Crossing the River: Things to do in Louisiana

One of the best things about living in Southeast Texas is being so close to Louisiana, and one of the best things about Louisiana is the Banners Cultural Series in Lake Charles, a program of McNeese State University.  Bill & I found out about this by accident last year, bought season tickets (for $150 for the WHOLE SEASON, not one show!), and have renewed our tickets this year.  Last year we saw such great musical acts as Arlo Guthrie, Karla Bonnoff and Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and enjoyed unclassifiable events such as the Short Circuit Film Festival, Chinese acrobats and an avant-garde puppet show that told the tale of Troy.

One of our favorites from last year was a short film shown at the aforementioned Short Circuit Film Festival, called I Always Do My Collars First, in short, a film about ironing.  The documentary follows four dynamic Cajun women as they go about their daily lives demonstrating how the simple ritual of ironing weaves its way throughout the fabric of family life and their sense of identity.  We loved it so much, we bought copies for our family.  I can't wait to see what we discover at this year's Film Festival.

This year, we're looking forward to Zachary Richard, Avner the Eccentric, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band - the list goes on and on (a different show every week, February - May!).  This is a HUGE bargain and with the first show on February 20th, there's still time to get your tickets.

And, of course, a girl's gotta eat - Lake Charles has some great restaurants.  Some of our favorites are Tony's Pizza (try the Deep Dish!), Mazen's Mediterranean Foods, and Mama Rosa's.  Hhhhmmm, I sense a theme here.

You should go!