July Happenings

Main Street’s Poppin’!

The St. Francisville Main Street Merchants will be holding Sidewalk Sales and a Flag Pull.  The Flag Pull works like this:  Each participating store will be given 10 flags.  At the time of purchase, pull a flag to see what you win.  Each store will have a flag worth 5%, 10% or 15% off your purchase, and the other flags are for a special gift.  Sale items are excluded from the Flag Pull.   Participating stores will proudly fly the American Flag.  And at dark, the Town of St. Francisville will host fireworks and music at the town ball park on Burnett Road behind the Sonic.   For more information call Laurie Walsh St. Francisville Main Street 635-3873 or visit www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com.

 

4^th Annual Pie Baking Contest

My favorite event during the Independence Day Weekend is this annual contest held on Saturday, July 3.  Hosted by BirdMan Coffee & Books, entries must be submitted by 12:30 pm.  You must bring two pies, one to sell and one for judging which will begin promptly at 1 pm.  Pies will be sold as soon as winners are announced, and all proceeds from the pies will go to the Julius Freyhan Foundation.  This year, there will be a category for decorated pies and one for traditional pies.  In the organic category, there is a $200 prize for the winner!  Oh, and Lynn took all the hints I wrote about last year and has asked ME to be one of the judges!!

 

Freedom Appreciation Day

As part of Main Street’s Poppin’, The Myrtles Plantation presents Freedom Appreciation Day on Sunday, July 4.  On the lawn from 3 pm until 7 pm, enjoy music by Emily Branton, Nancy Roppolo and The Angola Band. There will be lots of food and fun so wear your red, white and blue to show our support for our servicemen – past, present and future – for the sacrifices they have made to keep us America the Beautiful

 

Greenwood Celebrates

Richard Barnes and the Staff of Greenwood Plantation, along Rick and Dianne Evans (formerly of Zachary) of Best Catered Events, would like to invite the public to a special 4th of July celebration.  Enjoy food and old fashioned games and just have a good patriotic fantastic July 4th Holiday.  Admission is free, and hours are from 1 pm until 4 pm.  Come view the facilities, have some watermelon and ice cream, and be a part of a sack race or play horseshoes.  Enjoy the live oak park consisting of 94 live oak trees planted in rows in front of the mansion, where most of the games of yesteryear will be played.  For more information, call 225-655-4475.

 

Fireworks Safety

For those of us who love a fireworks display, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Tommy Boyett has shared some safety tips to keep in mind.   These include:

• Never allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks.
• Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.
• Avoid buying fireworks that come in brown paper packaging, as this can often be a sign that the fireworks were made for professional displays and could pose a danger to consumers.
• Adults should always supervise fireworks activities. Parents often don't realize that there are many injuries from sparklers to children under five. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees - hot enough to melt some metals.
• Never have any portion of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Move back to a safe distance immediately after lighting.
• Never try to re-light or pick up fireworks that have not fully functioned.
• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.
• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose handy in case of fire or other mishap.
• Light one item at a time then move back quickly.
• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.
• After fireworks fully complete their functioning, douse the spent device with plenty of water from a bucket or hose before discarding to prevent a trash fire.

 

Storm Updates

For all the weather updates relating to any tropical storm or hurricane, you can log into http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ and get the coordinates, winds, cone of predictability and much more.  There is also a list of supplies you should have on hand in the event of a storm.  Again, our Director of OHSEP Tommy Boyett will keep us posted of any serious weather hazards we may face, and we will pass them on to you.

 

A Slight Increase

Starting July 1, 2010, Louisiana’s State Historic Sites will no longer be offering the multi-site discount promotion.  Here in the Felicianas, all visitors will have to purchase individual tickets at Audubon, Rosedown, Centenary and Port Hudson.  Rosedown’s prices will remain the same, but all other Historic Sites will have a fee increase from $2 to $4 for an adult ticket.

 

Blue Room Entertainment

Wednesday night at the Blue Room located at Three Corners, it’s Karaoke and Ladies Nite from 7 pm to 9 pm.  On Thursday night, sharpen your cue for the Pool Tournament at 7:30 pm, and on Friday night, it’s Karaoke time from 8:30 pm until 12:30 am.

 

Music at The Mag

Will Wesley performs live on Friday, July 2, from 7:30 pm until 8:30 pm.  On Sunday, July 4, our very own Kim Smith will open for Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles.  There is a $10 cover charge for this night, doors open at 5 pm, and the performance is from 6 pm until 8:30 pm.

 

Audubon State Historic Site Presents . . .

Those wishing for a touch of nature need only to go to Audubon State Historic Site to experience Life in a Slave Cabin on Saturday, July 3rd.  Beginning at Noon and running until 1 pm, a Park Ranger will take visitors through the historic slave quarters of the plantation.  There they will see how slaves lived, hear stories of their struggles and accomplishments, and even taste some of the food cooked daily for their families.  “Every day, and with every visit, we want the visitor to the park not to just have a visit but an experience,” says John House, site manager.  Thanks, John, to you and the staff for always providing great interpretive programs!  For more information, call 225-635-3739.

 

Welcome!

Christopher Stroud is the new general manager at the Magnuson Hotel.  Christopher comes to us from Hammond, LA, and has worked in the hotel industry for over 20 years.  Back in the 90’s, Chris even worked at The Myrtles Plantation so please join me in welcoming him back to St. Francisville.

 

Bluffs Restaurant

The Bluffs Restaurant has extended its hours and days of operation have been extended as follows:

Monday - Thursday 11 am - 9 pm; Friday - Saturday 11 am - 10 pm; Sunday 10 am - 3 pm.  General Manager Jim Adair and his staff are eager for everyone to stop by, and they have started a Sunday brunch!  The restaurant number is 634-3000.

 

A Taste of Japan

West Feliciana Parish Library presents Kuniko Yamamoto on Tuesday,   July 6, at 10:00 a.m.  at Fellowship Hall, St. Francisville United Methodist Church, St. Francisville.  Kuniko’s performance is a stunning combination of Japanese folktales, folk songs, original masks, origami, highly stylized movements and a touch of magic.  Her stories, which portray the culture and moral perspective of Japan, are from the oldest Japanese book of Kojiki.  Audiences gain an appreciation of Japanese social ideas through her commentary and description of Japanese traditions and are encouraged to compare Japanese and American tales, arts and culture.  For more information, call the library at 225-635-3364.

 

Summer Reading Splash

The Summer Reading Program closes with a big splash on July 8 at 10 a.m.  All children who have been involved in Summer Reading are invited to the library for our closing party.  There will be food and fun.  Come celebrate another successful Summer Reading Program with the folks from the Library.  For more information, call the Library at 225-635-3364.

 

Crape Myrtle Magic

Take a stroll through natural beauty created upon the alluvial Tunica soils of West Feliciana Parish during Crape Myrtle Magic, June 10 and 11, 2010. Master horticulturist Walter Imahara and his family invite you to enjoy the splendor and magic of blooming crape myrtles at Imahara's Southern Garden on Mahoney Road in St. Francisville.  This arboretum is centered by four-tiered ponds which are surrounded by groupings of hardy and specialized plant collections.  Among these, Mr. Imahara has planted many different species of crape myrtles in a rainbow of colors -- lavender, pink, red, and white.  Included in these plantings are Biloxi, weeping Hopi, Twilight, Arapaho, Lipan, Sioux, Raspberry, Catawa, Sarah, Tuscarora, weeping Acoma, Pink Velour, Royal Flush, Comance and Natchez Crape Myrtles.  The gardens will be open during Crape Myrtle Magic from 8 am until 4 pm on Saturday, and from 10 am until 4 pm on Sunday.  There is no admission fee.

 

Nature Discovery at Audubon

Those wishing for a touch of nature need only to go to Audubon State Historic Site to experience Nature Discovery on Sunday, July 11th.   At 10 a.m. 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 p.m. and again at 2:30 p.m., 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 plants and habitats found within the park.  For more information, call 1-888-677-2838 toll free or 635-3739 in the St. Francisville area.

 

West Florida Militia Muster

Audubon State Historic Site invites you to experience The West Florida Militia Muster on Sunday, July 18th.

Beginning at 2 PM and running until 4 PM visitors will see drills, black powder weapons, and costume demonstration of the 1810 West Florida militia. The audience is invited to participate in this colonial soldier life presentation. The park also invites those interested to join the volunteer Living History group at Audubon State Historic Site and participate in this and the many other programs held each year at the site.

For more information, call 1-888-677-2838 toll free or 635-3739 in the St. Francisville area.

 

Feliciana Hummingbird Festival

The Feliciana Nature Society will hold their annual Feliciana Hummingbird Celebration on Friday, July 30 and Saturday, July 31, 2010 in St. Francisville, Louisiana.  The Feliciana Hummingbird Celebration promotes the unique breeding habitat found in the St. Francisville area.  The event will include a Friday evening speaker and the opportunity to observe hummingbirds up close as they are banded at two private homes in the St. Francisville area.  Hummingbird-friendly plants will also be available for sale.  The Feliciana Hummingbird Celebration will begin with a reception on Friday evening, July 30, at Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site, 12501Hwy. 10, St. Francisville.  Beginning at 6 p.m., visitors can enjoy wine and cheese while strolling the gardens of Rosedown.  At 6:45 p.m., Mr. Andre Brock will speak on plants and habitats.  Admission is $10.  The festival will continue on Saturday, July 31.  From 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., hummingbird biologists Linda Beall and Nancy Newfield will capture and band birds at two private gardens in the St. Francisville area.  Visitors will have the opportunity to observe hummingbirds up close as they are weighed and measured.  In addition, vendors will be at both homes with hummingbird-attractive plants available for sale.  The gardens include the home of Carlisle Rogillio at 15736 Tunica Trace (Hwy. 66) and Murrell Butler at 9485 Oak Hill Road.  A $5 fee covers admission to both gardens.  For more information, visit www.audubonbirdfest.com or call 1-800-488-6502.

 

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