{"id":11129,"date":"2022-03-24T10:46:34","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T15:46:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=11129"},"modified":"2022-03-24T11:06:19","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T16:06:19","slug":"downtown-development-district-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2022\/03\/24\/downtown-development-district-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Development District Events"},"content":{"rendered":"

The folks in charge have worked out the schedule for the big events taking place in Lake Charles\u2019 Downtown Development District this year. Quite a few of these are very much arts-related. Let\u2019s check out the list.<\/p>\n

\u2022 March: Live at the Lakefront on three Fridays \u2014 March 11, 18 and 25<\/p>\n

\u2022 April 30: Spring Art Walk<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

SPRING ART WALK – VisitLakeCharles.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2022 May 7: Louisiana Beer Fest<\/p>\n

\u2022 May 14: This is Home Festival<\/p>\n

\u2022 Sept. 30: Gallery Promenade<\/p>\n

\u2022 Oct. 15: Arts Fest<\/p>\n

\u2022 Oct 15: Chuck Fest\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Oct 21: Living History tour<\/p>\n

\u2022 Nov. 26: Holiday Art Walk and Small Business Saturday<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

LOUISIANA BEER FEST – VisitLakeCharles.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2022 Nov. 19: Smoke and Barrel.<\/p>\n

There are also a few cultural events being sponsored by the City of Lake Charles:<\/p>\n

May: Downtown at Sundown on four Fridays: May 13, 20 and 27 and June 3<\/p>\n

\u2022 July 4: Red, White, Blue and You<\/p>\n

\u2022 October: Arts and Culture Fest<\/p>\n

\u2022 Dec. 3: Light up the Lake. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These events are free and open to the public. Those who attend will have access to the shops and eateries near the event. Some streets will be closed to traffic. Some events will offer alcohol sales or tastings; these are for events that benefit non-profits. If you need more information, visit artscouncilswla.org.<\/p>\n

Le Grande Retour Roots Music Fest<\/strong><\/p>\n

This year, the long-running Festivals Acadiens et Creoles is having two festivals. The first, called Le Grande Retour, is scheduled for March 18 through 20.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A total of 48 musical acts are scheduled to perform. I\u2019ve reduced the schedule to include the very biggest names: the ones you hear over and over (at least in Southwest Louisiana). Here\u2019s my abbreviated list of the acts and the festival venues where they\u2019ll be playing:<\/p>\n

March 18<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, 5:30 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

\u2022 Chris Ardoin & NuStep Zydeko, 7 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

March 19<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Kevin Naquin & The Ossun Playboys, 10:30 am @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

\u2022 Rusty Metoyer and The Zydeco Krush, 11:45 am @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

\u2022 Feufollet, 2:30 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

\u2022 Geno Delafose & French Rockin\u2019 Boogie, 2:30 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Mon H\u00e9ritage<\/p>\n

\u2022 Corey Ledet Zydeco, 4:45 pm @ Salle de Danse<\/p>\n

\u2022 Pine Leaf Boys, 6:45 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

March 20<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, noon @ Salle de Danse<\/p>\n

\u2022 Cedric Watson & Bijou Cr\u00e9ole, 2:15 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane<\/p>\n

\u2022 Jo-El Sonnier, 2:30 pm @ Salle de Danse<\/p>\n

\u2022 Tommy McClain & CC Adcock, 3:15 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Atelier<\/p>\n

\u2022 Gregg Martinez with T.K. Hulin & Johnnie Allan, 3:45 pm @ Salle de Danse<\/p>\n

\u2022 Lil\u2019 Nathan & the Zydeco Big Timers, 5 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Mon H\u00e9ritage<\/p>\n

\u2022 Wayne Toups & ZydeCajun, 6 pm @ Sc\u00e8ne Ma Louisiane.<\/p>\n

Several workshops may be of interest to musicians. On March 19, the fiddle workshop will be led by David Greely, Blake Miller and Gina Forsyth. It starts at 12:45 pm in the Sc\u00e8ne Atelier. That is followed the next day by a guitar workshop moderated by Josh Caffery, Chris Stafford, Meagan Berard and Daniel Coolik set for 11:30 am at Sc\u00e8ne Atelier. At 2 pm that day, a ballad workshop with Megan Constantin, Kelli Jones and Anna Laura Edmiston will take place at 2 pm at Sc\u00e8ne Atelier.<\/p>\n

The Festivals Acadiens et Cr\u00e9oles will be held at 500 Girard Park Drive in Lafayette.<\/p>\n

SWLA Music School Back On Track<\/strong><\/p>\n

After it was dealt a heavy blow by the hurricanes, the Southwest Louisiana Music School promised that it would eventually return with its full level of programming after a lengthy period for repair and recovery.<\/p>\n

The school has kept its word. \u201cWe are looking forward to getting back in the swing of having awesome gigs lined up for our kiddos finally,\u201d says school head Marcus. Here\u2019s what\u2019s cooking for the rest of the semester:<\/p>\n

\u2022 April 2: Touch a Truck \u201cTruckfest\u201d @ Burton Coliseum @ 1-3 pm. All school bands will perform.<\/p>\n

\u2022 April 30: Artwalk @ Ryan and Broad Streets @ 6 pm. All bands perform.<\/p>\n

\u2022 May 7: Pirate Festival (Contraband Days) @ Main Stage @ Time TBA. All bands perform.<\/p>\n

\u2022 May 14: This Is Home Fest @ Noon, in front of the Historic City Hall. All bands perform.<\/p>\n

Marcus describes these as \u201cbigger gigs for our kids\u201d and \u201ca really fun run of shows.\u201d If you want more information, email lakecharlesyoungbandnation@gmail.com.<\/p>\n

King Cake Burger<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Louisiana burger restaurant Burgersmith and Baton Rouge\u2019s Calandro\u2019s Supermarket are collaborating for the third year to make and serve the King Cake Burger. When it was first served in 2020 in four south Louisiana cities, it was called the Mardi Gras Mambo Burger.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how restaurateur Angie Doyle explained the burger to The Advocate: \u201cIt\u2019s a regular beef patty, with melted cheddar and bacon sandwiched between two pieces of cinnamon king cake cut in half to make a bun.\u201d She described the burger as being \u201csurprisingly good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doyle had doubts about it at first, fearing that the \u201cicing and colorful sprinkles … would be wasteful\u201d and would make the burger too rich to eat. But she should have known that when it comes to the south Louisiana diner, there is no such thing as a dish with too much food in it.<\/p>\n

There is also no such thing as a dish with clashing tastes. Right now, venues in various parts of south Louisiana are serving bacon and boudin-topped King Cake, boudin-filled King Cake with green onions on top, sushi King Cake (not positive that one is real), pretzel King Cake and crawfish queso-topped boudin King Cake. (To my eyes, that last one has the look of something that\u2019s destined for the biohazard waste disposal unit.)<\/p>\n

And there are all sorts of Louisiana foods and drinks that have the words \u201cKing Cake\u201d in their names but aren\u2019t even cake. For instance, there\u2019s King Cake Ice Cream Beignets (served at Parkway in N.O.), King Cake cheesecake, King Cake Vodka, King Cake Cream Ale, King Cake Milkshake Sour Beer and Imperial King Cake Stout. (As a rule, I\u2019ll try anything once just for the experience. But I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d try a sugary sweet stout.) Doyle says, \u201cthe combination of the savory and the sweet works.\u201d It must.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tired Of Eating Healthy Food<\/strong><\/p>\n

A big Up Fronter thanks goes to Jamie Gates, who now lives in Wisconsin, and who posted a youngster\u2019s letter about King Cake that appeared in a WVUE broadcast in New Orleans. The letter was written by a second grader in Mimosa Park Elementary in Luling for an assignment. Here is the letter the precocious student wrote to the school\u2019s principal:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dear Mrs. Butler:<\/p>\n

We would like King Cake every day for lunch this Mardi Gras season! Most children enjoy King Cake. We are tired of healthy food. That is why we should have King Cake every day.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Champ<\/p>\n

Bubba Penalty In Lafayette<\/strong><\/p>\n

Do you remember what happened in our great flood of ten months ago when Bubbas drove their monster pick-ups through the flood waters at high rates of speed? The trucks created monster waves that flooded many homes and businesses. If you had to cut out all your carpeting and padding and haul them out to the curb, I\u2019m sure you remember.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re also not likely to forget if you saw those Bubbas parting the waves with their jacked-up Tonkas, rubbernecking all the time as if they were seeing the first flood in history and always sticking their cellphones out the windows and filming the immense pools of dirty water with childish glee.<\/p>\n

Politicians in both the city and parish of Lafayette have passed new ordinances designed to penalize people who engage in these obnoxious behaviors during flooding.<\/p>\n

Lafayette already passed an ordinance against drivers pushing flood waters into buildings in 2018. It seems that the new ordinances are meant to stiffen penalties. Now those who are found to have flooded structures can receive a fine of $200 or more and will be obliged to spend at least six seven-hour days collecting trash by roadways or cutting grass on public property. With the second offense, the minimum fine goes up to $300 and the guilty party must put in at least 10 seven-hour days of community service work. With the third offense, the minimums go up to a $500 fine and 20 days of community work. The judge also has the option of giving the perpetrator 180 days in jail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The folks in charge have worked out the schedule for the big events taking place in Lake Charles\u2019 Downtown Development District this year. Quite a few of these are very much arts-related. Let\u2019s check out the list. \u2022 March: Live at the Lakefront on three Fridays \u2014 March 11, 18 and 25 \u2022 April 30: [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":270,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[38,37],"yoast_head":"\nDowntown Development District Events - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2022\/03\/24\/downtown-development-district-events\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Downtown Development District Events - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The folks in charge have worked out the schedule for the big events taking place in Lake Charles\u2019 Downtown Development District this year. 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