Workshops at Gallery By the Lake

Gallery by the Lake and Associated Louisiana Artists are sponsoring Life, Figure, and Landscape Drawing with Gerry Wubben at the Creative Arts Center on Thursday evenings June 7 through July 12. Please contact the gallery at 337 436-1008 to sign up or for more information. Space is limited.

Lois Derise offers an oil painting class on Tuesday afternoons or evenings. Contact Lois at 337 477-0659 for more information.

Sue Zimmerman is offering a watercolor painting class on Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:30. Please contact Sue at 337 478-3850 for more information.

You can also check out our website at Fine Arts America/Gallery by the Lake to keep up with all of our current activities.

Sunday Concert with Chester Daigle and Laura Dunn David

Tina Wing to Offer Summer Music and Voice Lessons

Tina Wing, located within Central School Arts & Humanities Center, will offer a series of music and voice classes this summer for a variety of ages. Tina has performed music for over 25 years, and she was self-taught before being classically trained and performing in award-winning choirs. She studied vocal education, jazz, and guitar at McNeese and has been teaching guitar since 1986.


Tina's summer music lessons include:


Fun with Music: June 4th - June 8th, 5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m., for ages 5-8.


Future Pop Singers: June 4th - 7th, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., for ages 9-13.


Hand Drum Classes: July 9th - July 12th, 3 p.m. - 4 p.m., for ages 8-12.


Students need not provide their own instruments for these classes. Call (337) 527-3509 or email songbirdish@aol.com for details. For more information on Tina Wing, visit www.tinawing.com.

Become a Member of LCA!

Your help is needed to ensure the arts have a future in Louisiana. Louisiana Citizens for the Arts is a statewide nonprofit organization devoted to acting as the voice for the arts in Baton Rouge, and it is comprised of each region's arts council and arts leaders.

The majority of LCA's activities revolve around advocacy which include attending Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., tracking the State's cultural agenda, promoting arts education, advocating for increased arts funding, and maintaining strong relationships with legislative floor leaders. Their work is essential in giving the arts a presence during legislative sessions, and the membership fees they receive cover the cost of our arts lobbyist, Kevin Hayes, who works one-on-one with senators and representatives.

Last year, Kevin was able to secure an additional $500,000 for our Decentralized Arts Funding grant program at the 11th hour. We must do our part to make sure we have enough money to keep Kevin, and you can help us achieve this by renewing or becoming a member of LCA today for as little as $25.

Each dollar counts, and without a strong lobbyist, it will be easy for the arts to lose their voice in Baton Rouge. Visit www.louisianacitizensforthearts.org to join today!

Teaching Artist Workshop

The Louisiana Imagination, Creativity, and Innovation (ICI) initiative presents a one-day training for individual artists interested in learning how to work in the classroom. The training will take place at the 2012 ICI Institute and will train artists to work in schools and the surrounding community for after school, enrichment, and residency programs. 

• Where: The LSU School of Music Building on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge (once registered, participants will receive a map with directions).
• When: Saturday, June 23rd, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Cost: The registration fee is $15 which includes all materials and lunch.

Workshops Include:

• Crafting an Effective Lesson Plan
• Educational Psychology 101: Childhood Development and Learning
• Networking Lunch: Artist Meet & Greet
• Classroom Management for Teaching Artists
• Artist-in-Residence: Teaching Art in the Classroom

How to Register:

• To register, go to www.eventbrite.com/event/3568596769.
• Be sure to submit active contact information for the summer.
• Registration payments can be made online through Eventbrite.
• Registration must be completed by June 15th, 2012.

ICI is a program of the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, and is administered by KID smART, an arts education nonprofit in New Orleans. For further information, contact KID smART at 504-410-1990 or email ICI@kidsmart.org.

Contact your Legislators TODAY!

Contact your legislators today to save the arts in Louisiana! Here's how!

The time is NOW to contact members of the Senate Finance Committee and ask them to vote for an increase in arts funding. You need to do it NOW because this is our LAST chance to have funding restored. The timing could not be better for us because of Wednesday's highly successful Advocacy Day in the Capitol! To those of you who were able to participate, thank you! For those of you who were unable to make the trip to Baton Rouge, here's your chance to shout out for the arts! We need you to contact Senate Finance twice: once today and again on Saturday morning.

The Lieutenant Governor will be testifying today in the Senate Finance Committee with Public Testimony being taken on Saturday. Louisiana Citizens for the Arts will have representatives testifying about the need to increase funding for the arts in House Bill 1, the Budget. We need your help to get the message out to the legislators on the committee.

;Here's how to do it:

1. First, click here to reach our ACTION ALERT page.
2. Under the first alert -- which reads "Louisiana: Urge Members of Senate Finance Committee to vote FOR an INCREASE in Arts Funding!" -- click the "Take Action" button.
3. On the next page, you'll see the action alert, and as you scroll down, you will see the message to the members of the Senate Finance Committee. School down to the sender information. If you have never sent a CapWiz message, you will need to provide the information requested. Once that's done, hit "send message."
4. Use the "Tell-A-Friend" feature at the bottom of the next page to get your fellow arts advocates involved.
5. That's it! You're done! Remember, with your help we were able to have the arts funding reinstated last year. We need everyone's help again this year to do it again!

What's happening now?
Both the Decentralized Arts Funding and the Statewide Arts Grants programs have been targeted with crippling cuts. In the current bill, all that's remaining for DAF is $1 million and only $959,000 remains for SAG, which represents a 60% reduction in funding levels from fiscal year 2009. Louisiana Citizens for the Arts is requesting that the Legislature restore both grant programs to the 2009 funding level by adding $1 million to each program in the Division of the Arts budget. It is extremely important that you contact the members of Senate Finance to show your support.

Louisiana Citizens for the Arts is urging the full restoration of $1 million of funding to the DAF program to remain funded at the $2 million level. The DAF program supports organizations in each parish on a per capita basis and creates cultural projects with an economic return of $11 per $1 spent in your communities.

Louisiana Citizens of the Arts is urging the full restoration of $1 million of funding to the Statewide Arts Grant program to remain funded at the level of $1.95 million. The Statewide Arts Grants program provides stabilization, capacity building and arts in education grants to our major arts organizations and local arts agencies, with a $28 return per $1 spent in your communities.

How are you affected?
If these cuts come to pass, they will cripple the cultural economic engine and tourism industry of Louisiana. These cuts affect artists, teachers, non-profit organizations, festivals,  libraries, museums, and theatres alike. No community will remain untouched, and the economic loss will rank second only to the loss in social profit, community, and quality of life.

Culture is Louisiana's finest natural resource. We need to nurture and protect it for it to flourish. Now is the time for you to have a voice!

Click here to send a message NOW asking the Senate Finance Committee members to support our request for the increase in funding.

Thank you for your support!

Bicentennial Mural Unveiling and LPB Screening

As part of the state’s Bicentennial celebration, Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) will present a free screening for Louisiana: 200 Years of Statehood on Thursday, May 17, at the Central School Arts and Humanities Center, 809 Kirby St. in Lake Charles.  The documentary film is being planned in conjunction with the Arts & Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana and the Louisiana Bicentennial Commission. 

The documentary, narrated by Harry Connick, Jr., will begin at 7 p.m. in the theatre with a special presentation by Shelley Johnson, executive director of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau; Fred Stark, Bicentennial mural artist; and Beth Courtney with LPB.  The film will follow a glimpse of the newest downtown public art mural located on the side of locally-owned dessert shop, Sweets & Treats.  Local artist Fred Stark, whose work appears in 16 states, is creating a large scale Bicentennial-themed mural to illustrate our Southwest Louisiana connection to the state’s 200 year legacy.  Composed in three different layers and timelines, the mural will show the visual history of Louisiana from 1812 to 2012 and include local ties with the centennial anniversaries of four local historic landmarks. 

Join us for the unveiling of the mural that same day at 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Sweets and Treats, located at 411 Ryan Street, Lake Charles.

Major funding for Louisiana: 200 Years of Statehood was provided by Entergy Louisiana, the Reilly Family Foundation, the Propane Dealers of Louisiana and ExxonMobil Baton Rouge.  For more information, contact the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau at 337-436-9588 or log onto www.visitlakecharles.org/200.

Arts Advocacy Day is Tomorrow!!

Dear Friends and Arts Supporters,

Wednesday, May 16 is another important date for you, for our Louisiana artists, arts organizations and for our communities large and small. Citizens from throughout Louisiana will travel to Baton Rouge for Louisiana Citizens for the Arts’ 2012 Arts Advocacy Day. This is OUR opportunity to personally remind representatives and senators that funding for the arts benefits EVERY parish in Louisiana.

This year, Arts Advocacy day will be a featured component of Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne’s CULTURE CONNECTION initiative, which brings together stakeholders (i.e. voters like you and me) to connect with the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism to move cultural development forward. We hope you will join in as many of the day's events as possible! Details and directions are below.

Here are a few hints to make the day more enjoyable and effective:

• Wear blue!
• Be sure to get your “Art WORKS for Louisiana!” sticker at the 11 am LCA meeting at the Capital Welcome Center or one of the display tables in the Capitol lobby.
• Enjoy learning about the work done by our wonderful non-profit arts organizations throughout Louisiana
• Be on the lookout for mini-arts experiences throughout the day
• Join a caravan/carpool from your area or come on your own
• Take a moment to send your representative and senator a note (we’ll help you if you are a first-timer!), telling them that their constituent (YOU) believe that funding for the arts is essential for the health and well-being of our communities.

Your Advocacy Update:

First and foremost, your emails and calls have been critical to keeping arts funding on lawmakers’ radar. As House Bill 1 moves to the Senate Finance Committee, we will continue close monitoring. When you receive an Action Alert to contact committee members, PLEASE respond immediately! Just as they did for House Appropriations, representatives of LCA will provide public testimony before Senate Finance. Our message will focus on the decreased funding proposed by the administration, the crucial part decentralized arts funding (DAF) plays in every parish, and the economic impact that proposed cuts will have. Stay tuned – we will keep you updated!

As always, THANK YOU for making your voice and convictions heard! It makes a difference for our young people, our communities and our economy.  We look forward to seeing many of you Wednesday!

Christie Weeks, Chair

Gerd Wuestemann, Vice-chair for Advocacy

Tommy Usrey, Past Chair

LOUISIANA CITIZENS FOR THE ARTS            

To become a contributing member of LCA, go to http://LouisianaCitizensfortheArts.org

Follow us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/LouisianaCitizensArts

LA Poet Laureate Reveals Bicentennial Poems

This past Saturday the bicentennial continued with the revealing of a special commissioned series of poems by our Louisiana Poet Laureate, Julie Kane. The reading was sponsored by the Imperial Calcasieu Museum and was part of the area's series of events and programs inspired by the state's year-long bicentennial celebration which is coordinated in conjunction with the Lake Charles/SWLA Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Museum, and the Arts Council. If you missed the reading, check out a great video of the bicentennial poems produced by Karen Wink of the American Press!

Downtown at Sundown Looking for Vendors

Plans are set for the 14^th season of Downtown at Sundown, presented by the City of Lake Charles. The format includes free concerts, vendor booths and kids’ entertainment. Event organizers are calling for vendors with artwork, handcrafted items, and other high-quality items to be sold during the four consecutive Fridays. The concerts will take place in the 600 block of Ryan Street from 6-9 p.m. For more information call 337-491-9159 or dfasske@cityoflc.us.

Friends of the Library Book Sale

Artistically Speaking

Karen Wink over at the American Press has produced a new series of web videos that spotlight locals who are bettering our arts community. This endeavor, called Artistically Speaking, is on its third edition which stars local musician and song writer Paul Gonsoulin. If you haven't seen Paul perform, you're missing out on one of the top musical talents in the Lake Area. His hands are in several bands, including Bobcat, Lucy in Disguise, and Hot Damn! I Shot My Man, and he works constantly to develop our music scene.


Check out Karen's video of Paul, which was shot at Central School Arts & Humanities Center!

LA Poet Laureate to Give Bicentennial Reading

With every city and town across the state celebrating the Louisiana Bicentennial all year long, Lake Charles is offering its own series of events to showcase its role in the state's history. The Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA and the Imperial Calcasieu Museum have partnered with the Lake Charles/SWLA Convention & Visitors Bureau to facilitate these events as a way to honor and celebrate our rich history, heritage, and culture.

On Saturday, May 12th, the current Louisiana Poet Laureate, Julie Kane, will give a special poetry reading at the Imperial Calcasieu Museum at 4 p.m. As part of the bicentennial, Kane has been commissioned to compose an original series of poems which use the history of Lake Charles and the bicentennial as inspiration, and this series will be revealed during the May 12th reading which will be held under the arms of the Museum's history 375 year-old Sallier Oak. A reception will follow the reading.

Kane's series will examine the intersection between landscape and identity while united the familiar images and symbols of Southwest Louisiana. "We are honored to have Julie immortalize Lake Charles in this way, and we can't wait for the big reveal," said Susan Reed, executive director of the Museum. "Julie is a true Louisiana poet with a great, fresh perspective of our state's identity. We want to really show the rest of the state how unique Southwest Louisiana is and how we tie into the state's 200 year legacy.

In her approach to the Lake Charles series, Kane picked up local folklorist Keagan LeJeune's book Always for the Underdog: Leather Britches Smith and the Grabow War, which details Southwest Louisiana figures that are closely tied to the region's history and identity. Kane also worked with the article "How Louisiana Became a State" by Ron Chapman which appeared in Louisiana Life. "In order to be inspired to write poems responding to the subject of Louisiana's statehood, I had to first feel a personal connection to the subject, and those two historians really brought the era and the politics to life for me," Kane commented.

Kane is also a non-fiction writer, editor, and translator and is the author of several books of poetry with many of her poems appearing widely in anthologies. Kane, who currently lives in Natchitoches, La., was appointed to the position of Louisiana Poet Laureate by Governor Bobby Jindal in 2011, and is a professor of English at Northwestern State University.

Also this month, the Arts Council and the Convention & Visitors Bureau will unveil downtown's newest public art display on Thursday, May 17th, at 2 p.m. Local artist Fred Stark was contracted by the Arts Council to create a bicentennial mural on the south side of locally-operated dessert shop Sweets & Treats. Stark's murals appear in sixteen states, and this large scale bicentennial-themed mural will illustrate our Southwest Louisiana connection to Louisiana's statehood. Composed in three different layers and timelines, the mural will show the visual history of Louisiana from 1812 to 2012.

That evening, Louisiana Public Broadcasting will host a free screening of the bicentennial documentary Louisiana: 200 Years of Statehood at the Benjamin W. Mount Auditorium at Central School at 7 p.m. The documentary is narrated by Harry Connick, Jr., and the public is invited to attend.

The season of bicentennial events in Lake Charles will continue in September with a unique George Rodrigue exhibit titled 200 Years: The Faces & Places of Louisiana. For more information on the reading, call the Museum at 439-3797. For more information on the bicentennial, contact the Convention & Visitors Bureau at 436-9588 or visit www.visitlakecharles.org/bicentennial.

1911 City Hall Presents Edward Woods Exhibition

The City of Lake Charles will present Poetry of Color, by Edward Woods at Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center. The exhibition will open with a reception hosted by Mr. Woods on Thursday, May 24 from 5:30-8pm.

Woods was drawn to art at an early age. In the 4th grade, he attended art classes for gifted children at a college in Michigan, where he was born. Later, his family moved to Iowa, Louisiana where he attended middle and high school. Although he had no further training, he surrounded himself with learning and researching art. After serving in the Navy, he returned home and his interest in art was reignited. Woods said, “I love to capture movement, motion, color, depth and atmosphere through the poetry of paint and art media. The excitement is in seeing the piece evolve as I push forward to create something that didn’t exist before.” Poetry of Color will hang through July 21. 

Historic City Hall is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Admission is free, but donations are gladly accepted.  For more information, please call 491-9147 or visit www.cityoflakecharles.com.

Lake Charles Civic Ballet Presents Spring Performance

Lake Charles Civic Ballet presents its Spring 2012 performance, Sunday, May 20, 3:00 PM at the Rosa Hart Theatre. Admission is Free. The ballet company will present four works, including Stars and Stripes and Sheer Whimsy, both classics from the LCCB Repertoire and new works from Elizabeth Gates and Andrew Anderson, as well as pieces featuring students of Lady Leah Lafargue School of the Dance. 

Stars and Stripes
Photo by Danley Romero

In classic LCCB style, Stars and Stripes beautifully displays the athleticism of the organization's performing company members. This patriotic crowd pleaser is perfect in this bicentennial year for Louisiana! The dancers demonstrate lightening fast pointe work in one of the variations performed by Adelaide Saucier, Katelyn Chargois, Margaret Lie, and Ashley Eaves. In another section, Anne Veillon, Tristan Morgan, Annabelle Bang, and Julia Basone dance with force through petit and grand allegro jumping combinations. And no tribute would be complete without our military men, Andrew Anderson and Adrian Durham. With strength, confidence, and ease, they partner the lovely ladies and LCCB, giving the audience the illusion that these red, white & blue beauties are floating like the stars on Old Glory!

Room for Happiness is a new work choreographed for the Spring Performance by Andrew Anderson. Set to electronic compositions, Fortune Soul by Blackmill and Room for Happiness by Kaskade, the piece has a modern feel. "I wanted to play with the contradicting emotions in the two different pieces of music. Fortune Soul is an upbeat melody with strong beats, very positive and feeing, while Room for Happiness is broken-hearted and distant but still with an uplifting message. The theme would be the struggle of breaking down the barriers that you fight with on a day to day basis, whether it be spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical."

According to Elizabeth Gates, Psalm of Spring was inspired by Spring itself. Ms. Gates selected Handel's Water Music Allegro for this work, and choreographed it on Adelaid Saucier, Katelyn Chargois, and Ashley Eaves. The piece premiered at the November 2011 Sneak Preview and Behind the Scenes with LCCB event at Central School Theatre, hosted by Heather Ieyoub of KVHP/FOX29. Gates says, "This Handel piece, in particular, was so vibrant I just imagined dancers in the place of rushing water of a stream or brook. I imagined after all the ice has melted off the hills and rocks and the water rushes out, giving life to all that need it. I really just wanted to play with the musicality of the dancers in the space; the pure joy of Spring beauty, movement, and music were my inspirations."

Sheer Whimsy
Photo by Danley Romero

Sheer Whimsy, created by Lady Leah Lafargue Hathaway, debuted in 1983 and has been pulled out of the LCCB repertoire once again. It is the story of a sad, male mime (Anderson) who cannot be cheered by the five happy female mimes (Saucier, Chargois, Lie, Eaves, Veillon), despite their best efforts! They coax him with bouquets of flowers that spring open in concert with the choreography. Finally, one of the girls (Saucier) determines that the only way to change his mood is to re-paint his mouth into a smile! Sure enough, the male mime is delighted when he sees his reflection and he joins the girls in the joyous finale. This piece calls to mind the voiceless comedy of Chaplin and provides enthralling character work and expression to draw the audience into the story.

For more information like Lake Charles Civic Ballet on facebook, follow @LC_CivicBallet on Twitter, or visit www.lakecharlescivicballet.com. The Lake Charles Civic Ballet is a 501c3 non-profit organization supported by grants from the Louisiana State Arts Council through the Louisiana Division of the Arts, City of Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau as administered by the Arts and humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana. LCCB received the 2001 Mayor’s Arts Organization of the Year Award.

Central School Theatre Dedicated to Ben Mount

From left: Ann Knapp; Senator Willie Mount; Friends of Central School chairperson Laura Leach

This past Saturday, Friends of Central School and the City of Lake Charles dedicated Central School's theatre to the late Ben Mount. Without the vision and dedication of Ben, we simply would not have Central School today as a comprehensive arts and cultural center for the region. It is with great excitement that our theatre has been renamed the Benjamin W. Mount Auditorium. If you missed out on the day's events, you can still come by Central School to see Central School: A Visual History in the Black Heritage Gallery which exhibits photographs and artifacts from the center's past as a historic elementary school. You can also purchase Friends of Central School t-shirts and ornaments on the Arts Council's website.

Downtown at Sundown About to Kick Off!

The City of Lake Charles announces the kick off the 2012 Downtown at Sundown series with the sounds of Boomerang. The event will take place in the street within the 600 block of Ryan between Division and Mill Streets from 6-9pm. The former site of the event will be open and available for parking cars. Downtown at Sundown features a variety of music from local and regional bands as well as food and beverage booths, table top galleries, and activities for kids. We want everyone to come downtown to patronize the businesses and see the ongoing “Streetscape” project. 

Boomerang has been rockin' the region since 2006, and it's been one wild ride. Like a good pot of gumbo, Boomerang mixes it all up. Start off with a big serving of funk, toss in some classic rock, sprinkle it with country, serve it with a little dab of top 40 and you get an enjoyable party experience that can cater to anyone's tastes. They don't just serve in a bland 'ole gumbo bowl, they decorate it with bell bottoms, afros, glittered shirts and gold fish inlaid clodhoppers. Band members are Billy Cormier, lead guitar; J. P. Booth, drums; Victor Montgomery, lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Greg Richardson, keyboards; and Rod Lavergne, bass. For more info about Boomerang go to http://www.theboomerangexperience.com 

Beverage sales will be facilitated by B.A.A.K. of Southwest Louisiana (Benefiting Area At-risk Kids) and will benefit the Harbour House. Harbour House ETC provides intervention and prevention services which address the issues affecting youth and families who are in at risk situations.

“Since we’ve opened, Harbor House has served almost 7,000 admissions,” said Dunn.
It is one of ten programs belonging to the Educational and Treatment Council, Inc. (ETC).  The ETC is a private, not for profit social service agency providing intervention and prevention services which address the issues affecting youth and families who are in at risk situations. They are funded, according to Dunn, “through a variety of local money – parish money – as well as some state contracts and federal grants." Their major fundraiser for Harbor House, ‘Jokes, Jazz, and Just Desserts’, will be held in September at L’Auberge Hotel and Casino in Lake Charles.

 The five parish Southwest Louisiana area is their main area of focus. Eighty-five percent of admits to Harbor House come from Calcasieu parish while 15 percent come from outlying parishes and from out of state, although the out of state numbers are very small.

Quite a large number of the children admitted will have substance abuse issues, be one or more grades behind where they should be in school, have some kind of mental health issue, have a history of runaway behavior, suffer from some form of child abuse or neglect, or be a repeat admit. Seventy percent, according to Dunn, will have come from the juvenile justice or foster care system. For these children, Harbor House offers 24 hour supervision by trained youth care workers, individual case management by Bachelor degree level case managers, individualized and family counseling from Master degree level counselors, continuing education on site through Calcasieu Parish School Board, specialized programs (such as substance abuse awareness, social skills training, and conflict resolution, among others), and group counseling.

Dunn emphasized that however disconnected from society these children are through their situations, they still “have their own hopes and dreams for the future”. Some of them can’t be reached and are lost to suicide, drugs, or incarceration. But the majority of them can be reached and can go on to become productive, law abiding citizens.

Top of FBottom of Form

It is through the philanthropic support of The American Press, CITGO, Delta Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel and Entergy that this popular, family-friendly event is sustained. The music line-up will be: May 18, Boomerang; May 25, Chris Ardoin and NuStep; June 1, Soul Vacation; June  8, City Heat.

           

If inclement weather prevails, the concerts will be held inside the Lake Charles Civic Center. Concert goers are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, however, no outside beverages or pets are allowed on site. For more information, call the City of Lake Charles Arts and Culture Department at 337-491-9159 or visit on Facebook or www.CityOfLakeCharles.com

The Arts Council is on Team Joshua!

In case you haven't turned on the television in the past several weeks, Westlake native Joshua Ledet has taken FOX29's American Idol by storm! After showcasing his incredible vocal talents, Joshua has made it to the top five, but he needs your help in continuing his journey. Southwest Louisiana is rallying together to make our hometown singer a star.

A graduate of Westlake High School, Joshua started singing at the age of three in his father's church. Before he won over the hearts of the judges and the country on American Idol, Joshua worked for the Calcasieu Parish Recreation Center in Westlake.

Catch Joshua each Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on FOX29 or head over to Westlake for the viewing/voting party at the Westlake Multi-Purpose Complex at 6:30 p.m.  Be sure to vote for Joshua after each performance! If Josh makes it to the top three, American Idol will make a special trip to Southwest Louisiana to film Josh's hometown return to meet his supportive fan base. Voting opens after the performances each Wednesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., so make your voice heard and vote for Josh!

There are three easy ways for you to vote:

1.  Toll-free Voting:  To vote, simply watch American Idol on FOX, from 7-9 p.m. and dial Josh’s assigned telephone number starting at 9:01 p.m. until 11 p.m. Votes are unlimited when calling or texting.
2.  AT&T Text Voting: Joshua Ledet will be assigned his own SMS/text message short code number each Wednesday. AT&T wireless customers only may text the word ‘VOTE’ to Joshua’s 4 digit short code numbers.
3.  Online Voting: If you have a Facebook account, you can also vote online at www.AmericanIdol.com. Online voting is limited to 50 votes per account.

Voting will open at the end of each performance show on Wednesday night at 9:01 p.m. You will have at least two hours to cast your votes.  The results will be broadcast on FOX Thursday at 7 p.m.