After a historically chaotic year, two trailblazing women are stepping in to help make headway with Vermilionville and its parent organization, Bayou Vermilion District.
Arts + Culture
Conversation: Is it a king cake?
Parades may not be rolling in 2021, but arguing about king cake is a tradition that can survive any calamity.
1 min read
Vermilionville board breaks stalemate with the help of top lobbyist
Call it a Christmas miracle. Just when it appeared that opposing factions of the eight-member Bayou Vermilion District Board of Commissioners had dug into an icy stalemate over its finances and electing officers, this week’s meeting had board members warming up to a new spirit of cooperation. The board unanimously approved CEO David Cheramie’s final 2020 budget amendments, as well […]
4 min read
Deadlocked Bayou Vermilion board faces tough budget cuts and mounting political pressure
A new member will be appointed to fill the final vacancy on the board. Judging by recent four-to-four splits, the ideological tilt of the commission hangs in the balance of that appointment.
9 min read
A very Cajun, Covid Christmas
In a year of disruption, a new Christmas record in Louisiana French provided creative sanctuary for some local music all-stars.
4 min read
Proof of concept: New bakeries rise in Lake Charles after hurricanes Laura and Delta
Despite recent devastation to the regional dining scene, two emerging new bakeries are bringing fresh alternatives to where Lake Charles gets its bread.
9 min read
Costs and the coronavirus could spur change of venue for Festival International in 2021
Festival staff members are sketching out alternatives that would allow the internationally acclaimed event to function in a socially distanced environment. That could even mean hosting Festival out of city limits or in scattered locations.
6 min read
Acadiana Symphony Orchestra goes virtual in a season of chaos and uncertainty — for its musicians
This season’s REVIVAL theme is a musical balm for a community in pain and a much-needed effort to keep the symphony’s players playing.
8 min read
One creative solution for Lafayette’s pandemic school year: learning pods with art teachers
Even with the school year pushing the start date back to Sept. 8, parents are backed into a difficult corner: Send your child back to school and risk getting sick or keep them at home for online learning and face an entirely different host of challenges. Local performing arts organization Wonderland Performing Arts has developed a potential solution: learning pods.
3 min read
Living through Covid in Louisiana French
In interviews with Cajun elders, UL archivists explore the experience and expression of the pandemic in Louisiana French.
8 min read
At Vermilionville, a reckoning with cultural exclusion
Vermilionville has made strides in presenting a more comprehensive portrayal of the Acadiana’s history. Change at the museum, however, is a work in progress.
10 min read
How to plan a performing arts season during a pandemic — Q&A with AcA’s Clayton Shelvin
AcA’s talent buyer talks the challenges of planning for the unexpected and how to attack the notion of the performing arts as a “white space.”
7 min read