April Happenings

Easter Weekend

Several local restaurants will be open for Easter Sunday brunch or dinner for those of us who enjoy when someone else does the cooking!

Eight Sisters – open 11 am until 5:30 pm.  225-635-4000

Oxbow Restaurant – open 11 am until 2 pm.  Reservations encouraged.  225-635-6276

The Bluffs Restaurant – open 11 am until 1:30 pm.  Easter Brunch Buffet.  Reservations required.  225-634-3000

 

Attractions that will be closed on Easter Sunday are the Cottage Plantation and Greenwood Plantation.

 

The Shanty Too will be open on Easter Sunday.

 

Music at The Mag

Friday, April 2 – Late Evening; Saturday, April 3 – Scott Ainslie; Friday, April 9 – Full Service Station; Friday, April 16 – Trouvere; Friday, April 23 – Rock-It Sound Company; Friday, April 30 – Delta Drifters.  Also, on Sunday, April 25, Dave Alvin & Guilty Women will perform.  There is a $20 cover for that one concert.

 

Blues Supper

The BirdMan Coffee & Books will host Dylan Sneed for their monthly Blues Supper on Monday, April 5.  Music starts at 6 pm, and supper will be served.  Dylan has been touring and working on a new LP, Texodus.

 

Nature Saturday

On Saturday, April 10, Audubon State Historic Site presents Nature Saturday.  At 10 am and again at noon, visitors can participate in an Animal Discovery program which introduces them to a few of the site’s resident creatures.  At 1:30 pm and again at 2:30 pm, visitors will have the opportunity to go on a guided nature walk around the park led by one of the site’s park rangers.  There, they will discover the different plant and habitats within the park.  For more information, phone 225-635-3739.

 

Old West Florida

Audubon State Historic Site presents its monthly Old West Florida program entitled, Clothing in West Florida.  On Sunday, April 11, at noon and at 2pm, there will be a talk on the clothing in Spanish Louisiana in the museum theatre.  At 1 pm and 3 pm, there will be a costume discussion and demonstration in the museum theatre.  For more information, phone 225-635-3779.

 

Matzoh Ball Gumbo*

The Julius Freyhan Foundation presents this Symposium on Jewish Life in the Lower Mississippi River Valley on Friday, April 16 at 9 am at the West Feliciana Parish Courthouse.  Speakers include Dr. Stuart Rockoff, ISJL; Dr. Charles Isbell, LSU; Anne Butler, Author of Three Generous Generations; and Catherine Kahn, Author and Activist.  Lunch is included and will be prepared with recipes from Matzoh Ball Gumbo*.  For more information, visit www.freyhanfoundation.org.

 

Community Market Day

This new event sponsored by the St. Francisville Merchants Association will be held on Saturday, April 17, from 9 am until 1 pm at Parker Park.  Featured will be handmade items by regional artists, music and baked goods.  For more information, call 225-635-3873.

 

Spring Horticultural Seminar

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site kicks off the Spring and Summer gardening seasons with a Horticultural Seminar held on the plantation grounds.  On Saturday, April 17, Site Manager Patricia Aleshire will present a seminar on “Antique Roses.”  The lecture session will present a slide introduction and discussion of the historical background of numerous varieties of heirloom roses, as well as the care needed for these beautiful plants to thrive in a southern garden.  Following the lecture, Aleshire will lead a walking tour through selected areas of Rosedown’s historic gardens to view various antique rose varieties on site.  The program will begin at 10 am in the Rosedown Conference Room.  For more information, call 225-635-3110.

 

Lost Arts

Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site continues its series of Living History Demonstrations with the next in their series of monthly programs, “Lost Arts of the Nineteenth Century.”  On Saturday, April 17, visitors are invited to learn about nineteenth-century arts and activities.  Presented by Rosedown Interpretive Ranger Sasha Trana, this month’s “lost art” is the shaving horse.  During the program, Trana will explain to visitors the origins, history and use of the shaving horse in shaping wood pieces into tool handles, rounded chair pieces, canes, staffs and more.  Also discussed will be how the craft has evolved over time.  Trana will be presenting demonstrations, held between 11 am and 2 pm, of the shaving horse on the back porch of the Main House.  For more information, call 225-635-3110.

 

Wildest Show in the South

The Angola Prison Spring Rodeo & Craft Show is set for April 17 and 18.  Billed as The Wildest Show in the South, gates open at 9 am, while the show starts at 2 pm.  Tickets are $10 and are available by calling 225-655-2030 or visiting www.angolarodeo.com.

 

A Day of Love

At Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site, love is in the air, and two historic plantation houses and families are united on this day – Saturday, April 24 – as costumed re-enactors present the April 9, 1857 wedding of Sarah Turnbull of Rosedown to James Pirrie Bowman of Oakley.  The wedding re-enactment will be held at 1 pm with the reception to follow.  For more information, phone 225-635-3332.

 

Pops at Hemingbough

The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra invites you, your family and friends to an evening under the stars on the beautiful grounds of Heminbough on Saturday, May 1.  The music of The Beatles comes to life as the stars of Classical Mystery Tour join the Symphony to present timeless favorites such as Penny Lane, Yesterday, Hey Jude and many more.  Table seating is available as well as lawn seating, perfect for those who choose a more casual picnic setting.  Feel free to pack you favorite culinary delights or enjoy the sumptuous fare offered at Hemingbough.  Reserve and purchase your table for this memorable event by calling the Symphony Box Office at 225-383-0500, ext. 100.  If you prefer lawn seating, please purchase online at www.brso.org.  This concert is part of the West Florida Republic Bicentennial, and part of the proceeds go to building Republic Park commemorating the 200^th anniversary of the 1810 Rebellion.