Author: Cheré Coen

Art and Shopping in Sunset

Visit for the wine. Visit for the art. But most of all, visit Sunset for the chance to buy locally produced gifts and recycled antiques. The town of Sunset, about 20 minutes north of Lafayette, offers an Uncorked Art Walk…

Weekends at Borden’s

You hear it a lot in Lafayette, that the Borden’s Ice Cream Shoppe downtown is the last free-standing parlor of its kind. The store on Johnston Street built in 1940 is the final retail store of the ice cream company…

Best of Cracklins

The Cajun boucherie dates back centuries, a communal hog butchering where careful attempts were made to use every inch of the animal to adequately feed the coterie. Usually held in cold weather months, the boucherie produced items for backbone stew,…

Voyages: Natural State

The art world was turned on its head when Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, an architectural masterpiece designed by Moshe Safdie that celebrates both art and nature. Since Crystal Bridges opened in 2005, the small…

It's Snowing in Shreveport

Snow doesn’t happen often in Louisiana, but for two months this winter there will be plenty of snow in Shreveport. The entire first floor of Sci-Port Discovery Center, a 92,000-square-foot science center located in downtown Shreveport, will be transformed into…

Palmetto Island a Great Fall Getaway

The week’s forecast called for rain, then a dip below freezing, but Monday’s weather was warm and inviting. We decided to get outdoors and enjoy Louisiana’s autumn before winter arrived, driving south past the quaint town of Abbeville and vacant…

A Blush And Bashful Steel Magnolias Weekend

It’s been 30 years since “Steel Magnolias” hit the Silver Screen and I dare almost everyone reading this blog to admit to never watching the film. Or even admit to watching it only one time. It’s one of those films…

Farther Flung: Holiday in Lights

Music City is lit up any night of the year — which makes sense, considering it’s the world epicenter of country music. During the holidays, however, Nashville glows. More than four million lights will be installed at First Tennessee Park…

Literary Louisiana

It’s a literary weekend in many ways, from spoken word to live theatrical performances to the annual massive Louisiana Book Festival. First up is the annual Festival of Words Nov. 1-2 in Grand Coteau, an event that brings in three…

Living History in South Louisiana

Fall means living history in South Louisiana. In Lake Charles, local actors will dress in period costumes and portray city notables from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25, for the annual…

Get Your Fright On, Louisiana

Joe Genna and Molton Brasseaux suffered under the heat of an Aug. 28, 1926, evening, longing to see their girlfriends in the southwestern Louisiana sawmill village of Tullos. They hailed a taxi out of DeRidder, driven by the affable Joe…

Touring Cemeteries Around Louisiana

  The veil between death and the living grows thin this month as we head toward All Hallows Eve or Halloween. And since Louisiana has some of the most interesting cemeteries in America, now’s the time to take a tour…

Falling For Fall Festivals

Forget falling temperatures. You know autumn has arrived in Louisiana when festival season kicks into gear. This past weekend I attended the 78th Sugar Cane Festival in New Iberia, an annual celebration held by the historic town that’s surrounded by…

One-Tank Getaways

New Orleans may be “America’s Most Interesting City,” so it’s easy to become complacent with all there is to do and see. But the region surrounding our city offers historic and cultural destinations, many of which may be accessed with…

Détails: Honeymoon / Northern Exposure

In Alaska, honeymoon options are as diverse as the state. For a relaxing, quiet getaway, cruises up the Inside Passage may be in order. A flight to Anchorage with a ride on the Alaska Railroad to Denali National Park may…

Texas-Sized Honeymoons

  Planning and executing a wedding and reception is a monumental undertaking, no matter the size. And while the honeymoon exists at the wedding’s conclusion for romance and relaxation, leaving the party to fly to a far destination may be…

Lecompte High School Reunion

The Georgie G. Johnson Branch of the Rapides Parish Library occupies only three rooms in the old Lecompte High School building but the memories contained there are massive. “Former students visit all the time and they say this was the…

Where Writers Lived in Louisiana

So many of the nation’s finest writers have called Louisiana home, and I love visiting the places where they wrote, lived and placed their characters. Take James Lee Burke, who grew up in New Iberia and sets his award-winning mystery…

Eunice Celebrates 125 Years

  This month the City of Eunice will celebrate its founding 125 years ago with the help of an adorable crawfish. The fun beings at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, with a parade beginning at Picous Drugstore on North Second Street…

A Capital Idea!

  Louisiana’s capital city offers lots of free things to do, from walking the levee parks to view the country’s largest river to learning about history at not one, but two unique state capitols. Here are five to get you…

Head Where Catfish Is King

  Interstate 10 can clog up around Baton Rouge at certain times of the day, so sometimes we opt to travel Highway 90 when heading to New Orleans, a more relaxing drive through the wetlands of South Louisiana. On one…

The Livonia Mounds

There are hundreds of Native American earthen mounds scattered throughout Louisiana and you may be surprised to learn that some are older than the Great Pyramids. Poverty Point may be the best-known archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and…

Cooling Off Along I-49

  I travel the state constantly and for years would pass a state-run rest area between Lafayette and Alexandria that accompanied a large lake surrounded by bald cypress, tupelo trees and a small hardwood forest. It’s a lovely area despite…

Voyages: Grape Expectations

Susan Johnson hails from a long line of Texas pioneers, so when she retired from her office job and contemplated opening a winery, the name seemed all too clear. Johnson owns Texas Heritage Vineyard outside Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill…

Best Bars

It’s the perfect time to spotlight the exquisite watering holes throughout Acadiana, everything from beer taprooms and live music venues to ethnic experiences and high-end restaurants where signature cocktails are served. ¶ Here are our picks for the best bars…

Iberia Film Festival

On the night of Sept. 8, 1935, Dr. Carl Weiss approached former Louisiana governor and then U.S. Sen. Huey P. Long in the Louisiana State Capitol and words were exchanged. When armed guards suspected Weiss of pulling a gun on…

Folk Fest Fun

  Louisianans have been fiddling around Natchitoches for years at the annual Natchitoches-Northwestern State University Folk Festival. This year’s event, slated for July 26-27 inside Prather Coliseum on the NSU…

When Nature Doesn’t Cooperate With Vacations

  I was enjoying the delicious sunshine while overlooking the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico when news of Barry surfaced. Early last week, with a sky devoid of clouds, you’d have never known a storm was brewing. It…

Slow down in Maurice

  You must slow down when you travel through Maurice, a small town boasting of great Cajun food. For one, it’s a speed zone and you’ll get a ticket faster than you can say “Turducken.” Second, life’s less hectic here,…