Happenings in April

Azalea Walk

Renowned horticulturist Walter Imahara has created one of the most beautiful and peaceful gardens right here in West Feliciana parish.  Imahara’s Southern Garden at 5342 Mahoney Road is committed to providing West Feliciana and surrounding parishes a study of hardy and specialized plant collections in the natural setting of the alluvial Tunica soils.  This Saturday, April 10, from 9 am until 4 pm, Mr. Imahara is opening his gardens to share with us the 2,000 azaleas he has planted and which will be in full bloom.  Still under construction, the garden consists of plantings of not only azaleas, but also camellias, crape myrtles, holly, magnolia, oak varieties, specialty topiaries, an existing cypress swamp, palms, bamboo, Japanese gardens, fruit trees, native planting, pond planting . . . and that’s just the beginning.  It is something special!

 

Music at The Mag

Friday, April 9 – Full Service Station; Friday, April 16 – Trouvere; Friday, April 23 – Rock-It Sound Company; Friday, April 30 – Delta Drifters.  

 

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.

 

Book Party and Signing

Join Bevil Knapp for a book party and signing of her new book, St. Francisville: Louisiana’s Historic River Bluff Country.  Bevil will be at Hemingbough on Sunday, April 11, from 2 pm until 4 pm.  Bring your copy or buy one there to get it autographed by the author. 

 

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 Archivist.  Lunch is included and will be prepared with recipes from Matzoh Ball Gumbo*.  For more information, visit www.freyhanfoundation.org.

 

Community Market Day

St. Francisville Main Street and Arts For All are opening Parker Park every month on the Third Saturday from 9am until 1pm for Community Market Day.  All local artists, craftsman, farmers, people who sell baked and homemade items as well as vintage or antique furniture are invited to join this new project.   The First Community Market Day will be Saturday, April 17, 2010, at parker Park from 9am until 1pm.  Music will be provided by Kevin Johnson from 10am until noon.  Come spend the morning in Parker Park.  For more information, call either Lynn at 635-3556 or Laurie at 635-3873.

 

River Road Plantation Country Cookbook

The fourth installment in the popular series of gastronomic tour books on Louisiana’s culinary culture by Anne Butler is now available at your favorite gift shop.  Amid the intriguing histories of locales and people along the River Road, the more than one hundred mouth-watering recipes are as captivating.  Sister Pat’s Orange Bread from Carville’s Ostrich Farm sounds heavenly.  (You’ll have to read the book to learn why Indian Camp Plantation was called the “Ostrich Farm.”)  And then there’s Buggy Banana Bread from the Audubon Insectarium, and Central Grocery’s legendary New Orleans Muffuletta.  The other cookbooks in this series by this West Feliciana native and resident include Audubon Plantation Country Cookbook, Bayou Plantation Country Cookbook, and Acadian Plantation Country Cookbook.

 

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.

 

Pops at Hemingbough

The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra returns to Hemingbough on May 1 with Classical Mystery Tour, four musicians who look and sound just like The Beatles!  Table seating and single tickets can be purchased by calling the Symphony office at 383-0500 or online at www.brso.org.  Hemingbough will provide a full service bar with soft drinks, beer, wine and champagne.  Jambalaya and char-grilled hamburgers as well as other tasty treats will be available on the grounds.  Or you can pack your own picnic basket, too.  This concert is part of the Republic of West Florida Bicentennial Celebration and portions of the proceeds will benefit the building of Republic Park in St. Francisville.  Hurry and order your tickets . . . you don’t want to miss out on the fun!