Lake Charles to be represented at national poetry out loud competition!

Pam Breaux, Assistant Secretary to
the Office of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism,
with State Champion Keaghan Kane

On Saturday, March 24^th, eleven finalists from across Louisiana high schools competed at the Louisiana State Museum for top honors as Louisiana State Champion for Poetry Out Loud’s 2012 season. Over a thousand students competed in Louisiana, and three students from Southwest Louisiana were among these finalists: Keaghan Kane, home schooled, 12^th grade; Elizabeth Salvador, home schooled, 10^th grade; and Raven Dobbins of Washington-Marion High School, 9^th grade.

After a highly competitive contest in which each student recited three poems on stage in front of a packed room and four qualified judges including published poets and LSU professors, Kane was awarded first place as State Champion and will go on to represent Southwest Louisiana at the National Poetry Out Loud Competition in Washington, D.C. on May 13^th-14^th.

Kane will be the second Lake Charles student in a row that competes at the national competition with last year’s state championship awarded to David Douglas of Washington-Marion High School. Kane won the state judges over with her recitations of “Preludes” by T.S. Eliot, “Crossing the Bar” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and “Monet Refuses the Operation” by Lisel Mueller. Kane, who has competed in Poetry Out Loud for the past four years, is a home schooled senior graduating in May, and she will attend Patrick Henry College in Purcellville, Virginia, to pursue a degree in literature.

“This was Keaghan’s last year to be eligible to compete, and she has grown stronger each year in her abilities to understand the architecture of each poem and to translate that understanding effortlessly in her performances,” stated Erica McCreedy, Special Projects Coordinator for the Arts Council. “She will be a great voice for Louisiana at the national competition.”

Poetry Out Loud began in 2005 from the joint efforts of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. The Louisiana Division of the Arts has been played a vital role in keeping this program strong, and the Arts Council facilitates this program in Southwest Louisiana each year. For more information about Poetry Out Loud or how to participate in next year’s round of competitions, contact the Arts Council at (337) 439-2787.

Live @ the Lakefront Concludes with City Heat!

Live @ the Lakefront will end its explosive inaugural season on Friday, March 30th, with performances by local favorites City Heat and Iberville High Life. The Lake Area's newest music festival is co-presented by the Arts & Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana and the City of Lake Charles, and its goal is to showcase the Lakefront Promenade while celebrating local music talents and Southwest Louisiana culture.

This Friday's concert will be held at the Arcade Amphitheater on the Lakefront Promenade from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and it will also feature Lake Area food vendors, children's entertainment, beverage sales as well as booths showcasing one-of-a-kind local art from a variety of art mediums.

Come spread a blanket on the amphitheater's grassy hill and listen to the best live music around with the lakeshore scenery and the cool March weather as the perfect backdrop! 

Live @ the Lakefront acts as a fundraiser for the arts in Southwest Louisiana with all proceeds from Coke, Budweiser, Miller, and wine sales going directly to the Arts Council's efforts to support area arts and cultural initiatives and endeavors.

Mayor Randy Roach will welcome the audience with local blues band Iberville High Life to follow. With Bam Arceneaux, Tim Norris, Steve Dufrene making up its core, Iberville High Life performs across the dynamic spectrum of the blues genre with special emphasis on traditional blues. 

Jazz band City Heat will headline Friday's concert, and despite beginning as Isle of Capri Casino's house band, City Heat has become one of Southwest Louisiana's most sought-after live music acts. The band originated in Lake Charles and is driven by local jazz legend Chester Daigle with their unique combinations and fusions of jazz, funk, blues, and R&B. City Heat's repertoire of original and cover songs has cemented them as a true Southwest Louisiana favorite.

Live @ the Lakefront is free to the public and is made possible by Deep South Productions and generous sponsorships from Isle of Capri Casino Hotel and Tobacco Free Living. Event partners include Townsquare Media, Gator 99.5, Coca-Cola, 107 JAMZ, Cajun Radio, KISSFM, 92.9 The Lake, the Porch Coffee House & Café, American Press, Lake Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau, Knight Media Printing, Southwest Daily News, the Jambalaya News, Lagniappe, Thrive Magazine, KPLC, Beverage Sales, Southwest Beverage, and Redfish Rental.

No ice chests or outside food are allowed. For details about Live @ the Lakefront, call the Arts Council office at 439-ARTS or visit www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org.

The Southern Review and LSU to hold open forum

On Thursday, April 5th, LSU Press and The Southern Review will host a free presentation and open forum at the Central School Arts & Humanities Center theatre from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Louisiana Bound will be a discussion about Louisiana’s premier academic book publisher and literary journal. Mary Katherine Callaway, Director of LSU Press, will discuss the history and work of these two literary giants. Judy Kahn and Nolde Alexius will also speak about their book, Best of LSU Fiction, which examines the literary history of LSU.

Since 1935, LSU Press, a non-profit organization and the state's premier academic publisher, has dedicated itself to publishing works of the highest intellectual and creative merit and educating readers about the rich cultural assets and achievements of Louisiana. Also founded in 1935, The Southern Review is LSU's distinguished literary journal. Published quarterly, the journal features fiction, poetry, critical essays, interviews, book reviews, and excerpts from novels in progress.

These discussions will be followed by a reception with wine and light hors d'ouevres and a chance for guests to meet the speakers. This event is made possible by Donna & Rick Richard, III / Empire of the Seed Historic Properties, and the Arts & Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana. For more information or to RSVP, email pblevasseur@lsu.edu or call 225-578-6416.

Arts Funding At Risk!

Dear Friends and Arts Supporters,

Louisiana Citizens for the Arts (formerly Louisiana Partnership for Arts Advocacy) has been mobilizing individual artists, cultural organizations, and widespread arts enthusiasts for more than 19 years. The organization has been key to buildinga strong grassroots network of well-informed arts advocates, who in turn have been successful in persuading Louisiana's legislature to invest in arts funding. We adopted a new name to better portray our mission: Louisiana Citizens for the Arts. The new name correctly identifies the fuel that drives its establishment ─ you, Louisiana's citizens.

Last month, Governor Jindal released the proposed executive budget which reduces this past fiscal year's arts funding by 33%. To have any chance of restoring this funding, we must have the participation of every self-proclaimed arts advocate in the state. Compared with funding levels from fiscal year 2009, the proposed budget slashes arts funding by nearly 60%.

In years past, when we needed you most, you sent more than 40,000 emails to Louisiana legislators. In response, the Senate Finance Committee listened. When you told our legislators that arts funding should be considered an economic development tool and not just a quality of life issue, they heard you and restored funding to the arts industry in Louisiana. This year, we'll need your help again! In addition to writing legislators, you can join us on May 16th for Arts Advocacy Day in the Capitol's rotunda. More information on this lively demonstration of the value of our creative communities will come soon.

If you haven't yet joined as a member, please consider doing so. Visit our website to join or to find out more information about the Louisiana Citizens for the Arts at www.louisianacitizensforthearts.org. Individual membership starts at just $25 per year. Considering how much good comes from this organization, $25 is a steal!

Signed,

Christie Weeks, Chair
Matt Young, Vice Chair for Advocacy
Kevin Hayes, Legislative Lobbyist

The Louisiana Citizens for the Arts is supported solely by donations from citizens, businesses, and organizations who believe the arts are essential to our Louisiana economy, identity, and way of life.

Renowned Artist Alan Flattmann to Conduct Workshop

New Orleans artist Alan Flattmann will conduct a two day oil painting workshop from April 14th and April 15th at the Creative Arts Center located at Associated Louisiana Artists at 106 W. Pryce Street in Lake Charles. Flattmann's career spans over forty years, and he has become one of the most influential and recognizable artists in the country. 

Flattmann's work has been published in numerous art books and magazines, and it has been featured in over sixty solo exhibits and group shows across the world. He is best known for his depictions of New Orleans, and he has led painting tours in Greece, Ireland, and Italy, just to name a few.

The fee for this workshop is $200, and students of all levels and abilities are welcome to participate. To register, call Nancy Czejkowski at (337) 855-9202 or call Gallery by the Lake at (337) 436-1008.

Banners Series Heats Up

The McNeese Banners Cultural Series has, in short, brought an international stage to Lake Charles with a constant cycle of events each Spring that offer renowned musicians, dancers, performers, writers, poets, and historians. This year is no exception, and despite Banners director Mary Richardson retiring, Banners has no plans to lose steam and will continue giving the Lake Area a wider perspective of the world.


On Saturday, March 24th, Banners will present a unique world music performance by Samite in the New Theater at the Shearman Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Joseph Shabalala, founder and leader of Ladysmith Black Mamabzo, said, "When you hear the music of Samite, the soul of Africa is revealed to you." A refugee from Uganda, Samite sings about his difficult and inspiring tale with grace, warmth, and wit. He sings in a bright, sweet tenor, often accompanied by thumb pianos (kalimba), flute, guitar, marimba, and percussion instruments.


Following this, Banners offers weekly performances and events through May of a fantastic spectrum of entertainment and art forms. For more information, visit www.banners.org or call (337) 475-5123.

Live @ the Lakefront Continues!

Live @ the Lakefront officially opened last Friday at the Arcade Amphitheater, and the Lake Area's newest music festival will continue this Friday, March 23rd, for the second concert in its three-part series with performances by Grammy-nominated Cajun band Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys and local indie band Bobcat.


Live @ the Lakefront is presented by the Arts & Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana and the City of Lake Charles, and it seeks to celebrate and showcase local talents through a full-fledged music festival for the Lake Area. A third concert with City Heat and Iberville High Life will follow on Friday, March 30th.


This Friday's concert is sponsored by Tobacco Free Living and will be held at the Arcade Amphitheater on the Lakefront Promenade from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. It will also feature Lake Area food vendors, children's entertainment, and beverage sales as well as booths showcasing one-of-a-kind local art from a variety of art mediums. Festival-goers can spread a blanket on the amphitheater's grassy hill and listen to the best live music around with the lakeshore scenery and cool March weather as the perfect backdrop.


Live @ the Lakefront acts as a fundraiser for the arts in Southwest Louisiana with proceeds from all Coke, Budweiser, Miller, and wine sales going directly to the Arts Council's efforts to support area arts and cultural initiatives and endeavors.


Mayor Randy Roach and Patricia Prudhomme, director of Tobacco Free Living, will open the festival with a welcome from the stage at 6 p.m. Local indie band Bobcat will follow. The band rose from the ashes of several area bands including Canvas Red and Silicon Warriors, and despite beginning as a cover band, Bobcat quickly changed directions and has been working hard at composing strong original songs that have been described by Chris Shearman of LakeCharles.com as "rockin' but introspective. Confident, but not too serious." Their efforts have yielded their explosive debut album ATTACK which can be found on iTunes.

With eleven albums created from a cross-pollination of Cajun, zydeco, and swamp pop sounds, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys easily secured a Grammy nomination for their 2011 album Grand Isle which has been critically acclaimed by The Huffington Post, NPR, The Examiner, and the Chicago Sun-Times, just to list a few. With Riley at the forefront, who is perhaps the most skilled accordion player performing today, the band comes straight out of Mamou and is steeped in an entire history of Cajun music. Riley’s searing, emotional vocals are seamlessly tied to his strong songwriting, onstage charisma, and soulful fiddle solos, and paired with Kevin Wimmer, Sam Broussard, Kevin Dugas, and Brazos Huval, the band has become one of the first thoughts that come to mind when one thinks of Cajun music.

The City of Lake Charles Department of Recreation & Parks will host an extensive children’s entertainment area for each of the three concerts. From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., parents can bring their children to the Arcade Amphitheater for fun jumps, spin art, lawn connect four, coloring table, Putt Putt Golf, and more.

Live @ the Lakefront is co-presented by the Arts Council and the City of Lake Charles and is made possible by Deep South Productions and generous sponsorships from Isle of Capri Casino Hotel, JPMorgan Chase, and Tobacco Free Living. Event partners include Townsquare Media, Gator 99.5, Coca-Cola, 107 JAMZ, Cajun Radio, KISSFM, 92.9 The Lake, the Porch Coffee House & Café, American Press, Lake Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau, Knight Media Printing, Southwest Daily News, the Jambalaya News, Lagniappe, Thrive Magazine, KPLC, Beverage Sales, Southwest Beverage, and Redfish Rental.


The festival is free to the public, and no outside food or ice chests are allowed. For more information, contact the Arts Council at 337-439-ARTS or visit www.artsandhumanitiesswla.org.