The forthcoming Lake Area Adventures at 1337 Country Club Road is slated to be a 35,000 square-foot entertainment complex. Among its features will be:
— A competition-length, indoor, temperature-controlled pool.
— A 10,500-square-foot jump air park.
— A video game lounge featuring gaming consoles, PCs and virtual reality gaming.
— A rock climbing wall.
— An event space.
— A stage for live entertainment, and
— A restaurant.
The lakefront area of the complex will feature boat and kayak rentals, water tours and pier fishing. Paul’s Rib Shack Barbecue will serve food.
The location should open sometime in 2023.
Thousands Of Old Costumes
The New Old Vogue costume and theatrical shop in downtown Lafayette has been described as having a “funhouse style.”
“It’s just a playground,” said the shop’s manager, Therese Bouchereau, who is often dressed in costume.
Well, this old funhouse is now in the process of selling off its multitude of old costumes, with the intention of slowly transforming the two-story space into a large art gallery. “An art gallery and a place to teach art classes is still in the dream phase,” Bouchereau. But she’s in a hurry to bring the gallery into existence.
Some of the costumes and accessories in the shop are 100 years old. To date, customers have only been able to rent them. Now, New Old Vogue is selling the costumes at the rental prices. They’re desperate to make space for the upcoming project.
“We’re very interested at this point in selling the costumes because there’s no space to do anything else with the space,” Bouchereau said. And it will take time to sell them all. “It might take two or three years …” Bouchereau thinks.
Although there is no inventory list for the shop, the owners believe the establishment has thousands of dresses. There are also enormous character heads of such pop culture figures as Minnie Mouse, Big Bird and Barney.
About that funhouse atmosphere: the walls of the shop are lined with mirrors. Displays of numerous wigs add another incongruous touch. And then there is the abundance of staircases and secret rooms.
The good stuff is always in the back. You’ll see another instance of that in the New Old Vogue costume and theatrical shop. “We have some secret rooms in the back,” Bouchereau told the Advocate Acadiana. “This is like Narnia. People don’t believe me. You can go up the stairs, but you will probably come down another set of stairs.”
Some rooms are hidden behind curtains. Most intriguing of all is the fact that three different staircases in the shop lead to a “secret attic” that is said to be filled with renaissance costumes. The only thing more mysterious than an attic is a secret attic. The attic space is now open to the costume-buying public.
Some longtime customers are overjoyed by the changes. James Douget has often rented costumes for historical reenactments at the St. Landry Parish Cemetery. Douget is now buying some of the same costumes he’s rented over the years. “I dressed as a Confederate soldier once, and even as Santa Claus because a tombstone said this guy spent 25 years dressing up as Santa for the children of Opelousas,” he told the Advocate.
Then there’s regular customer Alex Tabaie, who is finally able to buy the turtle costume he’s been trying to obtain from the store for more than 10 years. And not only that: he’ll now be able to buy it at the rental rate of $30. Believe it or not, he plans to go skiing in it.
Bouchereau says the quality of the goods surpasses that of the vintage stuff for sale online. “We have stuff you won’t find anywhere else.”
Begin your shopping adventure at 422 Jefferson St. in downtown Lafayette.
Battle Of The Bows
The sixth annual Battle of the Bows Cajun Fiddle Competition will be just what it sounds like — a contest of Cajun-style fiddling. People of all ages can compete. Everyone from the beginner to the expert is welcome onstage. There is no registration fee.
The event will take place on Nov. 5 at the Historic Strand Theatre in Jennings. Participants can register at tinyurl.com/BOB11522. This year’s competition is dedicated to the memory of Cajun fiddler Purvis L. Clement (1936-2004).
Great Acadian Awakening
The Great Acadian Awakening (also known as “Grand Reveil Acadian”) will celebrate Cajun French culture at various locations in Acadiana from Oct. 1 through 9. Each of the daily events during the period will take place in a particular Acadian city. Common features of the events will be tours, live music, demonstrations, dancing and conversation in French (for those who want that). Please note that the list of activities that follows is not complete; it emphasizes activities that are unique to the site where a particular event is occurring.
Saturday, Oct. 1
Abbeville
— 10:30 to 11:15 am: Beignet demonstrations
Sunday, Oct. 2
Port Allen: West Baton Rouge Museum
— 11 am to 4 pm: Louisiane-Acadie Music Stage — Cajun dancing demonstrations and lessons. Also, bourée and crafts.
Monday, Oct. 3
St. Martinville
— 2 to 4 pm: Welcome at Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Park
— 4 to 6 pm: Tours of St. Martinville
— 6 to 8 pm: Fais Do Do at St. Martin de Tours
Tuesday, Oct. 4
New Iberia
— 7:30 to 9 am: Breakfast at Victoria’s Cafeteria
— 9 to 10 am: Table Francaise du Bayou Teche
— 12:45 to 1:15 pm: La Parade de Mardi Gras de Grand Marais and other events
Wednesday, Oct. 5
Lafourche Parish
— 9 am to 4 pm: “The Last Acadian Coast: Symposium on Acadian History and Culture in the Lafourche-Terrebonne Area”
— 5:30 to 6:30 pm: French Mass in Houma
— 6 to 8 pm: Cajun Music Open Jam
Thursday, Oct. 6
Free Day in Lafayette
Friday, Oct. 7
Broussard
— 11 am to 4 pm: Jambalaya Cook-Off at Arceneaux Park
— 6 to 9 pm: Chubby Carrier & The Bayou Swamp Band
Saturday, Oct. 8
Churchpoint
— 11 am to 3:30 pm: Feed Your Soul Cajun Cook-Off
— 4 pm: La Messe en Français
Sunday, Oct. 9
Lafayette
9 to 10 am: French Mass
10 to 10:45 am: Tintamarre Procession to Warehouse 535
12 to 2 pm: Cajun Jam Session by Ray Landry
Sunday, Oct. 9
Arnaudville
— 3 to 4 pm: Menteur, Vanteur, Raconteur Contest
Learn more at louisianeacadie.com.
Three New Exhibits For Three New Galleries
The galleries in the new building for the Lafayette Art Association are presently offering their first three exhibits for the viewing public.
In August, the Lafayette Art Association (LAA) moved into its new home digs at 1019 Auburn Avenue in Lafayette’s Oil Center.
The first-run exhibit “This Is Me!” will hang in the Main Gallery through Sept. 24. For this show, LAA members were asked to submit a 2D or 3D piece that “represented them as an artist.”
There will also be an exhibit of work by LAA member ceramic and jewelry artists in the Front Gallery. Ceramics by Terry Palmer and Carol Miller Richard can be seen in the Foyer Gallery.
The work of the LAA’s resident artists Dusty Reed, Ed DeMahy and Margo Baker will also be on display in the new gallery. Visit the Lafayette Art Association & Gallery’s Facebook page for more information.
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