Hurricane Isaac came through in 2012, I visited Plaquemines Parish the next day and created a small series of paintings based on what I witnessed. That trip subsequently triggered more interest in exploring the surrounding areas and inhabitants of southern Louisiana. The whole hurricane phenomena has put me in touch with what’s outside New Orleans – the small villages, the devastation, and the beauty that is so fragile.”

He spent the next year exploring the coastal parishes, visiting small communities such as Delacroix, Venice, Grand Isle, Cocodrie and Delcambre to see how these storms and the 2010 BP oil spill had affected the region’s fishing culture and people. “In the beginning,” he explains, “I was exploring my environment and surroundings in search of ideas. After nine months 34 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

exploring the area, I eventually realized that I needed to talk to people and get their stories. For example, I really wanted to get on a working shrimp boat, so a friend of mine who is originally from Lydia in Iberia Parish and has a large Cajun family put me in contact with shrimpers in Delcambre.”

A shrimper named Jesse invited Belka aboard his boat for Delcambre’s 2015 blessing of the fleet. The trip resulted in a number of paintings, including portraits of several members of the Captain Toby crew. He recalls one crewmember named T-Rod. “I liked his face,” he explains.

“He was a life-long shrimper and his father built shrimp boats. He was a mountain of a guy but a nice and gentle kind of individual. He is now a welder.” Belka says foreign seafood farmers, which are flooding national markets with cheaper-priced shrimp and fish, are forcing many locals like T-Rod off the boats and into other trades.

During his travels, Belka has gotten to know people who have fished the coastal waters for generations. “I feel like I’m starting to understand the resilient nature of these people and their desire to hold on to what they have,” he explains. “These areas have a unique beauty, and the people that live there have built their livelihoods around those unique resources. I found these tight knit communities to be welcoming and sincere. They’re proud of their heritage without being pretentious. It’s a side of humanity that you don’t always observe in urban areas.”

The varied ethnic backgrounds he encountered also appealed to him. His paintings include large portraits of Vietnamese women in the markets of eastern New Orleans, descendants of

Yugoslavian settlers in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes, Cajuns along the south-central coast, and others who work the fish and shrimp boats and commercial seafood

“I wanted to be like a fly on the wall and capture snapshots to capture moments.” markets. Their faces express the strength of people who have seen troubles and survived. He took hundreds of photographs of these people at work for later use back in the studio.

He didn’t pose or interact with them as they went about their day in the markets or on the shrimp boats. “I wanted to be like a fly on the wall and capture snapshots to capture

moments,” he says, looking across the room at his large portraits of shrimpers and Vietnamese women staring out from the wall. “I searched out images of a community and natural world working the wetlands to survive.”

To capture that emotional response to the fractured landscape, Belka changed his style of painting. Before coming to Louisiana, his paintings were abstracted geometric patterns found in the landscape as seen in aerial and satellite photographs. Later, a friend suggested he combine his abstract style with representational imagery. He did so and his paintings began showing up in major exhibitions, including the 2015 Louisiana Contemporary exhibition at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans.

That same year, LeMieux Galleries gave him a one-artist show for his Wetlands series; the prestigious Joan Mitchell

Foundation awarded him a five-month residency at its center in New Orleans; and he received the grand finale award at the 6th national Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series, a national competition that included ten finalists from galleries across the nation.

Although Belka has completed Wetlands and is considering other subject matter for future work, he will continue to explore the region and paint that fragile world. “The people I met were so incredibly helpful,” he says. “I really did enjoy my time driving from Delacroix to Cocodrie. I want to go back and do more paintings. I gained a lot of respect for south Louisiana and its people while researching this series. ” u

Belka is represented by LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans. For more information about his work, visit aronbelka.com.

traveler

LEFT: The casinos of Contraband Bayou FACING PAGE, TOP LEFT City Hall turned Cultural Center TOP RIGHT: Mission Revival depot in DeQuincy BOTTOM: Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu

A Pirate’s Life Trekking to Lake Charles for Contraband Days and more

by Paul F. Stahls Jr.

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36 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

refurbished older attractions, plus a stampede of innovative ventures like the Bayou Rum distillery, new labels from Rijenjacks and Crying Eagle craft brewers, and even a new Acadian Coffee Roasters enterprise entering the market with distinctive blends of organic, fair-trade coffees – (318) 677-9050 to request tours.

The city’s namesake lake with its strips of sandy beaches is as inviting as ever, the famed marshlands of Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes are still there for fishing, photography and exploration, and the age-old sounds of Cajun and Zydeco music still pulsate in the new

photo by LindseyJanies.com

irates have infested Lake Charles since the eye-patch crowd plank-walked the mayor and took over the town on April 28.

On May 8, by tradition, they’ll tire of running a city and sail away, the Contraband Days festival at an end … but in Lake Charles the fun never stops.

Long before the pirate era the Attakapas Indians bestowed the name Calcasieu (Crying Eagle) not only on their chief but also on their river and region, but the old eagle has no reason to squawk these days. The tax base and real estate market of Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish are soaring with the arrival of two new refineries, and a towering new Golden Nugget casino has joined the giant L’auberge Casino Resort on the city’s skyline. That means more bounty borne to town by Texas gamblers who cross the Sabine River in weekly droves – scattering to L’auberge, “the Nugget,” the Isle of Capri and, in nearby Vinton, the sprawling Delta Downs Racetrack-Casino – then departing only to return as fast as they can raise another grubstake.

Thus has Lake Charles, originally a boomtown of the 19thcentury timber industry, reclaimed its boomtown status, the benefits being swanky new restaurants, countless music venues and

and old clubs and dancehalls.

But there’s a new beat, too – exciting, enjoyable and magnetic.

The Old Spanish Trail (now Broad Street and Shell Beach Drive) still leads past architectural landmarks, and the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s new “Southwest Louisiana Boudin Trail” guide leads to great boudin and sausages stuffed and smoked in the meat departments of previously hidden grocery stores in town and country.

Museums and galleries fill many of the restored landmarks and modern buildings, and many of them (like the venerable Lake Charles Little Theatre) also provide stages for drama, ballet, symphony and local sounds. In the heart of town, for instance, the Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center, an impressive Italianate clock-towered edifice built in 1911, houses galleries for regional art as well as national touring exhibits. A block away, the 1912 Central School presents the popular and dazzling Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, which shares the old building with the Arts Associates Gallery (rotating exhibits), Black Heritage Gallery and studio space for working artists and offices of the Arts and Humanities Council.

Visit lakecharlesartists.com for a preview of Southwest Louisiana art exhibited at Gallery on the Lake (presented

by Associated Louisiana Artists, 106 W. Pryce), and a tour of

McNeese University will lead to the Abercrombie and Grand Galleries at the Shearman Fine Arts Center.

Young visitors love the interactive exhibits and activities of the Children’s Museum, 327 Broad, and veterans and military buffs enjoy boarding the USS Orleck – a World War II-era destroyer that served through Korea and Vietnam – now docked on the river at 604 N. Enterprise Blvd.

Just off Ryan Street at 204 W. Sallier (named for an early settler), the Imperial Calcasieu Museum (set on Sallier’s cabin-site and shaded

by the ancient Sallier Oak) has succeeded in telling the story of Lake Charles and this corner of the state through its exhibits of art (like the Charlotte Robinson portrait of Flying Tiger commander Claire Chennault), photographs (by the likes of Elemore Morgan Sr.), Native American artifacts, Liberty Bond posters and images of the Great Lake Charles Fire of 1910. Its Gibson-Barham Gallery brings revolving fine arts, crafts and cultural exhibits from around the nation.

Incidentally, Charles Sallier’s name remains on more than a street sign; his settlement grew,

known first as Charleston and now Lake Charles.

The fire of 1910 and a killer hurricane of 1918 gave rise to a new development known today as the Charpentier (carpenters) Historic District, its genteel mini-mansions built of the Southern Yellow Pine that had made the region famous in the first place. Designed not by architects but by skilled carpenters, says historian Adley Cormier, the homes present pleasing deviations from the early-20th-century norm, including distinctive “pillars of the community” known in architectural circles as “the Lake Charles column” – their shafts, rectangular and paneled, tapering just so as they rise.

For the pleasure of Cormier’s company on a tour, call (337) 433-2385, and for an optional conveyance that’s perfect for this neighborhood call J&R Carriage at (337) 842-0778.

More Calcasieu history awaits in DeQuincy, a few miles north and west via U.S. 171 and La.12, at the Louisiana Railroad Museum, a wonderfully restored Mission Revival depot built by the Kansas City Southern in 1923. With its handsome 1913 steam engine and other rolling stock, plus a wondrous

collection of model steam and diesel engines and railroading memorabilia, it’s the perfect spot for the Louisiana Railroad Days Festival (second weekend each April) and a perfect destination for a short detour off I-10.

West of Lake Charles via I-10 (or south from the Louisiana Railroad Museum by La.27 to complete that DeQuincy detour), the city of Sulphur boasts a 1915 Southern Pacific depot at Frasch Park, 900 S. Huntington, which now serves as centerpiece of the Brimstone Museum complex which honors the town, the sulfur dome that put it on the map, and the German American who created here the process that revolutionized sulfur mining around the world. New and vintage structures are still being added, but the impressive array of items and images that vividly tell the story of Herman Frasch and his mining process is already in place. Mid-March brings a lively Sulphur Mines Festival to the park, which also includes the Henning Cultural Center, its local artists shows and traveling art exhibits housed in the 1904 dwelling of an early Sulphur clergyman.

Nearby, in sight of I-10’s Exit 20, stands Adventure Point, LouisianaLife.com | 37

LEFT: Sulfur derrick and

bust of Herman Frasch RIGHT: Bayou Rum distillery in Lacassine

the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s new trailhead and information center for the “All-American Road” called the Creole Nature Trail (a 180-mile “U” that heads south from Sulphur on La.27 to the Gulf of Mexico and follows the shore east awhile before veering north again, back to I-10 just east of Lake Charles).

Besides maps and free iPhone Creole Trail tour apps, visitors to Adventure Point find lifesize dioramas of marshland critters, plus family photo opps like waving from a faux

38 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

shrimp boat or fake jamming with real (but immovable) instruments on a Cajun/ Zydeco bandstand.

No time for the entire trail? Consider sampling one or both tips of the “U.” On the west side, La.27 leads south from Sulphur to Brown’s Food Center in Hackberry (for sandwiches or plate lunches and even crab nets) in preparation for picnicking at the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge and crabbing at roadside piers or the Blue Goose Walkway.

The east-side sampler would mean zigzagging south-eastsouth down La.14 from Exit 33 (grabbing boudin or plate lunches at Hackett’s Cajun Kitchen along the way), then junctioning with southbound La.27 to Cameron Prairie Refuge. At refuge headquarters a boardwalk leads into a marshy lake that’s popular with human and feathered guests, and a small indoor theater presents mechanical Cajuns telling about their wetlands. Then head south 2 miles to explore the Pintail Wildlife Drive’s 3-mile loop and half-mile boardwalk.

You’ll spot gators, birds and maybe furry creatures on either side of the “U.” For Lake Charles visitors heading home on I-10, a

convenient last stop will be the impressive Bayou Rum Distillery on the service road at Lacassine, Exit 48 at La.101. Can’t miss it. And you don’t want to miss it. The tours are free, and yes, there is a tasting room. The gift shop’s swell and the giant copper kettles with their intricate piping are things of beauty. The reason awards are rolling in for the three-year-old operation, says owner Trey Litel, is the raw sugar and pure molasses from Louisiana soil – that and those traditional copper kettles! The Bayou Rum Silver is classic white, the Spiced is spicy, the Satsuma is fun and flavorful.

Bayou Rum Select is coming soon but it’s still a little wet behind the ears. Of course you could just find these in a store, but then you’d miss the tour! u

Literary 40 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

At 83, celebrated author Ernest J. Gaines reflects on his hopes and passions from his home in Eunice.

m

otoring along False River Road in Oscar, Louisiana, with the serene False River on one side, and houses, cane fields and livestock on the other, it’s easy to see why world-renowned author Ernest J. Gaines, now 83, devoted his life and work to this place. The home he shares with wife, distinguished lawyer Dianne Gaines, originally from Miami, overlooks the river in the front, beyond double wrought iron gates, bearing a “G” on each side.

Designed by the late local architect Glenn Morgan, the couple built the house 11 years ago. The style of the

house is contemporary, but has a local sensibility and a welcoming interior awash in natural brown hues. The structure is attractive, yet unremarkable in most ways, other than the fact that it’s located on the same land Gaines was born on and lived for the first 15 years of his life, the River Lake Plantation.

“All of my ancestors are buried here – except Mom – about three-quarters of a mile from here,” says Gaines. He is seated in a brown leather club chair in his library, donning his signature brown beret, a burgundy turtleneck sweater, light brown corduroy slacks

Ernest J. Gaines, known most widely for his critically acclaimed novel, A Lesson Before Dying, is one of Louisiana’s, the South’s and the country’s most celebrated writers. Four of the author’s works have been made into movies, including A Lesson Before Dying, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Gathering of Old Men and The Sky is Gray.

His accolades include the Louisiana Humanist of the Year, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship – also known as the Genius Award – the National Humanities Metal, plus he is a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Order of Arts and Letters and has dozens of other awards and honorary degrees.

Legend

By Melanie Warner Spencer Photos by Romero & Romero

Inside the circa-1920s church behind the Gaines’ house, located on the plantation where he grew up, are several black and white photos taken by Ernest J. Gaines. One shows a simple wooden houses in the “quarters,” which is where sharecroppers lived on the plantation. Another is a photo of Gaines sitting on a porch in the “quarters," with family and friends. “I can’t say that I love this plantation, that I love the South, but I do love my people,” says Gaines.

42 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

and a pair of house shoes. “I can’t say that I love this plantation, that I love the South, but I do love my people.”

Known most widely for his critically acclaimed novel, A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines is one of Louisiana’s, the South’s and the country’s most celebrated writers. Four of the author’s works have been made into movies, including A Lesson Before Dying, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, A Gathering of Old Men and The Sky is Gray. His accolades include the Louisiana Humanist of the Year, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship – also known as the Genius

Award – the National Humanities Metal, plus he is a Chevalier (Knight) of the French Order of Arts and Letters and has dozens of other awards and honorary degrees.

A former Writer-in-Residence and a Writer-in-Residence Emeritus at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, Gaines’ handwritten original manuscripts, galley proofs, correspondence, unpublished materials and other papers, are part of UL Lafayette’s Ernest J. Gaines Center.

From May 30 through June 24, scholars, along with 25 educators and graduate students, will immerse themselves in Gaines’ work during the 2016 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute titled, “Ernest J. Gaines and the Southern Experience,” in Lafayette.

In January, Gaines attended the annual ceremony to honor the 2015 recipient of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, established by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation nine years ago to recognize rising African-American fiction writers. Winners receive a $10,000 cash prize to allow them to focus on writing.

“We have judges from different parts of the country,” Gaines says about the award in his name. “They have a conference call when all of the judges talk about it. Dianne and I listen in, but we have no commentary, unless there is a tie.

There has never been a tie, and we are going into the 10th year.”

This year’s winner is New Orleansnative, T. Geronimo Johnson, for his second novel, Welcome to Braggsville.

Johnson, who now lives in California, is a visiting professor at the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop.

Each year, Gaines meets the winners and the couple holds a luncheon at their home. He says he appreciates that the award keeps his name and work out in world and in the minds of teachers who use his books, especially A Lesson Before Dying, in the classroom.

“I don’t know any other way to reach [young people],” says Gaines.

“The last 10 years I haven’t been traveling. I still get letters from students.

I get letters from teachers. I get letters from lawyers. It’s worth discussing a time when blacks were not on juries.

All white men. No women. Now, these kids are reading it as history. They haven’t experienced it. The parents haven’t experienced it.”

Normally Gaines says he doesn’t talk about race with students, young writers and reporters, allowing instead for his work to speak for him. When pressed however, he says despite the changes for the better Gaines has seen in his lifetime, he’s still aware of the strides yet to be made.

“If I was not who I am, I would not be treated the way I am,” says Gaines.

“But my brothers, sisters and friends

“

There will always be that dislike, hatred, evil in man. There are always people who are changing, but the old thing, the feeling of superiority or better than others will not change.

I hope the better part of man will be more prominent.

”

still have to deal with it. There’s still prejudice. If I [were] a worker or, not who I am, I would be treated like a third-class citizen. Men change, but man remains the same.

“There will always be that dislike, hatred, evil in man. There are always people who are changing, but the old thing, the feeling of superiority or better than others will not change. I hope

the better part of man will be more prominent.”

That hope is alive in Gaines’ sparse and poignant prose. In A Lesson Before Dying, the protagonist and narrator Grant Wiggins is quick to discern the hateful men; the changing men; and those for whom the better part of man is more prominent. Each of them is found throughout the bars, the “quarters” where Wiggins’ family lives, at the jail and in the plantation house in Gaines’ fictional Bayonne, Louisiana. Grappling with themes of prejudice, the darkness of man, hope, love and vivid, complicated and often dark characters set against a rural backdrop is reminiscent of the themes and individuals found in William Faulkner’s imaginary Yoknapatwopha County, based on and inspired by Lafayette County, Mississippi and the town of Oxford.

Not surprisingly, Gaines counts Faulkner among his many literary influences, which also include Leo Tolstoy, Ernest Hemingway and Ivan Turgenev.

“Father’s and Sons was sort of my Bible when I was writing my first novel,” says Gaines, pointing out similar themes.

“Problems communicating with the older people. There was always a beautiful woman.”

Gaines says he’s working on the revisions for two novellas, but his other passion – reading – often distracts him.

“I feel like I haven’t read nearly enough of what’s out there,” says Gaines, whose library has nine bookcases, each containing seven shelves, loaded with works of fiction and non-fiction. “That’s just a few of the books. About two-thirds of the books.”

Listening to National Public Radio and enjoying music are two of Gaines’ other favorite pastimes. From classical and blues to country, citing Johann Sebastian Bach and John Coltrane as his favorites, Gaines says he has music on around the house all day. But his greatest passions are two exceptionally personal preservation projects.

Before buying the property for their house, the Gaines would drive from their then home in Lafayette to visit the old plantation cemetery, where the black sharecroppers that farmed the land for decades and generations were laid to rest in wooden coffins.

excellence & inspiration Each year in January, the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Gaines and recognizes a rising African-American fiction writer. Established by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation nine years ago winners receive a $10,000 cash prize to allow them to focus on writing. The recipient receives the prize during a ceremony and gala held in Baton Rouge, in which Gaines reads an excerpt from the winning work of fiction. A panel of renowned literary figures judges the contest each year. The 2015 judges were Thomas Beller, Anthony Grooms, Elizabeth Nunez, Francine Prose and Patricia Towers.

The 2015 winner is New Orleans-native, T. Geronimo Johnson, for his second novel, Welcome to Braggsville. Johnson, who now lives in California, received his M.F.A. from the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop and his M.A. in language, literacy and culture from UC Berkeley. He is currently a visiting professor at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

Johnson will participate in educational activities at Baton Rouge-area schools and after-school programs, as part of the Gaines Award’s emphasis on literature and the arts in education. Creative writing workshops conducted

by Johnson will focus on helping students explore their creativity and inspire them to read and consider becoming authors.

Behind the Gaines’ house in Eunice – which is on the plantation where he grew up and where he now owns six acres – stands a simple, circa-1920s white wooden structure, the Mount Zion Baptist Church. The couple had it moved from its original location on the property when they built the main house, then they painstakingly restored it.

“This is where the old people long before me worshipped,” says Gaines. “Even I attended school there, also Sunday school and church. They tried to make me a preacher, but I said no and turned my talents toward writing, but the church is important to me.”

Gaines says he preserves the church, because of his ancestors and friends buried in the cemetery, who assembled in the modest little building for funerals, wakes, church services and the other celebrations and milestones of life and community.

“Except for my home, it’s the most important building in the world,” says Gaines.

44 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

“When we first came here, it was overtaken by weeds,” says Gaines.

“You couldn’t go anywhere. It was impossible to get in.”

Each year, there is a cemetery beautification event attended by approximately 50 people from as close as Texas to as far as California and Washington State. They rake leaves and paint the tombs. The couple is credited with saving the long-forgotten cemetery and the Mount Zion River Lake Cemetery Association they assembled has spent years identifying the graves and working to preserve the sacred space.

“Those people back there never had anything,” says Gaines. “They never owned the little shack they lived in or their people or their people. We like to see that the six feet of area is kept and clean. We want them to at least have their grave.

“It’s something I’m trying to give back to them. I want the world to know they were here at one time. I would not be a writer if it [weren’t] for those people.”

Behind the Gaines’ house stands a simple, circa-1920s white wooden structure, the Mount Zion Baptist Church. The couple had it moved from its original location on the property when they built the main house, then they painstakingly restored it.

“This is where the old people long before me worshipped,” says Gaines.

“Even I attended school there, also Sunday school and church. They tried to make me a preacher, but I said no and turned my talents toward writing, but the church is important to me.”

Gaines says he preserves the church, because of his ancestors and friends buried in the cemetery, who assembled in the modest little building for funerals, wakes, church services and the other celebrations and milestones of life and community.

“Except for my home, it’s the most important building in the world,” says Gaines.

When asked why, given the history of slavery, violence and oppression represented by a plantation and after traveling the world and living in other cities, he would yearn to own and live on one – especially the one where he grew up – Gaines says in many ways, he never left.

“I was constantly coming back,” he says. “Nothing is more beautiful than [these] six acres. My memories are here and their spirit is here.”

After living for 40 years in San Francisco, Gaines says he could never write about California. The weather, the pecan and oak trees, False River and the cane fields, the people he grew up with, the disabled aunt who raised him, each kept a place in his heart and inspired a longing to honor them with his writing and now his preservation work and – like so many Southerners – an unwavering desire to return.

“I always wanted to spend my final days in the South,” says Gaines. “I didn’t know if it would be Louisiana, but the South. I never knew it would be here in this place.” u

x++++++

Getaways W+++++

By Danielle Kalamaras, Chris Jay & Jenny Peterson

Weekend

Trendy Quarters at the Ace Hotel New Orleans

If you’re a local looking for a “staycation” or driving in from another part of the state, consider the Ace Hotel (acehotel.com/neworleans), newly opened in the stylish Central Business District of New Orleans. Any day can easily be capped by the culinary experiences

within the hotel’s walls.

Its restaurant, Josephine Estelle, offers seasonal, Italian cuisine and is the brainchild of James Beard Award-nominated chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman. For a nightcap at the Ace, the Lobby Bar serves creative Southern

photo by simon watson; courtesy ace hotel

TRAVEL

A Cabin Retreat near Fontainebleau State Park

On the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain is the 2,800-acre Fontainebleau State Park, which offers miles of hiking and nature trails that weave throughout the swamplands and forest, and more than 400 different species live around the Fontainebleau, making wildlifewatching a pleasant addition to an afternoon stroll. The shallow waters and sandy beaches of Lake Pontchartrain allow for outdoor activities, including sailing, kayaking and canoeing. Cabin rentals situated along the scenic waterfront are available through the State Park’s website (crt.state.la.us/louisiana-stateparks/parks/fontainebleau-state-park).

One option is to rent a cottage at Pontchartrain Winds in Mandeville (pontchartrainwinds.com). From the grounds, you can take a short bike ride into town to the Mandeville Trailhead, which is home to free Friday evening concerts and the Saturday morning Mandeville Community Market. You can continue on to the beautiful Northlake Nature Center, which offers visitors the opportunity to experience hardwood forests and pond-swamp ecosystems.

Fontainebleau State Park and its neighboring communities provide many amenities to create a weekend away in a peaceful, natural setting. – D.K. $

and Italian-inspired cocktails, while the lively Three Keys music venue hosts events on an almost-nightly basis, including live jazz, DJ’s, pop-up shops and other creative endeavors.

Another destination within the hotel is Alto, a relaxing rooftop bar offering picturesque views of New Orleans’s gleaming cityscape. – D.K. $

$

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Camellia House Bed & Breakfst

Outdoor Adventures at Camellia House Bed & Breakfast

If a bed-and-breakfast outside New Orleans is more your speed, then just a quick car ride away is the quaint Camellia House Bed & Breakfast in Covington (camelliahouse.net). The raised Southern-style cottage is steps away from enough activities to pack any day tripper’s daily schedule.

The B&B has bikes available for guests, and the nearby Tammany Trace (tammanytrace.org) is a top-rated trail and Loui-

siana’s only rails-to-trails conversion. Originally part of the Illinois Central Railroad, the 31-mile Trace is now a hike and bike trail that connects five communities from downtown Covington to Slidell. Walk, run, rollerblade or bike from town to town and enjoy the lush wildlife the Northshore has to offer.

After a long day of physical activity, the Columbia Street Tap Room (covingtontaproom.com) offers Southern comfort cuisine and traditional

American bar food. The restaurant moonlights as a music venue during the weekends, so you are bound to catch a lively performance from a local musician. Back at the Camellia House, you can lounge by the pool, take a dip in the hot tub, have a nightcap down by the fire pit, or soundly drift on the front porch swing to the sweet sounds of nature.

– D.K. $

$

Familyfriendly camping in Denham Springs

Luxury living in Louisiana’s state capital

In Baton Rouge, the L'Auberge Casino & Hotel (lbatonrouge.com) houses all the dining, nightlife and relaxing spa treatments for anyone looking to create a well-rounded weekend. Begin your trip exploring the rich political heritage of Baton Rouge.

Take a tour of Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, which was converted into a museum in 1994 to serve as a historical landmark to this Southern states democratic history. Next, head over to Louisiana’s current State Capitol for a fascinating tour of the grounds. Just viewing the building is a marvel in itself. Built in the 1930s, the State Capital is a stunning example of Art Deco design and stands 450 feet tall, making it

the tallest capital in the United States.

After a didactic day, head back to L’Auberge to round out the evening.

Overlooking the scenic Mississippi River, you can wine and dine at one of four restaurants before hitting up the craps table at the casino. Take a late-night dip in the rooftop pool while gazing at the glistening beauty of Baton Rouge at night.

Complete your stay with a rousing game of golf at the partnering golf course or have a rejuvenating massage in the privacy of your own suite.

– D.K.

$

$

$

If alfresco living is a preferred home away-from-home, camping is the epitome of tapping into your inner outdoorsman.

The pet-friendly Baton Rouge KOA in Denham Springs (koa. com/campgrounds/batonrouge) is a perfect spot to get your camping fix at night while enjoying fun activities during the day. Grab your family, friends or fellow campers and kill time playing air hockey in the game room, playing 18-hole miniature golf, swimming in the pool or basking in the hot tub.

Next door there is access to a tennis court, basketball courts, paved hiking and biking trails and baseball fields.

After sweating in the sun take a 25-minute drive to Baton Rouge and tour the Fletcher-class destroyer USS KIDD. Nicknamed the "Pirate of the Pacific," it is a memorial to honor the men and women of American armed forces. Eat closer to the campsite at Randazzo's Italian Market (randazzositalianmarket. com), serving up authentic Italian cuisine and homemade pastas to cap off a busy day with comforting food. If the RV is in the shop or having a tent as your only safety from the forces of nature does not draw out a picture-perfect weekend, the Baton Rouge KOA also has cabins available for rent. – D.K. $ photo by Sonia Alvarez

Rip Van Winkle Gardens Bed and Breakfast

If you're looking for a romantic, quiet weekend away, three cottages await you on 25 acres of semitropical gardens at the Rip Van Winkle Gardens (ripvanwinklegardens.com) on Jefferson Island near New Iberia. A majestic tree-lined road leads to

this island, located on an elevated natural salt dome surrounded by marshland. The Joseph Jefferson Mansion, built in 1870, sits atop the island and is open for tours.

A cook's cottage and servants' quarters serve as the bed-and-breakfast loca-

TRAVEL

Myrtles Plantation

Haunted historical stay at The Myrtles Plantation

The stretch of Baton Rouge to New Orleans is known as “Plantation Country” and speaks to Louisiana’s rich antebellum heritage. As standing monuments to the decadence of the past, an overnight stay in one of these historic mansions is a getaway in itself. Just 25 minutes outside of Baton Rouge is The Myrtles Plantation (myrtlesplantation.com) in St. Francisville. Built in 1796 in true Neo-Classical splendor, its décor evokes pre-war glamour including a 125-foot veranda, ornamental ironwork, handpainted stained glass, crown molding, Aubusson tapestries, Baccarat crystal chandeliers and Carrara marble mantels.

tions and are exquisitely appointed with mahogany king-size, four-poster Louisiana French-style beds. Amenities at these Acadian cottages include fine cotton sheets, down-filled pillows and a complimentary in-room breakfast and bottle of

wine for two. A Japanese Tea House also sits on the island. The Jefferson Cafe, with a glassed- in porch, is nestled in a grove of ancient oak trees and offers a breathtaking view of nearby Lake Peigneur. – J.P. $

$

Take a guided tour to learn about the mansions many owners and tumultuous past. After a tour take a stroll through the historic grounds laced with Live Oaks, Crepe Myrtle trees, azaleas and other botanical life typical of antebellum plantations. Experiencing its history and decadent grandeur will not be the only highlight of the trip – through the years plantation keepers lay claim to its haunted past. Many ghost sightings have taken place beginning in 1992 when the proprietress photographed what appeared to be a slave girl standing between two of the plantation buildings— partake in the Mystery Tour to learn more about other strange happenings speckling The Myrtle Plantation’s extensive history. –D.K. $

$

Grand Isle Vacation Rental

Grand Isle offers a fun and relaxed beach escape on Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island.

Seven miles of glistening sand await visitors on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Great saltwater fishing can be found in Grand Isle with speckled trout, redfish, amberjack, red snapper and more. Bring your own boat for fishing in

Caminada or Barataria Pass or let a charter captain take you out to fish the world's largest artificial reef. Grand Isle is home to beautiful oak trees, lakes, bays, marshes and historic homes. Visitors can hike through the nature conservatory, Butterfly Dome, or take a selfguided walking tour of 1893-era homes. Wake

Side (wakeside.net) Louisiana’s only saltwater cable park, uses a cable system to pull thrill-seekers on inner tubes, skis or wakeboards over two jumps and a water obstacle.

Several restaurants and a grocery store make it a convenient vacation destination. – J.P. $

$

Camping in Jonesville, short-term rentals on Sicily Island & visiting Frogmore along the way

Uncle Bud’s Cabins and RV Park on Larto Lake (unclebudslacabins.com), located an hour due east of Alexandria, offers cabins, bunkhouses and RV hookups on one of the top crappie lakes in the United States.

The Kincaid Lake Campground in Kisatchie National Forest is a modern campground located inside of the Evangeline Unit in the Calcasieu Ranger District (9912 Highway 28, Boyce). One of the most inviting public campgrounds in the state, Kincaid Lake offers easy access to a nine-mile hiking loop – the longest in the region – lined with wild azaleas, magnolias and loblolly pines.

Several of the most entertaining Airbnb.com listings in Central Louisiana are for short-term rental properties in Sicily Island, a village located just outside of Ferriday. Lake Saint John, a small oxbow lake, is the site of lakefront listings that ask rentors to “ease off on loud music after 10 p.m. (unless neighbors are playing same)” and “only smoke in the grill shack.” This party-friendly vibe is perhaps to be expected from a town that counts Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley among its native sons. History buffs passing through Ferriday should not miss Frogmore Plantation (frogmoreplantation.com), where visitors can contrast a working cotton plantation of the early 1800s with a modern cotton plantation and gin of today. – C.J. $

Central Louisiana: Scenic Views at Toledo Bend & Natchitoches Grand Isle

TRAVEL

Camping at Lake Chicot

A state park in Ville Platte

Chicot State Park (crt.state. la.us/louisiana-state-parks/ parks/chicot-state-park) in Ville Platte is a paradise for campers and paddlers with more than 6,400 acres of rolling hills and calm, clear waters shaded by cypress trees. The state park features a number of campsites with standard hookups. There are countless other spots to pitch a tent along the shores of picturesque Lake Chicot.

Fishermen can catch their limit of largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill perch and red-ear sunfish, either from their own boats, a rental boat or from the park’s 400foot fishing pier. Hiking and backpacking trails completely encircle Lake Chicot, including a hiking and biking trail that winds through the park’s bottomland hardwood forest.

The 300-acre Louisiana State Arboretum, an area devoted to a natural exhibition of over 150 species of plant life native to Louisiana, is located adjacent to the main entrance. Entrance fees are $2 per person. – J.P. $

Located on the east side of the Toledo Bend Reservoir, Wildwood Resort in Zwolle (wildwood-resort.com) offers an assortment of cabins, cottages and multi-family lodges, each with its own amenities and personality. One of Toledo Bend’s best scenic views is available from the resort’s private fishing pier. Other perks include nature trails, stocked fishing ponds,

fire pits and swimming pools located throughout the property.

When visiting Zwolle, sample the town’s famous tamales at L & W Tamale House (1547 Oak St.) or Uncle Wayne’s BBQ and Tamales (21400 Highway 191).

Even in a city with 26 bed and breakfasts, the Judge Porter House (judgeporterhouse.com) in Natchitoches manages to

stand out. High ceilings, heart pine floors and five fireplaces are among the many reasons why this bed and breakfast has a reputation as one of the best in the South. Rooms on the second floor offer access to a Queen Anne-style wrap-around porch complete with rocking chairs and luxurious shade provided by a canopy of live oaks. The best of Natchitoches

lies within a three-block walk, including shopping on brickpaved Front Street, famous meat pies at Lasyone’s Meat Pie Kitchen and divine bread pudding at Merci Beaucoup.

– C.J. $

$

Loyd Hall in Cheneyville & Honey Brake Lodge in Jonesville

Built in 1820, Loyd Hall Plantation (loydhall.com) is a Neoclassical-style home at the heart of a 640-acre working farm. Five cottages located on the property may be rented, but guests seeking a truly upscale experience should consider booking one of two suites in the main house. Both multiroom suites feature antique canopy beds, clawfoot baths and access to inviting balconies that overlook the property. Visit nearby Marksville to sample craft beer and Cajun fare at Central Louisiana’s only brewpub, Broken Wheel Brewery, located inside of Fresh Catch Bistreaux (109 Tunica Drive, Marksville).

Ranked by Garden & Gun magazine as one of the best hunting lodges in the South, Honey Brake Lodge (honeybrake.com) in Jonesville provides an unforgettable experience that can include guided waterfowl and big game excursions, bass fishing or simply enjoying the incredible, 13,000-square-foot grand lodge. If you’d like to experience this high-end lodge, be prepared to plan further in advance than usual – duck hunting excursions are typically booked two years out. – C.J.

$

$

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Explore Poverty Point, then camp at Lake Claiborne

There’s been an increased public interest in Poverty Point since the prehistoric earthworks were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. Just 13 miles from the historic site is Poverty Point Reservoir State Park in Delhi (www. nps.gov/popo), a camping and fishing destination offering 54 campsite rentals as well as eight cabins and

four lakeside lodges. Fishing enthusiasts, especially, should consider this park, as the reservoir has a reputation for being one of the top crappie fisheries in Louisiana.

About an hour and a half east of Poverty Point, a popular camping destination in North Louisiana is Lake Claiborne State Park

TRAVEL This image of Poverty Point comes from the book Poverty Point: Revealing the Forgotten City by Jenny Ellerbe and Diana M. Greenlee

Homes away from home: The Mahaffey Farm House & Hamilton House Inn

One of Louisiana’s most interesting AirBnB listings is tucked away down a country lane in Princeton, an unincorporated community just east of Bossier City. The Mahaffey Farm House in Princeton (mahaffeyfarms.com) is a 90-year-old, solar-powered cottage located on the grounds of a working farm.

Proprietor Sandra Evans serves a farm-to-table country breakfast made with ham and eggs raised right outside the door. If a break from the hustle and bustle of city life is needed, guests are encouraged to spend the day taking in life on the farm. If feeding the chickens isn’t enough excitement, the farm is located just minutes from live horseracing at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City (caesars.com/harrahslouisiana-downs) and only 15 minutes from riverfront nightlife in downtown Shreveport.

photo by jenny ellerbe

in Homer (crt.state.la.us/ louisiana-state-parks/ parks/lake-claibornestate-park) which offers boat and canoe rentals as well as a beach, disc golf courses and trails. Deluxe cabins and campsites are available for rental, with campsites beginning at $14 per night. If you're planning to explore the backroads of North Louisiana, especially

near communities like Shreveport, Plain Dealing, Homer and West Monroe, consider traveling the Boom or Bust Byway, a 130-mile, GPS-driven scenic tour that uses a free app to guide you along scenic Highway 2. It can be downloaded on iTunes or Google Play: Search for for “N La Byways.” – C.J. $

The Hamilton House Inn (hamiltonhouseinn.com) is a historic bed-and-breakfast located in West Monroe’s celebrated Antique Alley and Cotton Port Historic District. Browse 30 shops filled with antiques, collectibles, furniture and vintage clothing, or walk two blocks and cross the Endom Bridge into Monroe to dine at Chef Cory Bahr’s celebrated Restaurant Cotton (restaurantcotton. com). – C.J. $

$

Luxurious Stays Up North:The Remington Suite Hotel & Edgewood Plantation

Guests at The Remington Suite Hotel and Spa (remingtonsuite. com) in Shreveport should be prepared for the possibility of a celebrity encounter.

The luxurious boutique hotel has established itself as the preferred accommodation for visiting celebrities ranging from Angela Bassett to Marilyn Manson. Enormous suites are complemented by amenities including a saltwater pool, on-site massage therapists, in-room essential oil diffusers and a private screening room.

Within easy walking distance are several popular Shreveport bars, including The Noble Savage(thenoblesavagetavern. com).

Farmerville’s Edgewood Plantation (edgewoodplantationlouisiana.com) is a striking “Steamboat Gothic”-style plantation house built in 1902 by merchant Jefferson Davis Baughman and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home recently underwent extensive renovations and opened as a bed and breakfast in 2012. A two-story bell tower and a 3,000 square-foot, wraparound porch add a sense of Southern grandeur to the house, while the proprietors’ pets – including a black Clydesdale horse and a pot-bellied pig – provide a unique welcome for guests. Food lovers passing through Farmerville should not miss L.B.K.’s, a combination barbecue joint and soul food cafeteria that is highly regarded among barbecue connoisseurs. – C.J.

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Charpentier District Homes How The Lake Charles Style of Architecture Evolved photographs by Romero & Romero

What happens when a town has lots of lumber suitable for building grand

houses but few architects to draw blueprints on how to build them? Well, if the town happened to be Lake Charles during the late 1800s, folks went ahead and built the houses anyway. This was the beginning of Lake Charles’ Charpentier (French for “carpenter") District, where homes are distinctive from other Louisiana styles of architecture.

According to the city’s official explanation: "This style contrasted with the existing galleried cottages popular in the rest of the state. Also present was a variation of the Colonial Revival style, which became a sort of local sawmill version of the classic Southern plantation. Today, the Lake Charles sawmills and lumber yards are gone, leaving the unique homes of the Charpentier Historic District as the only reminder of its early twentieth century heritage.

It is an impressive legacy, allowing future generations a glance at Lake Charles' golden age.

There were no true architects in the area until the early 1900s, so each house reflects the characteristics of each builder or carpenter. These carpenters got their plans from pattern books, but were very creative in combining elements and details from various styles. This blending of architectural features has been named "Lake Charles Style Architecture" by Jonathan Fricker, architectural historian for the state of Louisiana.

That style blends traditional designs with freedom and innovation. For any neighborhood, that’s a combination worth building on.

– Errol Laborde

the durio home: This 101-year-old home has seen several major alterations. The original family who lived here converted the second floor to accommodate boarders in the 1940s and removed the interior stairs, adding an exterior staircase. A fire in the '60s destroyed the second story, so the house was reframed and re-roofed as it became a one-story house. When the Durios bought it, they reconfigured it once more by redesigning the interiors with new finishes and surfaces and by adding a double garage, a white picket fence and a screened porch.

the davis home: This storybook Eastlake Victorian was built for George

Rock Jr. in 1900, who arrived from the Midwest. The Rocks were seduced to move to southwest Louisiana by the real estate genius J. B. Watkins, who bought 1.5 million acres in southwest Louisiana and promoted it in the late 1800s as a new paradise of frostless winters and abundant harvests. Now owned by Mary Vivian Davis, the home features unique architectural elements including decorative hinges and hardware, diamond-paned windows, shingled gable ends, “German” siding, an Eastlake French balcony and a double-pitched roof with eaves supported by brackets. The roof is a rare example of “pent-eave,” designed to pitch heavy rainfall further away from the exterior walls.

the eagle home: Theodore Roosevelt spent the night here while on a sportsman’s paradise hunting trip in 1917. Note the massive two-story columns.

These paneled columns can be seen on many properties in the area and have been academically determined to be a distinctive part of Lake Charles architectural heritage.

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around the state

NORTH Rosemary’s Kitchen in Ruston BY jeanne frois

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f you’re wandering into Rosemary’s Kitchen in Ruston on a hot afternoon, do yourself a favor and first order the ultra refreshing Rosemary Mint Tea. This refreshing herbal elixir is made with rosemarymint syrup and garnished with fresh mint and lemon – an unbeatable combination. The portions in this comfortable, casual eatery are generous and beautifully presented.

Tempting daily specials and “everyday favorites” grace the menu, including wraps made with chicken salad; shrimp or tuna salad; pimiento cheese, honey ham and turkey breast.

On Monday, dive into the creaminess of the loaded baked potato soup – or tomato and basil pesto quiche.

Tuesday offers beef and onion

RUSTON

FestIval of sounds The New Music on the Bayou Festival kicks off its inaugural festival at the Dixie Center of the Arts in Ruston, with some events likewise taking place in Monroe at various venues over a four-day period.

Pear and blue cheese tartlets heading into the oven

enchiladas with Mexican corn and refried pinto beans – or a spicy pasta salad on greens with grilled chicken, smoked gouda, tomatoes and fresh basil. Celebrate Hump Day with a plate of the Rosemary and garlic glazed pork chops served with sweet potato casserole and collard greens, or the sweet potato and black bean quesadilla. The beef

Over 20 performers will join together – most of whom are college faculty in the school of Music at UL Monroe and high school bandleaders or orchestra directors.

They will perform their own compositions and the work of other contemporary composers as well as invite submissions.

A few months before the festival, a jury directors reviewed submissions and selected performers to participate.

Featured artists include the Implosion Percussion Ensemble and the Black Bayou Bass trio. The summer festival aims to provide contemporary music creators with opportunities

shepherd pie prepared on Thursdays features local beef and vegetables in a cream sauce with the dish’s signature topping of mashed potatoes kicked up a notch by a good helping of melted cheddar.

The green chili cheese grits with grilled shrimp and a cream sauce with tasso ends the workweek perfectly. In addition to the variety of food

to work alongside accomplished, professional musicians during the rehearsal course. They also get to experience the thrill of having their compositions performed by a professional ensemble during the four-day course of the festival.

This string of concerts provides a gratifying opportunity for

offered, this eatery features a grocery area with prepackaged meals using only the finest, hand-picked local ingredients, including beef, handcrafted butters and cheese, local honey, fresh-baked breads and salad dressings. u

Rosemary’s Kitchen 400 S. Bonner, Ruston (318) 202-5951.

newcomers to shine.

Paying tribute to the Black Bayou Wildlife Refuge, the celebration offers a $500 award to the composer whose work strikes the most perfect nexus between music and the pristine world of nature. The winning composition, judged by a panel of musicians, will be

played during the final concert at the Dixie Theatre.

New Music on the Bayou Dixie Center for the Arts, 212 N. Vienna St., Ruston.

(318) 257-5470, newmusiconthebayou.com LouisianaLife.com | 63

around the state

Lacassine

HOME RUM Following the tradition of fine microbreweries that have popped up in the Bayou State since the 1980s,the newer trend of establishing local rum distilleries is fermenting in a most pleasant way.

Bayou Rum Distillery, located in Lacassine, is unquestionably a state of the art distillery handcrafting exquisite rums brewed in the old sugarhouse way. This process involves a traditional copper pot and using completely natural unrefined Louisiana cane sugar and molasses. The sweet sugar cane in Louisiana springs from the rich alluvial soils of the Mississippi delta.

With pure cane yeast acting as the fermenting agent, copper pot stills bubble away like voodoo cauldrons.

When finished, the cane elixir sleeps for a while in American Oak. Resting in the heat of Louisiana that draws forth flavors, it emerges with a silken finish and multi-layered aroma that make sipping a sublime experience.

Cajun Country Welcome to the Hotel Alligator BY jeanne frois

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lligators fill me with an odd assortment of sentiments that include affection, followed by terror, then by respect and finally, amusement, at the perpetual sly smile they seem to wear (as though the darlings are already contemplating taking you down in a death roll). But once – to my surprise – alligators filled me with tenderness, the day I held a baby alligator near the Creole Nature Trail. I was surprised that the little critter felt like the treads on a rubber tire, not slimy, and its little underbelly was almost as soft as a puppy’s. I completely melted.

In Jennings, the Gator Chateau allows you to interact with live baby alligators and emerge unscathed. This establishment is a kind of alligator orphanage that provides a home to orphaned baby gators who have been rescued from an early grave. Mature alligators are also on the premises, but the main objective of le Chateau is to act as foster parents for the poor lost little reptilians until they’re mature enough to be released back into their natural habitat.

64 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

Visit the Gator Chateau and an alligator docent will teach you an informative course on Alligator 101 as you’re guided through the site. Here the tiny, orphaned alligators are hand-fed, and you can holding them in your own hands and take photos Open year-round, the public alligator feeding times are held from June though September each Friday at 3:30 p.m. u

gator chateau Louisiana Oil and Gas Park, 100 Rue de l’Acadie, Jennings, (337) 821-5521.

The same rich alluvial soil that yields such high quality sugar cane also produces Louisiana satsumas; combine the juice from this succulent citrus fruit with the delectability of Bayou Rum and a refreshing liqueur emerges perfect for warm spring evenings or Sunday brunches.

There are sipping rums, and then there are cocktail rums.

Since it’s getting to close to mojito and daiquiri season, the Silver Bayou Rum delivers a pure and subtle rum flavor to cocktails, made from fresh water that’s been filtered in triplicate. It’s also delicious by itself, poured over ice.

Bayou Rum Distillery was the 2015 recipient of the Louey from the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association for Attraction of the Year. Set on 22 acres complete with a 109-year-old farmhouse, cane fields, ponds and tours that feature the rum-making process from fermentation to bottling and ending with a visit to the tasting bar are offered.

Bayou Rum Distillery (337) 821-5532, bayourum.com

around the state

central Worth the trip BY jeanne frois photo by mike moreau

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ome Louisianians drive two or more hours to reach this cotton gin in the middle of nowhere in Boyce. The cotton gin, converted to Janohn’s restaurant serves dishes made of local ingredients. Owner and chef Aaron Anderson, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu culinary academy in Austin, Texas helms the eatery, and creates appetizers and entrees well-worth any long drive.

The small plates are not only beautiful, visually speaking, but also the compilation of textures and flavors provide a new facet to dining in Louisiana. Fried Gulf shrimp tossed in the velvet cream of a hot sauce comprise the “Firecracker Shrimp.” Another must: baked brie, coddled in a puff pastry with blackened

ZWOLLE photo courtesy janohn’s restaurant

LOGGING IN The town of Zwolle in Sabine Parish is famed for its Tamale Festival with good cause, yet since 1995, area citizens have paid tribute to the forestry industry – where their roots deeply grow – by hosting the Zwolle Loggers and Forestry Festival. Zwolle, part of the Toledo Bend area, was a vibrant center of the forestry

shrimp and served with toast points for dipping. The fondue, served in a cast-iron skillet, is accompanied by popcorn crawfish and French bread. If, like me, you buy raw honey with the honeycomb in the jar, you must try the honeycomb: a combination of the raw bee nectar, Fuji apple and blue cheese. If you seek something heavier, you can’t miss the oyster brie – boudin atop French bread baked with Brie

cheese; or opt for the short ribs braised in Guinness and accompanied by beer-battered fried broccoli in a Jack Daniel’s cream sauce.

Seguing into the entrees after the excellent small plates will not disappoint. Shrimp and grits, a dish whipped together using artisan grits, creamy tasso, pepper and shrimp; and the grouper crusted with pecans overs crab risotto in a cane syrup,

sweet-tangy beurre blanc sauce are two exceptional seafood dishes. Boneless beef short ribs braised with porter ale served with mashers make up the hearty 48 hour ribs. For hearty red meat-eaters, the Bayou Rib Eye is a chargrilled steak topped with shrimp, mushrooms, bacon and demi-glace sauce. u

industry. In an area blanketed by trees, Sabine Parish was a hub of felled trees; log rolling and sawmill production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Eager attendees participate in the logger’s activities such as skidding and arm wrestling. A Blessing of the Fleet is held, the fleet being a score of log trucks.

Forestry exhibits abound and a parade pleases the crowds. Each year the highly anticipated Mud Bogging competition is watched with bated breath. Mud Bogging is an activity wherein a vehicle drives into a complete morass of muddy; the driver attempts to get

through this mucky sucking pit set with a specific length. He or she who drives the greatest distance through the pit before being hopelessly stuck is the winner. It’s a Southern thing.

The festival pays tribute to this heritage and the people who lived it for two days each May as arts and crafts are purchased, live music plays, carnival rides are enjoyed and the incomparable Zwolle tamale is consumed.

Janohn Restaurant 410 Pacific Ave., Boyce, (318) 793-5080.

Zwolle Loggers and Forestry Festival Zwolle Festival Grounds, Main St., Zwolle, (318)-256-5880.

May 13-14,

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around the state

BATON ROUGE

KNOCK KNOCK MUSEUM Rising along Dalrymple Drive near the BREC’s City Brooks Community Park is the Knock Knock Children’s Museum Building. After 10 years of planning and fundraising, this interactive learning venue for children will sprawl atop a hill providing hours of fun and education. One of the featured learning venues is a sturdy storybook climber that will allow children to crawl on top of book pages as though they are rising through stories.

Plantation Country Bayou Country Superfest

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BY jeanne frois

66 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

Dierks Bentley. Most of these artists are fresh from new releases and will showcase their musical creations in the open air of Death Valley.

There’s a paradox connected with Country Music – somehow even the saddest songs can fill you with a sense of celebration. Plaintive and pure, rocking and rollicking, it always comes straight from the heart.

In addition to the legendary tailgating tradition of LSU football, attendees can enjoy the Bud Light Build-A-Bar area; the Visit Baton Rouge Infeaux on the Geaux cart that offers tourism information; DJ’s, games, contests and an artist meet-and-greet area that allows fans to hobnob with artists.

BAYOU COUNTRY FEST bayoucountrysuperfest.com

So far, $11.6 million have been raised to facilitate the 30,000 square foot building. One of the projects still needing sponsorship is a studio that will allow children to dress up and act before cameras along with a story tree where books can be paged through. The proposed learning zones will enable children free play with educational stimulus, creativity and practical skills. Led by Aza Bowlin, the Museum’s board of directors’ chairwoman, the group, in effort to get the word out, has engaged McKinley High School students to create a phone app for the museum and an “imagination playground” made of mobile playground toys and blocks.

knock knock museum knockknockmuseum.org

photo courtesy facebook.com/bayoucountrysuperfest

associate country music with some of the happiest, most carefree times in my life: beautiful road trips through the mountains of Tennessee on my way to the mountains of Virginia with Loretta Lynn; Willie Nelson; Johnny Cash; George Strait; Waylon Jennings, Reba McEntire; the two Hanks (Sr. and Bocephus), among others filling the car with twangy, desperado music. And then there were the songs’ lyrics: Doug Supernaw’s “Four score and seven beers ago / I told her I’d be home;” Barbara Mandrell’s “You must think my bed’s a bus stop / the way you come and go;” and my personal favorite: Bobby Bare’s “Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goal posts of life.”

Festival producer Quint Davis, who has spent decades bringing the upper echelon of performers to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, does an equally fine job booking the Bayou Country Superfest performers. The festival is held at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge from May 27-29, and the 2016 lineup reads like a country fan’s wish list.

As the beer flows and the scent of barbecue wafts from the tailgaters in the parking lot, Luke Bryan; Lady Antebellum; Eric Church; and A Thousand Horses will rock Tiger Stadium over the entire Memorial Day weekend. Also slated to perform is Little Big Town, nominated for five Country Music Awards with two wins (Vocal Group of the Year and Single of the Year for “Girl Crush”). Thomas Rhett also shows up to keep things lively, as do Cole Swindell, Jason Aldean, Frankie Ballard and

There are 18 planned learning zones that are still awaiting sponsors; however, Dow Chemical Company has sponsored a water venue that will allow children to fish while Associated Food Stores sponsors a mock pantry where kids can shop for groceries.

around the state

Greater New Orleans Boogaloo Down Bayou BY jeanne frois

photo by wikipedia user infrogmation

T

he Mothership Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to promote positive social change through the virtue of arts, fun and culture, hosts its annual Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo celebration on the banks of Bayou St. John in the springtime.

This three-day event geared towards families teems with fun outdoor activities that celebrate the laid-back but spirited culture of the city and its hosting neighborhood.

In addition to enjoying food, live music, arts and crafts, festivalgoers can also participate or watch the Paddle Battle presented by Bryan Subaru. These paddle

New Orleans

JUNE AND THE MOON On June 3, the Crescent City will lie under the platinum scimitar of a waning crescent moon.

As Bayou St. John slowly flows along to Lake Pontchartrain in its mesmerizing rhythm, not far the magic of City Park will take on a

races take place on the glassy yet murky surface of Bayou St. John at Lafitte Street. At the intersection of Orleans and Moss Street, you might just find the Abita Root Beer Float Float, sponsored by Friends of Lafitte Corridor. There’s not much that can beat a foamy root beer float on a warm spring afternoon. There are plenty of snowballs to slurp and stain your tongue with as

new dimension as the June Under the Moon celebration commences just before nightfall. This annual celebration is admittedly geared to bring out the inner lunatic in all adults as the Carousel Gardens are laid opened to adults 21 and older. Beer flows like a fountain and epic vodka snowballs are constructed.

The exquisite, ancient carousel has been repaired and a menagerie of sculptured animals waits to carry you on their backs for a transcendental ride. A spin on the towering Ferris wheel gives you a romantic view of the New Orleans skyline radiantly clothed in city lights as it rotates to its apex.

participants in the 5K Walk/ Run whiz (or saunter) by.

The arts market teams with stained-glass works; sculpture; jewelry; photographs; soaps and Kabuki design, to name a few.

Food offerings in the past have been as diverse as Louisiana and have included brats; Jamaican cuisine, stuffed shrimp bread, crawfish beignets; alligator; falafels; fried chicken; smoked duck boudin; yaka mein; fried

The beloved, yet tame Ladybug Roller Coaster has returned for the enjoyment of all in the sweet scent of a summer night.

Rides under oaks dripping with moss in the miniature train are available in the darkness of a June night.

Similar to Disney’s teacups, you simply must take a spin in

smoked oysters; condensed milk snowballs. Vowing to go on come rain or shine, this popular celebration was founded during the evacuation of Katrina and remains a stalwart symbol of support for all that’s best in the Crescent City. The event takes place May 20-22. u

Bayou boogaloo thebayouboogaloo.com

the Slime Buckets, Tilt-a-Whirl and Bumper Cars. A DJ provides nonstop music as you slip down the Fun Slide, and photo booths will snap you for posterity’s sake as you recall nocturnal trips to the rides and midway at Pontchartrain Beach.

The entrance fee covers all rides, brews, operatic

vodka snowballs, mini meat pies, dogs, and wings.

This event sells out quickly and tickets must be pre-printed.

june under the moon neworleanscitypark. com/events/juneunder-the-moon

LouisianaLife.com | 67

arkansas travel Whitaker Point at Buffalo National River Park

Buffalo National River The meandering 135-mile Buffalo National River, one of the few undammed rivers in the United States, ushers blue-green waters through a spectacular primal scene of towering bluffs and rolling hills.

The Buffalo River’s descent begins with rapids amidst the majestic Ozarks. Around every bend are new discoveries: there’s Big Bluff, a multi-colored 525-foot cliff at one extreme, and crystal-clear pools at the other. The diverse topography changes as the Buffalo River winds through four Arkansas counties, and showcases lush forests, cascading waterfalls, and historic homesteads.

Flora meets fauna on a regular basis here, and elk graze in the river-banked meadows year round. The water-formed Natural Bridge can be found along the Buffalo River, as can Hemmed-inHollow Falls which, at 209-feet, is the highest waterfall between the south Appalachians and the Rockies.

Downstream, you can stand atop an overlook to see Richmond Valley, or you can gently float through the eye sockets of the stunning Skull Bluff, where the water’s reflection is a near-perfect mirror. Nearby is the popular Buffalo Point campground, which is where you’ll find the captivating Indian Rock House, a bluff shelter once used by prehistoric Indians.

spellbinding arkansas Little Rock and beyond By suzanne ferrara

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ome of the world’s most compelling natural wonders are just north of us in Arkansas – breathtaking mountain ranges, pristine turquoise waters and healing thermal springs. Adding to this unforgettable experience is a wealth of enthralling history, the tales of which unfold throughout the state. Here are some must experiences and sites throughout this captivating state. For more information visit arkansas.com. u

68 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

Getting There Arkansas is just a few hours’ drive from Louisiana, and there’s now a direct flight from New Orleans to Little Rock, thanks to GLO Airlines’ one-hour nonstop flight to Little Rock. GLO has Little Rock promotional fares at $149 from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

GLO has no baggage fees; you can check in three bags and bring one carry-on. This airline also offers passengers four to five inches of extra leg room and beverages, including PJ’s coffee, and local brand snacks Zapp’s Potato Chips.

Information,flyglo.com

On the banks of the Lower River is a snapshot of a bygone era.

The Rush Historic District, a zinc mining ghost town with ruins dating back to 1880, is dotted with the hollows of homes, mines and a general store (Note: this frozen-in-time community is on the National Register of Historic Places).

For lodging, (1) you can pitch your tents along the river; (2) camp at various developed or primitive campgrounds, or (3) try the rustic 1930s-era Civilian Conservation Corp cabins. If these sound too primitive, there’s (4) a number of modernized cabins and lodges.

You can enter the Buffalo River at several access points along its winding course, or you can explore by foot and hike paths of varying degrees of difficulty.

Mount Magazine The highest point in the entire state, at 2,753 feet, is the colossal Mount Magazine. This prehistoric wonder is so unique, it has its own climate; an average day is 10 degrees cooler than down in the valley.

The journey to Travel tip Signal Hill, the peak of Mount On the north Magazine, is side of Mount a picturesque Magazine, you ride on Scenic will find the Byway 309. town of Paris, Once there, the which is home luxurious multito several million dollar local wineries.

Lodge at Mount Magazine has an indoor pool, fitness center, and the Skycrest Restaurant which provides a stunning view of both the Petit Jean River Valley and Blue Mountain Lake.

Mount Magazine

Eureka Springs

Eureka Springs Eureka Springs (population 2,200) has been labeled “The Little Switzerland of America” and the “Stair Step Town” because of the alpine terrain and unusual winding, up-and-down track of its steep narrow streets and walkways. Spiral roads, with no streetlights, wrap around the entire town in a continuous historic five mile loop, and the community is laden with Victorian homes and cottages.

Many structures were built into the hillside of the limestone bluffs, and because of that, have street-level entrances on more than one floor. Each floor of the seven-storied 1905 Basin Park Hotel has a ground floor, and the fascinating St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church is the only church in the world that you can enter through the bell tower door.

These structures are all listed in Ripley’s travel tip Believe it or Not. A visit to Eureka Springs would not be complete without visiting the historic Crescent Hotel, known to many as the most Haunted Hotel in America.

Back in the late 19th century, as thousands flocked

here in search of fresh mountain air and supposedly healing waters, the Crescent, built in 1886, was the place stay. Today, the hotel has nightly ghost tours 365 days a year, but – and how’s this for balance – also annually hosts 300 wedding events. This lends credence to why Eureka Springs is called “The Wedding Capital of the South”.

Next to the hotel, sitting high atop Magnetic Mountain is the Christ of the Ozark Statue, the second-largest Jesus statue in the world. Erected in 1966, Christ of the Ozark is seven stories tall and stands on the grounds of the famed Great Passion Play. (Note: Emmet Sullivan, who worked on Mount Rushmore, sculpted the colossal statue).

A 39-minute drive from Eureka to Bentonville will bring you to the stunning Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art which has a permanent collection that spans five centuries.

70 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

The list of sights is endless in Eureka, and a visit will have you wanting more.

“When you get here, the world vanishes and the town that time forgot captures you and becomes your own town,” says Bill Ott, Director of Marketing and Communications for Eureka’s Landmark Hotels.

Little Rock Arkansas may be the “Natural State,” but a stop in the capital city of Little Rock will captivate visitors with history. A tour of the River Market District downtown is where you can get up close and personal with several historical sites, all within walking distance.

“You can study Arkansas history from pre-territorial days through President Clinton’s

presidency within just six blocks,” says Little Rock historian Bob Razer.

A stop at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park is worth the trip. This 68,000 square-foot library holds the largest archives of all presidential libraries, and inside are artifacts from Bill Clinton’s years as commander-inchief (plus there’s an exact replica of the Oval Office and

cabinet room from the Clinton administration).

A few miles south of the downtown area is the national historic landmark, Little Rock Central High School, where the Little Rock Nine faced an angry mob as they were escorted into the school by police in 1957.

There’s also a visitor center with an interpretive film on the Little Rock integration crisis.

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Peach Festival in Ruston

Soak up the Summer Traveling Around Louisiana History, music, food, and community—Louisiana is its own attraction. No matter where in the state you go, the Louisiana spirit is unique and undeniable.

Whether you’re fishing the rivers and lakes of North Louisiana or dancing the day away at a South Louisiana fais-do-do, or soaking up the centuries of history in the state’s first settlements, there is an energy that invites and excites in every region of the state.

Festivals allow you to experience the highlights of certain cultures, foods, and arts, while the various cityscapes offer a choose-youradventure approach to trying restaurants, going shopping, and taking tours. From luxury hotels to casino resorts and campgrounds, accommodations fit every style and budget, and live entertainment runs the gamut: concerts, theatre, dancing, and readings. Summer is a time for exploration; let Louisiana be your oyster. The following destinations, events, and attractions invite from just around corner.

72 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

Cities & Parishes St. Mary Parish, also known as the Cajun Coast, is a gem for experiencing the great outdoors in Sportsman’s Paradise.

Surrounded by the waters of Bayou Teche, Atchafalaya River, and the Atchafalaya Swamp Basin, the Cajun Coast is known for its natural splendor and “road less traveled” atmosphere.

Options for exploration, relaxation, and excitement abound on both water and land.

Find your calm among the serene wilderness of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area or along the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway. Boaters enjoy the waters of the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest overflow swamp, as well as the scenery and sounds offered by the Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge. Golfers won’t want to miss a chance to hit the Atchafalaya at Idlewild, which was rated the number one golf course in Louisiana by Golfweek Magazine in 2008 and 2009.

This summer, St. Mary Parish is alive with festivals and events such as Rhythms on the River, which continues on Fridays through May 27, the ALR Freedom Fest (May 28-29), Blues and Brews (June 11), and the Bayou BBQ Bash (July 22-23). For more information, visit cajuncoast.com.

Peach season is here, and for Ruston and Lincoln Parish, that means it’s time for the 66th Annual Louisiana Peach Festival! Mark your calendars for June 24-25 and make plans to visit Downtown Ruston. This fun-filled festival is perfect for the whole family and features live music, arts and crafts, downtown shopping, and, of course, savory treats made from Louisiana’s sweetest peaches.

Enjoy music from rising country star Dylan Scott and renowned New Orleans cover band The Chee-Weez! Live performances also include Zach O’Neil, Katalyst, Louisiana Swamp Donky, and many more!

Live music and peaches aren’t the only things in store for festival lovers this year.

Downtown Ruston will be taken over by dinosaurs! Kids of all ages will go wild over these life-like and interactive creatures. For more information about Ruston and Lincoln Parish or to plan your trip to the Louisiana Peach Festival, visit experienceruston.com or call 800-392-9032.

St. Martin Parish draws visitors year-round with welcoming hospitality, world-class music and famous local cuisine.

Accommodations include beautiful B&B’s, cabins, campgrounds, and chain hotels.

Breaux Bridge offers an array of shopping, antiquing, and world-renowned hot spots like the famous Zydeco Breakfast at Cafe des Amis or Cajun music and dancing nightly at Pont Breaux’s Cajun Restaurant.

The Henderson area, at the edge of the Atchafalaya Basin, offers airboat and swamp tours and family-owned restaurants such as Chicken on the Bayou and Crawfish Town USA. On Sundays, Dancing on the Levee starts at McGee’s Landing at noon, ventures to Whiskey River for Zydeco and ends the night at Pat’s Atchafalaya Club. St. Martinville plays host to countless festivals and quaint cafes in the beautiful downtown district. Take heritage tours at Acadian Memorial, African American Museum, and Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site. Outdoors enthusiasts should take advantage of numerous canoe/kayak rentals.

Highlights of year-round events include the Breaux Bridge City Wide Garage Sale, St. Martinville Pepper Festival, and the Atchafalaya Basin Festival. See “where Cajun began,” at CajunCountry.org.

Baton Rouge is Louisiana’s “Capital City” and the hub of all things Louisiana. With a prime, central location—just an hour from New Orleans and Lafayette—Baton Rouge is the perfect city to explore the eclectic culture of this amazing state. The

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Capital City is home to a historic culture that houses vibrant music, unique cuisine, collegiate spirit, and much more. Nicknamed the “Red Stick,” Baton Rouge houses over 300 years of history. Immerse yourself and take advantage of its walkable downtown while exploring venues and attractions such as the Old and New State Capitols.

Indulge in Louisiana’s tastes and sounds during your visit.

With an ever-growing restaurant scene, you can enjoy everything from local dives to delicious restaurants highlighting classic Southern fare. Enjoy music through free seasonal outdoor concerts, such as Live After Five, or attend a free annual festival such as Baton Rouge Blues Fest. Don’t forget about one of the biggest country music celebrations in Louisiana: Bayou Country Superfest, held every Memorial Day weekend in Tiger Stadium.

For more information on events and things to do in the Red Stick, check out VisitBatonRouge.com or call 1-800-LA-ROUGE. Though most visitors to Lafayette might sooner associate the area with their more famed Cajun and Creole culinary fare (jambalaya, crawfish, and gumbo), it is the rice and gravy-centric plate lunch that fuels the people of Louisiana’s Acadiana region.

In South Louisiana, rural meat markets were likely the first to sling portable plate lunches to a hungry workingclass crowd. Instead of disposing of their scraps, butchers smothered them in a rich, roux-based gravy for the next day’s lunch. With the addition of rice and a stewed vegetable, the plate lunch was born.

Nowadays you don’t have to drive far in Lafayette to find a plate lunch. No matter which you choose, one thing is for certain—until you’ve had some meat, rice, and vegetables, you haven’t had lunch.

Discover the people and stories behind some of Lafayette’s oldest plate lunch houses at LafayetteTravel.com/ PlateLunch.

The Fourth Annual Little Walter Music Festival, held in downtown Alexandria, expands this year to two days of music and fun. The festival, celebrating central Louisiana’s only Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, will be held at the downtown amphitheater Friday, May 27, and Saturday, May 28, 2016.

The two-day music festival will include music by Shemekia Copeland, Kenny Neal, Mr. Sipp the Mississippi Blues Child, T’Monde, Nacomi Tanaka and the Blues Temple, When All is Lost, Mojo Killjoy, the Blindfold Blues Band, Peas and

Landry’s in Lafayette

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Coushatta Casino Resort

Cornbread, and, of course, the Little Walter Tribute Band with Harmonica Red. Music kicks off at 5:30pm on Friday and at noon on Saturday. Food and beverage vendors will be on site to keep you fueled for dancing and fun.

Also taking place on Saturday, May 28, is a harmonica workshop and the Color Vibe 5K run. Find a complete schedule of events and festival lineup at AlexandriaPinevilleLa.com/ LittleWalter or at Facebook. com/LittleWalterMusicFestival.

You may also call 1-800551-9546 for details.

May is blossoming with festival opportunities in Avoyelles Parish, beginning with the Cajun Crossroads Festival May 6-7 in Hessmer (318-563-4511).

Also on May 7 is the Open Hands Benefit (Sharing God’s Love) at the Cochon de Lait Center from 8:00am-4:00pm in Mansura (318-729-3951).

Don’t miss the food-filled Cochon de Lait Festival at the Cochon de Lait Capitale of the World, May 12-15, 2016, in downtown Mansura (318-9642152). Tracy Lawrence will bring his country hits to Avoyelles Parish with a concert at Paragon Casino Resort on May 13.

Doors open at 7:00pm for the 8:00pm show (800-946-1946).

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“Powwow’s Coming,” a story-time event at the TunicaBiloxi CERC Library, welcomes children on May 14 at 11:00am.

Contact rlopez@tunica.org for additional information. The 21st annual Tunica-Biloxi Pow Wow will be held in the Earl J. Barbry, Sr. Convention Center May 21-22. For details on the two-day event, visit TunicaPowWow.org.

For more details on Avoyelles Parish events, go to TravelAvoyelles.com.

Just off I-10 and west of Lafayette lies the “Cajun Prairie,” Acadia Parish, an area known for its unique attractions, numerous year-round festivals, and rich history and folklore. In Crowley, home of the International Rice Festival, tour the Rice Interpretive Center, the Historic Crowley Ford Motor Company, built in 1920, as well as the J.D. Miller Recording Studio.

Travel the Zydeco Cajun Prairie Byway and visit Kelly’s Landing Agricultural Museum to take an informative walk through the past while viewing the farming equipment of yesteryear and learning the importance of crawfish and rice to the region.

See why Rayne, LA, home of the annual Frog Festival, is both “The Frog Capital of the

World” and the “Louisiana City of Murals.” Check out and visit the Le Vieux Presbytere Museum with bousillage, mud walls.

Roberts Cove, LA, is home to the German Heritage Museum and the popular Germanfest.

For more information, events, destinations and festival dates check out AcadiaTourism.org or call 877-783-2109.

Attractions & Accommodations Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder is Louisiana’s premier gaming and entertainment destination. Enjoy 2,800 of the newest and hottest slots, over 70 thrill-a-minute table games including live poker, live bingo, and off-track betting, plus free live entertainment every weekend in Mikko Live. Additionally, the resort features ten dining options, a supervised childcare facility and teen arcade, plus deluxe overnight accommodations in over 900 luxurious rooms. The newly renovated adult-exclusive Grand Hotel and Seven Clans Hotel feature 400 ultra-modern rooms. Summertime fun abounds at the Dream Pool with its lazy river, swim-up bar, two huge intertwining slides, and a

splash-pad for kids! Play a round at Koasati Pines at Coushatta championship golf course, rated 4½ stars by Golf Digest’s readers.

Inside the casino, an immense 100,000-squarefoot gaming floor beckons, and non-smokers love the enormous 12,000squarefoot, non-smoking slot area. Rack up points and comps in the Advantage Players Club.

If you prefer an outdoor overnight setting, choose Red Shoes RV Resort to relax in your own RV or a cozy lakeside chalet, some of which are dog-friendly.

Visit “Louisiana’s Best Bet” online at CoushattaCasinoResort.com.

When living the New Orleans experience, it’s important to envelop yourself in the essence of New Orleans—a feeling captured by each upscale property in the New Orleans Hotel Collection (NOHC). NOHC properties are set

apart by distinctive style, personalized service, and superb location.

Locally owned and operated, the collection consists of the Bourbon Orleans, Dauphine Orleans, Crowne Plaza (Airport), The Whitney Hotel, Hotel Mazarin, and Hotel Le Marais.

Hotel Le Marais and Bourbon Orleans were named as two of “New Orleans’ Ten Best Hotels” by readers of Conde Nast Traveler.

A consistent guest-favorite, Whitney Hotel is conveniently close to both the World War II Museum and Lafayette Square’s Wednesday summer concert series.

NOHC’s “no nickel and dime” approach provides all guests with a free breakfast, a welcome drink, in-room bottled artesian water and coffee, Wi-Fi, newspapers, and access to a business and fitness center. For a special readers’ discount better than any online travel agency for direct bookings at any NOHC hotel, visit NewOrleansHotelCollection. com/200.

Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is located in the

heart of the French Quarter on world-famous Bourbon Street.

They offer 186 comfortable guest rooms, more than 4,000 square feet of market-leading meeting facilities, a tropical courtyard with an outdoor pool, 24-hour fitness center, and more.

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Café Opera, the Four Point’s full-service restaurant features a classic New Orleans menu of Creole and continental cuisine. Guests can also enjoy a wide selection of specialty drinks at the Puccini Bar. Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is located on the site of the French Opera House (18591919), a legendary New Orleans cultural venue. Their performance series, “Opera Returns to Bourbon Street” features local operatic talent from the New Orleans Opera Association and local classical vocalist group Bon Operatit!

Four Points by Sheraton French Quarter is located at 541 Bourbon Street. For reservations and more, call 866-716-8133 visit FourPoints.com/frenchquarter.

The LSU Museum of Art unveiled the reinstallation of its permanent collection in 10,000 square feet of space devoted to the finest examples of fine and decorative arts from the 1700s to the present. Holding one of the most comprehensive permanent collections of Louisiana art, the reinstallation transforms the museum into a central hub to experience Louisiana art while creating a truly insightful and inspiring display of the collection.

Additionally, from April 21 to August 5, the museum will present Hunt Slonem: Antebellum Pop! The exhibition explores New York-based painter Hunt Slonem’s strong ties to Louisiana culture and to the larger history of the American South. Slonem is internationally known for his vibrantly colored canvases of bunnies, birds and butterflies, but less well known for his preservation and interior design work.

Hunt Slonem: Antebellum Pop! is the first major museum exhibition to present Slonem’s inspired canvases alongside his signature “Antebellum Pop” plantation style.

For more information, visit the museum’s website, lsumoa.org, or call 225-389-7200.

The French Market District of New Orleans spans from the Shops at the Upper Pontalba to the recently opened Crescent Park, and includes shops on Decatur Street, Dutch Alley, and the open-air farmers and flea markets.

The district is open daily with a variety of foods, crafts, souvenirs, and activities year-round. The French Market is also home to The Crescent City Farmers Market on Wednesdays from 1:00-5:00pm.

Summer is an exciting season at the French Market, which celebrates the start of Creole tomato season with its annual French Market Creole Tomato Festival. Visit the French Market District June 11-12 to experience the most colorful two days of the year and find fresh Creole tomatoes for sale by local growers, three live music stages, food booths, cooking demonstrations, free children’s activities, and culinary talks about Creole tomatoes and cuisine—and tomato eating contests! This year’s festival will include a music stage, food trucks, and an arts market at Crescent Park, across from the Old U.S. Mint and a block from the French Market flea market.

Visit FrenchMarket.org for more information on the daily market and the 30th Annual Creole Tomato Festival.

Nestled between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Houmas House presents an escape into the 1880s.

Enter the garden gates and begin living a day in the lavish life of the wealthy Sugar Barons who established the grand estate. From the entertaining and experiential tour to fine dining, to the exceptional landscape, your senses will be on overdrive at every turn.

Known as “The Sugar Palace,” the mansion is filled with rare period antiques and original artwork.

Indulge in a leisurely lunch or experience fine Louisiana dining at its best. Latil’s Landing has been voted one of the top 20 restaurants in the US, boasting one of the largest wine collections in Louisiana.

After visiting the mansion, be sure to stroll the gardens. Sitting areas have been provided around the property, inviting you to linger and experience the year-round grandeur of the ancient oak alley, the fragrance of spring and summer blooms, and the sights and sounds of birds, wildlife, and plantation living of long ago.

For tours, dining, and accommodations, visit HoumasHouse.com LouisianaLife.com | 75

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Regional Travel When planning your summer vacation, think outside the box this year. Break routine and explore a destination you’ve never seen, a community you’ve never experienced, cuisine that challenges your taste buds, and ways of relaxing that you’ve not yet tried. Whether you travel to a new beach a little farther down the road or a small town with antique shops and boutiques you’ve never meandered, summer is a great time to welcome something a little different from your yearly expectations for fun, food, and family time. The following regional travel destinations present a variety of landscapes, from beaches to hills and rivers to small-town, brick-paved streets. Each southern destination charms guests year-round, but 76 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

great summer weather currently beckons with bright sunny skies and windows-down temperatures. Enjoy music and art, shopping and sight-seeing, and the amount of quiet reflection or social interaction that is just right for you.

Sink your toes into the sand this summer with Florida Beach Finder. Looking for a serene stretch of sand where worldly cares melt into the music of the waves? Prefer a beach with a more see-and-be-seen social scene? How about a beach where the family can team up to build the best sandcastle ever, a beach that’s a shell-collector’s paradise, or a beach where your furry best friend is welcome to romp with you? With 825 miles of beaches, Florida has a shore to suit every desire.

It’s worth noting Florida residents aren’t the only ones who think the state’s beaches are the best—Florida beaches grabbed 10 spots on this year’s TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards list of the top 25 beaches in the U.S., with Clearwater Beach scoring the coveted designation of No. 1 beach in America. Find your perfect beach with the Florida Beach Finder at VisitFlorida.com/BeachFinder, and you’ll be digging your toes in the sand in no time.

Situated high on the bluffs above the Mississippi River, Vicksburg serves as the “Key to the South” and prides itself on its perfect location as a midway point between Memphis and New Orleans. Visit the site of the defining battle of America’s defining war at the Vicksburg National Military Park. Learn about the defense and siege of Vicksburg in the city’s unique collection of museums and historic tour homes.

If you are in search of the elusive sound of the Mississippi Delta Blues, you will find it in Vicksburg. Live music from the Delta Blues to country and rock can be enjoyed at venues throughout the city. Stroll the brick-paved streets of Vicksburg’s historic downtown and visit its eclectic boutiques and art galleries. You’ll find a host of Southern specialties at its various eateries. Enjoy sweeping views of the mighty Mississippi River and some of the most beautiful sunsets imaginable.

Relax—it all runs on river time! For more to see and do in Vicksburg, go to VisitVicksburg.com or call 1-800221-3536.

Located only 30 miles north of Dallas, McKinney, Texas, is a picturesque and vibrant city with a quaint historic downtown square. The roughly 120 mom-and-pop businesses located around the square—more than 20 of which are restaurants— include a mix of shops, wineries, organic markets, and a boutique hotel. The square’s centerpiece is the historic county courthouse, built in 1876, that is now home to the McKinney Performing Arts Center. The building’s courtroom serves as its theater, an intimate atmosphere with less than 450 seats, and offers performances from local acting troupes and musicians to recording artists like Clint Black and Robert Earl Keen.

Additionally, McKinney visitors can commune with nature on miles of trails at the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary, visit the Croatian-style Adriatica village with restaurants, bell tower, and chapel, hear live music at multiple venues, and enjoy annual familyfriendly events. During spring and summer, guests return for Bike the Bricks, the Ice Cream Crank-Off, and a hometown July 4th parade.

McKinney’s eclectic mix of sights and activities makes it the perfect weekend destination.

For more information, go to VisitMcKinney.com.

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FACE OF

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500 Rue de la Vie, Ste. 510 | Baton Rouge, LA 70817 206 E Farrel Rd, Lafayette, LA 70508 888-467-2229 | www.fertilityanswers.com

Over the past fifteen years, FertilityAnswers has emerged as Louisiana’s premier infertility resource for couples needing assistance in building their families. Now serving over twothirds of Louisiana from offices in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, FertilityAnswers has helped thousands of couples realize their dreams of becoming parents. Reproductive endocrinologists Dr. John Storment and Dr. Susan Conway offer the latest in assisted reproduction technologies, including in vitro

fertilization, pre-implantation genetic screening and diagnosis, fertility preservation, and ovulation induction. Recently, FertilityAnswers added Dr. May Thomassee, the state’s only board-certified minimally invasive gynecologic surgeon, to its roster of clinicians. Leading the way in philanthropic healthcare, FertilityAnswers’s Gift of Hope IVF grant program awards infertile couples the opportunity to overcome financial barriers to building their family.

LouisianaLife.com | 81

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calendar

may/june Festivals and events around the state

BY JUDI RUSSELL

CAJUN COUNTRY May 1-6. Gulf Coast American Red Cross Bicycle Ride “Tour du Rouge.” (713) 313-1668.

May 4. 4th Annual Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo. Patterson Area Civic Center, Patterson.

(985) 385-1913 May 6-7. Relay for Life of Iberia Parish. Weeks Park, New Iberia.

(337) 519-1978.

May 6-7. MayFest Arts & Crafts Festival. Downtown Leesville.

(337) 238-0783.

May 6-8. Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival. 1300 Rees St., Breaux Bridge. (337) 332-6655.

May 7. 20th Annual Celebration of Herbs & Gardens. Old Sunset High School Grounds, Sunset.

(337) 662-3542.

May 7. Morgan City Oilfield Fishing Rodeo. Patterson Civic Center, Patterson. (985) 385-1913.

May 11-14. 44th Frog Festival.

Gossen Memorial Park, Rayne.

(337) 783-2108.

May 14. Q-ing on the Bayou – Boat Poker Run. Delcambre Boat Docks. (337) 298-4510.

May 19-21. Crusin Cajun Country Cruise In. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 367-1631.

May 26-June 5. Cajun Heartland State Fair. Cajundome, Lafayette. (337) 265-2100.

May 20-21. Okra Festival.

Festival Grounds on Bayou Teche, 203 N. Market St., St. Martinville. (337) 394-2230.

May 28-29. 2nd Annual American Legion Riders Freedom Fest. Lake Palourde Judges Stand, Morgan City. alrfreedomfest.com

May 21. Loyalty and Armed Forces Day Ceremony. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 344-9397.

May 21. Splash Bash. New Iberia City Park, New Iberia. (337) 369-2337.

May 21. Chitimacha Race #9 for Paddlers. From New Iberia City Park to the Chitimacha Nation, Charenton. tourduteche.com

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May 30. Memorial Day Ceremony. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 344-9397.

June 11. Juneteenth Folklife Celebration. Opelousas Farmers Market Pavilion, Opelousas. (337) 945-5064.

June 11. National Marina Day. Delcambre Marina, Delcambre.

(800) 884-6120.

louisiana smoked meat festival june 24 & 25 ville platte Started in

1992, the festival began as a non-profit organization raising funds for the local chapter of the Vietnam Veterans Association.

Today, the festival is dedicated to the veterans of all military branches. The two day festival includes a smoked meat cook-off, a beauty pageant and several musical talents.

June 11. Blues & Brews Homebrew Festival. Downtown Morgan City. (985) 385-1770 ext. 112.

June 14. Flag Day. Bouligny Plaza, New Iberia. (337) 344-9397.

June 18. Clifton Chenier Celebration. Clifton Chenier Club, New Iberia. (337) 339-5903.

June 24-25. Louisiana Smoked Meat Festival. Ville Platte Civic Center. (337) 224-3248.

June 26. Stars & Stripes Musical Celebration. Sugar Cane Festival Building, New Iberia.

(337) 364-1603.

NEW ORLEANS

BATON ROUGE

May 1. Festival in the Park.

Cassidy Park, Bogalusa. (985) 735-5731.

April 29-May 1. Little Red Church Food & Fun Festival.

St. Borromeo Catholic Church, Destrehan. Scblittleredchurch.org

May 6. Whitney Zoo-to-Do. Audubon Zoo, New Orleans. auduboninstitute.org/ztd May 6-7. Antique Tractor, Engine & Truck 2016 State Show. Washington Parish Fairgrounds, Franklinton. (985) 732-3950.

May 20-22. Mid-City Bayou Boogaloo. Banks of Bayou St. John, New Orleans. thebayouboogaloo.com May 26-29. New Orleans Wine & Food Experience. Various, New Orleans. (504) 934-1474.

May 27-29. Greek Festival. Holy Trinity Cathedral, New Orleans.

(504) 282-0259.

June 1. New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Fair Grounds Race Track. nojazzfest.com

May 6-8. May Festival. Lutcher Recreational Park. (225) 623-9751.

May 6. Hot Art, Cool Nights at the Mid City Art Hop. Mid City, Baton Rouge. (225) 388-9397.

May 26-29. Sportsman’s Heritage Festival. Krotz Springs. kssportsmansheritagefestival. com May 27-29. Bayou Country Superfest. LSU Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge. (800) 745-3000.

May 27-29. Jambalaya Festival.

Gonzales Civic Center, Gonzales.

(225) 675-6550.

June 11. Baton Rouge Pride Fest.

Baton Rouge River Center, Baton Rouge (225) 389-3030.

June 3-4. Ponchatoula Citywide Yard Sale. (985) 586-5776.

CENTRAL

June 4-5. New Orleans Oyster Festival. Woldenberg Riverfront Park. (504) 888-7608.

May 3. Kent House Bug Day. Kent Plantation House, Alexandria. vinbelmont@gmail.com

June 18-19. Louisiana Cajun Zydeco Festival. Louis Armstrong Park. (504) 448-6100.

June 17-19. New Orleans Pride.

Various locations, New Orleans. prideneworleans.com June 30-July 3. ESSENCE Festival. Various locations, New Orleans. essence.com/festival

NORTH May 5-8. Louisiana Crawfish Gator Fest. Ike Hamilton Expo Center Arena, West Monroe.

(318) 325-9160.

May 9-13. Poke Salad Festival.

Blanchard. (318) 309-2657.

May 12-15. Cochon de Lait Festival. 1832 Leglise, Mansura.

(318) 964-2152.

May 28. Little Walter Music Festival. Alexandria Amphitheater, Alexandria. (318) 442-9546.

May 28. Dragon Boat Races.

Riverbend & Cane River Lake, Natchitoches. (318) 357-4415.

June 3-4. Cookin’ on the Cane BBQ Competition. Natchitoches Riverbank, Natchitoches. (318) 332-1470.

June 4. Fleur de Lis Arts & Crafts Show. Natchitoches Event Center, Natchitoches. (318) 352-6068. u

June 17-19. Let the Good Times Roll Festival. Festival Plaza, Shreveport. (318) 470-3890.

June 18. Sunflower Trail & Festival. Hwy. 3049, Gilliam.

(318) 296-4303.

June 25-26. Ruston Louisiana Peach Festival. Downtown Ruston. (318) 255-2031.

LouisianaLife.com | 85

the quiz

Native foods Test your culinary knowledge.

By Errol Laborde

1. Pictured here is a plate of

jambalaya, the dish made famous

by Hank Williams’ song by that name. The song mentions two other indigenous dishes. What are they?

A. Turtle stew and hot boudin B. Cold couche couche and fried catfish C. Alligator gar and pecan pie D. Crawfish pie and file gumbo 2. What is couche couche?

A. A variation of an Arabic dish used for dipping B. A snack with jam and bread C. A traditional dish made with corn bread and milk D. A dish introduced by settlers from the island of Pago Pago 3. This syrup brand made in

Abbeville is known for its distinctive molasses flavor:

A. Steen’s B. Br’er Rabbit C. Trappey’s D. Bruce 4. Gumbo is traditionally made

with one of two thickeners, but never both. What are they?

6. What is a Cortbouillion (the

A. Flour and cornstarch

A. A fish stew made with a darkened roux

B. Okra and filé

Louisiana version)?

C. Wheat germ and tofu

B. A sauce for applying on a roasting pig

D. Starch and seafood base

C. A seasoning for crawfish D. A dessert made with sugar cane

5. While in prison, your friend became a dishwasher and while he was in the kitchen learned how to make tamales. Now he wants to start a tamale festival once he is released. He does not know that there is a town that already has such a festival. What is it?

7.Your friend decides that he

wants to open a restaurant specializing in blackened redfish.

But he is having a hard time finding a recipe because he thinks it is black and red fish.

Whose book should he look in to find the original recipe?

A. Homer

A. James Beard

B. Frogmore

B. Paul Prudhomme

C. Zwolle

C. Betty Crocker

D. Bordelonville

D. Julia Child

86 | Louisiana Life may/june 2016

8. Known in some places as the

white perch or white crappie a common name for this fish in Louisiana is:

10. What distinguishes true crawfish bisque?

A. It is flavored with crabmeat

A. Sac-a-lait

B. The dish contains stuffed crawfish heads

B. Alligator gar

C. It is served chilled

C. Bayou boogie

D. It is seasoned with sliced cayenne peppers

D. White drum 9. This traditional Louisiana dish is made with rice, organ meats and seasonings. How is it commonly known?

A. Jambalaya B. Creole rice C. Bayou rice D. Dirty rice

bonus!

In some parts of the state either a certain tuber or a scoop of a particular dish are placed in the gumbo. What are they?

answers & scoring ANSWERS

1.D 2.C 3.A 4.B 5.C 6.A 7.B 8.A 9.D 10.B SCORING

Score 10 points for each correct answer: 0-20 Consult your nearest library.

30-60 Begin by buying a good road map.

70-90 You should run for office.

100 Candidate for a Ph.D. In Louisianaology.

rules Answer the BONUS QUESTION and be eligible to win an overnight stay for two at the luxurious PARAGON CASINO AND RESORT. Send in your answer on a postcard addressed to: Louisiana Life Bonus Question 110 Veterans Blvd., Suite 123 Metairie, LA 70005 Two winners will be drawn from among the correct answers. Each will receive an overnight stay for two at the recently expanded and re-modeled Paragon Casino and Resort in Marksville.

Winners’ names will be announced in the January/February 2016 issue.

from our jan/feb issue

Q

John Bel Edwards comes from a family that is well-connected in Tangipahoa Parish politics. One political office is particular has been held by several family member. What is the office, and who are the relatives who have held it?

A

The office is sheriff. Edwards’ great grandfather, grandfather, and father have held the position. His brother Daniel is the current sheriff.

Winners are: Debra Coyle, Pineville Arleen Orgeron, Broussard

LouisianaLife.com | 87

a louisiana life

a gift of laughter Comedian Chris Trew of New Orleans

BY Megan hill PHOTO BY romero & romero

N

ew Orleanian Chris Trew is a man of many offbeat talents.

He’s a touring comedian and producer of Hell Yes Fest, the biggest comedy festival in the Gulf South. He’s an improv teacher, a professional wrestling manager, a sports columnist, a podcast producer and a rapper. Trew got his start in comedy, his main gig, when he was a student at LSU in Baton Rouge from 1999 to 2003. “I was just kind of dabbling with improv and stand-up, and it eventually got to the point where it was like, ‘This is all I want to do,’” he says.

Trew’s interest in comedy began in high school – before the Internet took hold. He figured he would have to move to Los Angeles, become an actor and work the open mics to get discovered.

By the time he was ready to launch a career, resources like social media and YouTube were established – but not overrun.

“I think when the Internet started to become a big deal it was like, ‘Oh, you can be funny on this thing, and you can make your own website.’” With those tools, “it kind of snowballed from there.”

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At LSU, Trew says he made poor grades because he was dedicating so much time to writing daily comedy for his website.

“I remember one day just not going to class because I wanted to finish an article. I failed that class,” he says. “My parents were like, ‘Why are you even bothering to do that? Why don’t you just go all the way in on this comedy stuff?’”

With their blessing, he turned his attention to full-time comedy.

He moved to Austin, Texas after Hurricane Katrina and began performing regularly. “I pretty

much spent every spare minute and penny taking workshops, traveling and learning as much as I could at every comedy festival I could afford to go to and that would have me,” he says.

In 2009, Trew and fellow comedian Tami Nelson opened The New Movement comedy theater in Austin, which also hosts classes. In 2012, Trew moved back to New Orleans and opened a New Movement outpost; today it’s the only fulltime comedy theater in the city.

“We’re like the nerve center of the New Orleans comedy scene, and we’re just very big on people being involved in our program, learning how to produce their own shows, learning how to write for other comedy shows, learning how to come up with ideas for shows,” he says. “Then, we’re going to give opportunities to put up the shows at our theater, and not have to worry about anything other than doing comedy.”

Through it all, Trew’s always had the support of his parents.

“I think it was strange, because they didn’t know how to give any other advice, other than the standard stuff that would apply for anything,” he says. “But those things did become pillars of my life. My dad could never tell me how to host a comedy show or work a tour, but he did tell me, ‘Treat people the way you want to be treated.’ And things like that are at the core of what I do.” u

behind the bench A huge sports fan, Trew stumbled upon an opportunity to contribute to DimeMag, a sports offering of Uproxx.com. He writes “Behind the Bench,” a column inspired by his interactions with opposing teams’ players and coaches as he sits behind their bench at New Orleans Smoothie King Center. (He often heckles them.) He also posts humorous updates from the Twitter account @Trew2TheGame