Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Celebrate the Fourth with fireworks, boudin and more in St. Landry Parish

     Fireworks, boudin, zydeco and Mardi Gras are part of the Fourth of July fun going on this weekend in St. Landry Parish. The fireworks display Tuesday in Eunice is one of the area’s largest, with more than 5,000 shots blasting off.
     Make a trip to your favorite boudin stop after visiting a traveling exhibit all about boudin. Dance the calories away with zydeco music’s top stars in Lebeau for a church fundraiser that’s entering its second decade. Legendary backbone stew, fried turkey wings and other Creole foods will be available when your hunger returns.
    Some of the fun things to do this weekend in St. Landry Parish include:
·         Georgie and Allen Manuel, Cajun Mardi Gras screen mask and costume designers, show their work at First Friday with a Little Lagniappe arts series from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the St. Landry Parish Visitor Information Center at I-49 exit 23. The Manuels are known around the state for their masks and costumes. Admission is free. (337) 948-8004 or www.cajuntravel.com
Step Rideau
·         The 21st annual Lebeau Zydeco Festival is from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday on the Lebeau Church Grounds on Hwy 71 south. Geno Delafose starts at noon, followed by Leon Chavis (2 p.m.), Brian Jack (4 p.m.), Lil Nate (6 p.m.) and Step Rideau (8 p.m.) Admission, $15 for adults, children, $5. (337) 623-5909.
·         Boudin: The Traveling Exhibit, a traveling documentary on Acadiana’s favorite fast food, continues at the Prairie Acadian Culture Center, 250 W. Park Ave. in Eunice. The center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free. (337) 457-8499.
·         Mary Jane Broussard and Sweet La La, along with Richard Miller and Musical Playboys , perform at the weekly Rendez-Vous des Cajun Radio and TV show from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the LibertyTheater, 200 W. Park Ave., in Eunice. Admission is $5. (337) 457-7389 or www.eunice-la.com.
·         Swamp Fever plays a variety of live music during a beach party from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  Saturday at Lakeview Park & Beach, three miles north of Eunice on Hwy 13. Day passes are $7 for adults, $5 for children, free for ages 3 and younger. (337)457-2881 or www.lvpark.com
·         Fireworks on the Prairie, a 20-year tradition in Eunice, begins 9 p.m. Monday at the Eunice Recreation Complex, 461 Sittig St. Admission is free.  (337) 457-7389.
·         The J. C. Melancon Band kicks off Fireworks on the River at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Nall Park, 562 Front St., in Krotz Springs. Fireworks, with patriotic music, begin at 9 p.m. Admission is free. (337) 566-2322.
    The St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission updates local events on Facebook at “St. Landry Parish – It’s Gumbo for Your Soul.” Follow us on Twitter @StLandryParish and Blogger at stlandryparish.blogspot.com. 

Friday, June 24, 2011

Manuels display traditional Mardi Gras masks, costumes

    Wire screen masks and cone-shaped hats called capuchons are required attire for Courir de Mardi Gras, the annual chicken chases on horseback in Acadiana. These outfits have also made Georgie and Allen Manuel of Eunice renowned in art circles throughout Louisiana.
    The Manuels display their traditional costumes during First Fridays with a Little Lagniappe, the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission’s new arts series. The demonstration is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, July 1 at the new St. Landry Parish Visitor Information Center on I-49 exit 23, just north of Opelousas.
     According to the Louisiana Folklore Society, wire screen masks and capuchons have been part of Cajun Mardi Gras runs since the turn of the 20th century.  Georgie Manuel recalls her late grandmother, Alma McGee, making costumes as part of her seamstress business.
    McGee’s masks and capuchons were made without patterns. She could not read or write and the only available patterns were printed in English.
    Allen’s parents were both participants in the local Mardi Gras. After Georgie and Allen married in 1974, they remained active participants and even saved some of the rare screen masks from the 1950s.
    Those masks and memories became templates for their future costumes, which have become the Mardi Gras gear of choice in Eunice in surrounding area. Then Manuels have exhibited their work at the Louisiana Native Crafts Festival, part of Festival Acadiens, the Louisiana Folklife Festival in Eunice, Shreveport’s Red River Revel and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. One of their masks is on permanent display at the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice.
    Admission is free to the First Fridays series, which continues July 15 with fiddle maker and musician Anya Burgess of Arnaudville. Other St. Landry Parish artists scheduled to participate include:
·         Aug. 5 – The Art of Debris: Mixed Media, Art Created from Found Objects with Trish Ransom and Michelle Fontenot
·         Aug. 19 – The Art of Mixed Media, with George Marks and hand-sculpted clay from Annie Hendrix
·         Sept. 2 – A Celebration of Creole Culture with Rebecca Henry’s native crafts and painter Jerome Ford
·         Sept. 16 – A Piece of Art is Worth a Thousand Words with former Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque and Patrice Melnick
    The First Fridays with a Little Lagniappe series is held at the new St. Landry Parish Visitor Information Center, a state-certified welcome center that promotes environmentally-friendly construction and sustainable practices, both old and new.
    First Fridays with a Little Lagniappe is supported in part by a Grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Acadiana Arts Council.
    For more information, call the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission at (337) 948-8004. Follow the center on Twitter @StLandryParish or on Facebook at St. Landry Parish – It’s Gumbo for Your Soul.
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Jambalaya performs for boudin exhibit kickoff

    The Jambalaya Cajun Band performs at a special food-themed performance of the Rendez-vous des Cajuns radio and TV show at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Liberty Theater in Eunice. Members of the Southern Foodways Alliance will be on hand as part of "BOUDIN: THE TRAVELING EXHIBIT," a new display on south Louisiana's spicy rice and pork sausage which begins Tuesday and continues through July 23 at the Prairie Acadian Culture Center.
    The Prairie Acadian Cultural Center is located at 250 West Park Avenue in Eunice. More information is available at 337-457-8499 or at www.nps.gov/jela.
    Thanks to funding from the McIllhenny Company, SFA’s work on boudin began in 2006 with oral histories of storied Louisiana boudin makers like Robert Cormier of the Best Stop in Scott, Bubba Frey of The Mowata Store in Eunice, and John Saucier of Saucier’s Sausage Kitchen in Mamou.
    The SFA’s repository of boudin-focused oral histories has grown into a standalone website complete with an interactive map at www.southernboudin trail.com . Today nearly 50 oral histories are available online. When Butterfield and Robinson’s Global Heritage Fund offered support in 2009, the SFA began developing “BOUDIN: THE TRAVELING EXHIBIT,” which draws on those oral histories to tell the tale of one of Cajun country’s iconic foods.
    The Prairie Acadian Cultural Center is managed by the National Park Service as one of six sites of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. The center features exhibits interpreting the culture of the Acadians who settled the prairies of southwest Louisiana. Folklife demonstrations include Cajun music, dancing, foodways presentations, and quilting and other handmade crafts. The center and all activities and demonstrations are free and open to the public.
    The center is open Tuesday through Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Music series features Creole accordionist Mary Jane Broussard

    The Music of Acadiana Series continues with Creole accordionist Mary Jane Broussard at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 26 at NUNU’s, the old Singleton Lumber building in Arnaudville. One of just a handful of Creole women who play the diatonic accordion, Broussard plays with a style that is energetic, driving and intricate.
Mary Jane Broussard
    Accompanied by members of the Magnolia Sisters, Lisa Trahan and Jane Vidrine, Broussard leads a jam session open to musicians of all levels for the first hour. A question-and-answer session that explores her style and background follows. A one-hour performance concludes the show.
    Broussard comes from deep Creole music roots. Legendary Creole accordionist Alphonse “Bois Sec” Ardoin was her uncle and model for her accordion style.
    Her fiddling uncle, Carlton Frank, is revered as the patriarch of the Frank family sound. She took up the accordion and taught herself to play when her children were you and the music came naturally.
    Broussard was in the original Magnolia Sisters in the 1970s and later joined a trio with Morris Ardoin on fiddle and Clarence LeDay on guitar.
    She makes regular guest appearances with her son’s zydeco group, T-Broussard and the Zydeco Steppers. Broussard also plays with her own band, Creole Sweet La La.
    Located at 1510 Highway 93, NUNU’s provides a relaxed and intimate setting for interaction between performer and audience. Admission is $5 and free for kids 12 and under. Food and beverages will be available for purchase.
    The Music of Acadiana Series is supported in part by grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreations and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Acadiana Arts Council.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Sunset's Margaret Brinkhaus displays gourds during new arts series

         Gourds are hollowed-out containers that can be used to decorate rooms, feed birds or hold water. But for Margaret Brinkhaus of Sunset, gourds are an artistic passion that she turns into purses, bowls, vases, baskets and kaleidoscopes.
    Brinkhaus demonstrates her passion during First Fridays with a Little Lagniappe, a new arts series from the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. The demonstration is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, June 17 at the new St. Landry Parish Visitor Information Center on I-49 exit 23, just north of Opelousas.
Margaret Brinkhaus of Sunset
    Brinkhaus will focus on traditional uses of gourds and the drying process. She will display gourds in various stages of completion, along with some finished products.
    A member of the Louisiana Crafts Guild, Brinkhaus has presented at numerous workshops for Louisiana Folks Roots, Cite’ des Arts in Lafayette and numerous schools and libraries. She is also a member of the Natchitoches Art Guild, Baton Rouge Arts Market, Sunset Garden Club and the American Gourd Society.
    Numerous artists from St. Landry Parish will be featured during the First Friday series, which continues through Sept. 16. Admission is free. The remainder of the schedule includes:
·         July 1 –Mardi Gras in the Country: A Celebration of the Courir du Mardi Gras, a display of traditional masks and costumes with Georgie and Allan Manuel
·         July 15 – Anya Burgess, fiddle maker and musician
·         Aug. 5 – The Art of Debris: Mixed Media, Art Created from Found Objects with Trish Ransom and Michelle Fontenot
·         Aug. 19 – The Art of Mixed Media, with George Marks and hand-sculpted clay from Annie Hendrix
·         Sept. 2 – A Celebration of Creole Culture with Rebecca Henry’s native crafts and painter Jerome Ford
·         Sept. 16 – A Piece of Art is Worth a Thousand Words with former Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque and Patrice Melnick
    The First Fridays with a Little Lagniappe series is held at the new St. Landry Parish Visitor Information Center, which held its grand opening May 23. With numerous environmentally-friendly features, the center promotes green construction and sustainable practices, both old and new.
    First Fridays with a Little Lagniappe is supported in part by a Grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Acadiana Arts Council.
    For more information, call the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission at (337) 948-8004. Follow the center on Twitter @StLandryParish or on Facebook at St. Landry Parish – It’s Gumbo for Your Soul. 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Prairie Acadian Culture Center salutes boudin with traveling exhibit

    Boudin is to Eunice, Louisiana, as clam pizza is to New Haven, Connecticut. As the green chile cheeseburger is to Santa Fe, New Mexico. As Frogmore stew is to Saint Helena, South Carolina.
This Cajun country sausage of pork, rice, and spice is a totem of culinary identity, and a new exhibit at the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center will share its story.
    Beginning Tuesday, June 28, “BOUDIN: THE TRAVELING EXHIBIT” will make mouths water through Saturday, July 23. The free exhibit profiles the ubiquitous and beloved Cajun fast food and is the latest documentary project of the Southern Foodways Alliance.
    The Prairie Acadian Cultural Center is located at 250 West Park Avenue in Eunice. More information is available at 337-457-8499 or at www.nps.gov/jela.
    Thanks to funding from the McIllhenny Company, SFA’s work on boudin began in 2006 with oral histories of storied Louisiana boudin makers like Robert Cormier of the Best Stop in Scott, Bubba Frey of The Mowata Store in Eunice, and John Saucier of Saucier’s Sausage Kitchen in Mamou.
    The SFA’s repository of boudin-focused oral histories has grown into a standalone website complete with an interactive map at www.southernboudin trail.com . Today nearly 50 oral histories are available online. When Butterfield and Robinson’s Global Heritage Fund offered support in 2009, the SFA began developing “BOUDIN: THE TRAVELING EXHIBIT,” which draws on those oral histories to tell the tale of one of Cajun country’s iconic foods.
    The Prairie Acadian Cultural Center is managed by the National Park Service as one of six sites of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. The center features exhibits interpreting the culture of the Acadians who settled the prairies of southwest Louisiana. Folklife demonstrations include Cajun music, dancing, foodways presentations, and quilting and other handmade crafts. The center and all activities and demonstrations are free and open to the public.
    The center is open Tuesday through Friday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.