Willie Nelson will appear at L’Auberge du Lac in Lake Charles.
Summer may be winding down, but the entertainment season is just beginning to heat up at casinos across Louisiana. How hot will it get?
Consider the schedule at L’Auberge du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles. Kicking off the month of September is Grammy-winning pop-rocker Rick Springfield in concert (Sept. 3). See a world championship mixed martial arts tournament on Sept. 30. And how’s this for an autumn highlight: Willie Nelson in concert Oct. 15-16. For tickets see LDLcasino.com.
Terrific entertainment is on tap at casinos in Shreveport-Bossier as well. None other than the great Smokey Robinson is slated to appear at Horseshoe Casino’s Riverdome on Sept. 10. Want more? Try bluesman B.B. King on Oct. 8, or smooth-as-silk Tony Bennett on Oct. 29. (See HorseshoeBossierCity.com.)
While you’re in the neighborhood, catch Mickey Gilley (Sept. 3) and Lonestar (Sept. 5) at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino in Shreveport. SamsTownShreveport.com.
In the greater New Orleans area, check out Boomtown Casino’s weekly Thursday-Saturday lineup of live music by great Louisiana names like Cyril Neville, Chris LeBlanc and Amanda Shaw. (See BoomtownNewOrleans.com.)
Or take a seat in Harrah’s Theatre in Harrah’s New Orleans Casino right downtown. The fall lineup includes Roy Ayers, Lloyd Price, and a three-night Burlesque Festival among many other acts. (See HarrahsNewOrleans.com.)
The gaming fun is nonstop in casinos from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Morgan City to Lake Charles and Shreveport-Bossier.
Rounder Records has announced the release of “Louisiana Cajun and Creole Music: The Newport Field Recordings.”
Due Sept. 28, the new CD holds 27 tracks on a single disc and contains recordings made over the years 1964-67 by Ralph Rinzler, working under the auspices of the Newport Folk Foundation.
Rinzler, who later came to head the Festival of American Folklife at the Smithsonian Institution, arrived in Cajun Country in southwest Louisiana at a time when the very existence of Cajun music was under threat as the forces of the surrounding English-language culture pressed in upon the Cajun people.
The recordings, first released by Rounder in the mid-1970s, are believed to have helped perpetuate Cajun music by exposing the sounds to people elsewhere in the United States and around the world.
Among the artists included in the set are the Balfa Brothers, Bois-Sec Ardoin and Canray Fontenot, Austin Pitre, and Adam & Cyprien Landreneau.
Dewey Balfa and Bois-Sec Ardoin eventually were recognized with National Heritage Fellowships awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts.
This release contains numerous photographs, many never before published, and extensive liner notes by a number of authors which run over 80 pages in the PDF embedded in the disc.
The CD will be available from major retailers including Amazon.com.
Photo courtesy American Kennel Club
Many of man’s best friends are prepping for their moment in the spotlight, and you’re invited to see them decked out in their best in Monroe, La., next month.
The Cotton Land Cluster of Dog Shows is coming to the Monroe Civic Center. This year’s show, Sept. 3-6, will feature four days of All Breed Shows and 11 Specialty Shows.
The Specialty Shows include Basset Hounds, Boxers, Chinese Shar-Peis, Chinese Cresteds, German Shepherd Dogs, and Vizslas.
The panel of judges for the event hail from 11 different states and Puerto Rico.
Last year’s show brought 134 different breeds and 118 handlers from 39 states, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica.
Here’s the 2010 schedule of events:
Sept. 3
Bayou Kennel Club All Breed Show
Boxer Club of Louisiana (New Orleans)
Basset Hound Club of Bayou Country
Sept. 4
Bayou Kennel Club All Breed Show
Basset Hound Club of Bayou Country
Chinese Shar-Pei Club of America
Cowtown Chinese Crested Club (Ft Worth)
German Shepherd Dog Club of Greater Ouachita
South Louisiana Vizsla Club (Lafayette)
Sept. 5
Vicksburg Kennel Club All Breed Show
Chinese Shar-Pei Club of America
Cowtown Chinese Crested Club (Ft Worth)
German Shepherd Dog Club of Greater Ouachita
South Louisiana Vizsla Club (Lafayette)
Sept. 6
Vicksburg Kennel Club All Breed Show
On Saturday, Sept. 4, the Southern Handlers Charity League will hold its 10th annual Charity Fun Match. American Kennel Club Responsible Dog Ownership and Educational Booths will be open throughout the day.
The shows will be from 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children. Proceeds from the spectator gate will be donated to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Canine Unit.
For more information please contact Pat Booker at 318-644-4498 or bispb@aol.com.
In Los Angeles she’s best known for singing “New Boyfriend” and “Something About the Sunshine” in the Disney movie “Starstruck.” In Louisiana, Anna Margaret is simply a very talented young singer, songwriter and actress from Alexandria.
Just 14 years old, the performer returns home Aug. 20 for a “back to school” benefit concert and dance party at the Rapides Parish Coliseum in Alexandria. Proceeds from the events will support the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Louisiana’s Children.
Born in Alexandria and raised in LeCompte, Anna Margaret Collins showed early promise for a singing career. Her family supported her musical training, and during an audition in New Orleans, a talent scout spotted her and encouraged her relocation to Los Angeles. Her performance for the Disney movie spawned a music video. She soon became the youngest recording artist to be signed to the Hollywood Records label.
Also on stage for the upcoming concert will be singers Cupid, Emil, David St. Romain and Trey Thomas.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show. Tickets ($5 each) are available at the Rapids Parish Coliseum ticket office and at Jerry Lee and Co. Alexandria. See www.193fm.com for more information.
More than a thousand fit, high-energy athletes from 20 states are on their way to Shreveport this week. Their goal: A shot at winning the 30th annual Sportspectrum’s River Cities Triathlon.
At 8 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 1, the first wave of the event begins with half-mile swim will start at Cypress Lake in Benton, La.
Next the triathletes will bike 18.2 miles around Cypress Lake. The run portion is 3.1 miles along the shaded park roads of Cypress Lake. The race will be followed immediately by an extreme race party at Cypress for the 1,200 participants.
“It is very exciting to hit the 30th anniversary mark this year,” said Matt Brown, race director. “As race director over the past 27 years, I have seen the race grow in many ways. It’s quite an honor to be part of the oldest and largest triathlon in the South!” added Brown.
RCT has often been voted by the participants as “Best Large Triathlon in the South/Mid-West Region.” Six-time World Ironman Champion and Ironman Hall of Fame inductee Dave Scott will be RCT’s guest this year. Scott speaks at DiamondJacks Casino for the annual carbo load dinner on Saturday, July 31, 6 p.m.
Event weekend begins on Saturday at Cypress Lake, the site of the IronFish Kids Triathlon, starting at 8 a.m. These approximately 200 mini-triathletes will swim, bike and run like their older counterparts.
Registration will be available until Friday, July 31, at either the new Sportspectrum store on the corner of Fern and 70th Street or online at www.sportspectrumusa.com.
Can you imagine a better place than New Orleans to celebrate the cocktail? Not likely! And that’s the whole point of a festival being staged throughout the city this week.
Tales of the Cocktail® is an internationally acclaimed festival of cocktails, cuisine and culture held annually in New Orleans. The event brings together the most creative and skilled leaders of the cocktail community – award-winning mixologists, authors, bartenders, chefs and designers – for a five-day celebration of the history and artistry of making drinks.
Each year offers a spirited series of dinners, demos, tastings, competitions, seminars, book signings, tours and parties all perfectly paired with some of the best cocktails ever made.
Highlighted this year is the winning cocktail in a featured competition. Evan Martin’s “Death in the South Pacific” cocktail will be served throughout festival, July 21-25. Here’s how you can have one for yourself:
0.75 oz. Appleton Estate Extra 12-Year-Old rum
0.75 oz. Rhum Clement VSOP rum
0.5 oz. Grand Marnier
0.33 oz. Trader Tiki’s Orgeat Syrup
0.33 oz. Fee Brothers Falernum
3 dashes Absinthe
0.5 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
0.5 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
0.5 oz. Fee Brothers Grenadine
0.5 oz. Cruzan Blackstrap rum
Add all ingredients except for the grenadine and Cruzan Blackstrap to a Zombie shell glass and fill with crushed ice. Swizzle the drink well to mix and frost the glass and then pour in grenadine. Overfill the glass with crushed ice and then pour in Cruzan Blackstrap.
Garnish: Take a bamboo skewer and put a brandied cherry through at the very top followed by 1 pineapple leaf, orange rind.
Jambalaya, crawfish pie and filé gumbo … the best place to hear Louisiana’s top Cajun musicians and sample favorite Cajun foods is the Cajun Music & Food Festival, July 17-18 at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La.
It’s nonstop music from 8 a.m. Saturday until 4 p.m. Sunday at the festival, hosted by the Cajun French Music Association of Lake Charles. This year’s festival promises the best lineup of Cajun musicians in 23 years.
Briggs Brown & Bayou Cajuns kick things off at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by Ron Miller & Midnight Ramblers from 1 to 3 p.m.; Donny Broussard & Louisiana Stars from 3 to 5 p.m.; and Kira Viator & Bayou Beat from 5 to 7 p.m.
Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie headline the festival Saturday evening from 7 to 10 p.m., entertaining eas many as 8,000 revelers and dancers.
Sunday’s festival events start with a French Mass with the Lake Charles Chapter French Choir from 8-9 a.m. The day’s entertainment then continues with Ellis Vanicor & Lacassine Playboys performing from 9 to 11 a.m.; Don Fontenot & Friends of Louisiana from noon to 2 p.m.; and High Performance as the finale from 2 to 7 p.m.
A Louisiana festival is not a festival without the classic southern and Cajun cooking for which our state is so well known. Jambalaya, chicken and sausage gumbo, cracklin’s, shrimp etouffée, and boudin are just a few of the down home Cajun eats that festival-goers will enjoy. Also look for red beans and rice, funnel cakes, burgers, fries, and chicken strips for the kids. Great food and great music!
For more information, visit www.cfmalakecharles.org for a complete musical lineup and schedule of events.
Essence Festival highlights include Janet Jackson’s return to the stage.
Three days of music, empowerment seminars and after-hours festivities will fill New Orleans this weekend, as Essence Music Festival 2010 unfolds.
Janet Jackson, who is making her first live concert appearance in many months, will headline the opening night of concerts.
She’s followed up on Saturday by Alicia Keys, Gladys Knight and LL Cool J.
Sunday will bring Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott and Earth, Wind & Fire.
Naturally, a spectacular fireworks displays will be a part of the festivities.
If you can’t be there, check in at EssenceMusicFestival.com for full details of the action in progress!The benefit concert by Jimmy Buffet and the Coral Reefer Band initially scheduled for July 1 has been postponed because of ongoing weather conditions along the Gulf Coast. The concert now is set for Sunday, July 17.
Buffett will team up with Kenny Chesney, Zac Brown, Allen Toussaint, Sonny Landreth, Jesse Winchester and special guests for the free concert staged in support of residents and businesses affected by the BP oil spill.
Produced by Country Music Television, the concert, “CMT Presents Jimmy Buffet & Friends Live from the Gulf Coast,” will occur in Gulf Shores, Ala.
The Louisiana Travel Blog offers a glimpse of the unusual places, events – and characters! – that make visiting Louisiana a rare and enjoyable experience. Subscribe to the blog through our RSS feed, and you will begin to understand why visitors to Louisiana come back again and again!
