Happenings

Live Music

A couple of local venues will be hosting live music this Friday, January 15.  It begins at The Mag at 7 pm with Gary Bello.  Next door at The Blue Room, the music kicks off at 9 pm with Chase Tyler who will be playing country, spiced up Louisiana style with a pinch of swamp pop.  On Saturday, The Blue Room will have karoke from 8:30 pm until 12:30 am.

 

Lost Arts of the Nineteenth Century

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site offers the next of its monthly series on Saturday, January 16, with the Lost Art of Candlemaking.  Visitors will hear the history of candlemaking and will be shown the two most common methods of making candles in the 19^th century – dipping and mold forming.  The presentation will be held in the Old Kitchen Outbuilding behind the Rosedown main house between 11 am and 2 pm.  Each month the interpretive staff at the site presents a “lost arts” demonstration.  Featured in February as a special program in celebration of Black History Month will be “African and Caribbean Influence on Southern Antebellum Cooking,” a down-hearth cooking demonstration.  Admission is charged.  For more information, call 225-635-3110.

 

Wheels to Succeed

This nonprofit organization purchases adapted three wheeled bikes for children with physical disabilities in South Louisiana.  They are hosting their 2^nd Annual “No Such Thing As Impossible” fundraiser bike ride in St. Francisville on January 16 starting at the West Feliciana Sports Park.  There will be 10 mile, 45 mile and 72 mile rides.  For more information, call Ashley Leach at 225-923-3420 or visit www.wheelstosucceed.org.

 

Living History – Civil War

Those with an interest in Louisiana’s Civil War past are invited to Audubon State Historic Site for this program on Saturday, January 23.  Civil Ware re-enactors dressed in authentic reproduction costumes of the armies of both North and South will be on hand to present a look at life in Civil War Louisiana.  The day’s demonstrations, starting at 10 am and ending at 4 pm, will include drills, black powder weapon demonstrations, open hearth cooking, costume talks, camp life, and more.  There will be a small scale reenactment of the 1863 Battle of Plains Store, the battle that led to the Siege of Port Hudson, the longest siege in American History.  There is a small admission fee charged.  For more information, call 225-635-3739.

 

Star Hill Half Marathon

On Saturday, January 30, Rocket Racing will hold a half marathon race as well as a 4-mile race here in West Feliciana parish.  Event organizers say all proceeds from these events benefit charities such as Rocketkidz Foundation, a non-profit hosted by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation which in turn funds local programs that promote childhood fitness and positive experiences through physical activities such as Rouge Runners, Girls on the Run, Wheels to Succeed, Booster Rocket Program, and BREC Summer Camp Scholarships.  The races will begin at The Bluffs, to Freeland Road, down Highway 966 to Hwy. 61 and then back again.  So if you happen to be out running errands on that Saturday, watch out for the bikers and runners.  For more information, visit www.starhillhalf.com.

 

February Events

pARTy in the Ville – St. Francisville’s version of “corks and canvas” is set for Thursday, February 4 at Sage Hill Gifts on Commerce Street.  Featured artist is Elizabeth Leake Mackey.  Reservations – 635-6596. 

Camellias in the Country, February 5 and 6 – Friday night wine and cheese reception at 6 pm at Old Market Hall on Royal Street precedes presentation by local historian and author, Anne Butler.  Saturday seminar will feature photographer Darrell Chitty, walking tour of Rosedown Plantation State Historic Sites heirloom and contemporary varieties of camellias and lunch.  www.audubonbirdfest.com

Taste of the Felicianas Gala, February 26 – “A Mystical Night in Black and White” features all-you-can-eat tasting from area restaurants and caterers, live music and dancing, silent auction and other surprises.  Proceeds support local philanthropies of the Women’s Service League.  www.wslgala.com.

Celebration of Readers and Writers Symposium, February 27 – The Friends of the Library will host this annual event at The Oxbow Restaurant from 8:30 am until 2 pm.  635-3364

Art View, February 28 – Arts for All will host this art show from 2 pm until 4 pm at Old market Hall.