The Louisiana Jam - 08/01/13, Vol. 1, No. 1

VOL. 1, NO. 1 / AUGUST 1, 2013

PAGE 2 AUGUST 1, 2013 Volume 1 • Issue 1

715 Kirby St.Lake Charles, LA 70601Phone: 337-436-7800Fax: 337-990-0262www.louisianajam.com

PUBLISHERPhil de [email protected]

NEWSEXECUTIVE EDITORLauren de [email protected]

GENERAL MANAGERMonica [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS

ADVERTISINGTRAFFIC MANAGERSenaida Ortiz

SALES ASSOCIATESMitsi Brown • Michele Clack • Faye [email protected]

GRAPHICSART/PRODUCTION DIRECTORBurn Rourk

ART ASSISTANTSarah Bercier

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERDanley Romero

BUSINESSOFFICE MANAGERKay Andrews

Legal DisclaimerThe views expressed by Louisiana Jam columnists are their own and do not nec-essarily reflect the position of Louisiana Jam, its editors or staff.Louisiana Jam is solely owned, published by Jambalaya Media, LLC, 715 KirbyStreet, Lake Charles Louisiana 70601. Phone (337) 436-7800. Whilst every effortwas made to ensure the information in this magazine was correct at the time ofgoing to press, the publishers cannot accept legal responsibility for any errors oromissions, nor can they accept responsibility of the standing of advertisers norby the editorial contributions. Louisiana Jam cannot be held responsible for thereturn of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations, even if they aresent to us accompanied by a self-addressed envelope. The views expressed do notnecessarily reflect those of the publisher.

Copyright 2013 Louisiana Jam all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or inpart without prior written permission is prohibited.

Nicole Shuff ArabieGeorge ClineMonica HebertBraylin JenkinsJen Kober

Mike McHughRoger MillerMary Louise RuehrJody TaylorKarla Tullos

August 1, 2013 • Volume 1 • Issue 1

On Cover: Jen Kober

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COVER STORY9 Talking to

Jen Kober

REGULARS5 The Dang Yankee5 Tips from Tip6 Soul Matters6 Adoption Corner7 Fish Tales8 Jen Kober’s Big Fat

Food Column

KIDS’ REPORT

4 City Camp Fun

THE SPICE OF SWLA

12 Restaurant Guide

14 Events Guide

16 HeART of SWLA

17 Arts & CultureEvents Guide

20 Music Guide

22 Society Spice

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

18 Lake Charles Civic Ballet

21 The Floating Popes

23 Funbolaya

CONTENTS

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AUGUST 1, 2013 PAGE 3Volume 1 • Issue 1

Lauren de Albuquerque

Pack RatI love going on vaca-

tion. What I don’t love isthe packing/unpackingpart of it. It drives mecrazy.

We went to Mexico thebeginning of July. I justfinished unpacking thispast weekend. Note thedate.

Let’s start with packing.First of all, I have to packfor the both of us. Why, Idon’t really know. When Imet Phil, he was a tourguide. He traveled all overthe world and lived out ofhis suitcase. And hepacked like a pro.

After we got married,Phil’s packing skills fellapart, for some reason. I fi-nally took over the task thetime he packed for a trip toArizona and arrived therewith no pants other thanthe ones he had on. Sonow, when we go on a trip,he’s in charge of the flight,hotel, and rental car paper-work and I take care of thepacking.

Business trip packing isso easy. One outfit per day.

It’s the vacation packingthat’s such a chore. Day-time clothes! Eveningclothes! Bathing suits andcover-ups! Sunglasses!Sunscreen! Beach bag!Shorts! Skirts! Dresses!Shoes! Plus, jewelry tomatch each outfit. And ofcourse, I want choices, soit’s more like two of every-thing for each day. It’s ex-hausting. And please don’ttell me to pack light. I don’tknow what that is.

Another huge problemis being forced to fly out ofLake Charles at 6 a.m. Theonly other choice is 2 p.m.,and then you’ve lost awhole day of your trip. Isuppose it’s better thandriving to Houston, butstill. So I’ve been up latepacking, get about threehours of sleep, and thenhave to get up at an un-godly hour to make sure Ihave everything ready togo while it’s still dark out-side and Phil is in my ear:“Can I take this bag out? Isthis bag ready?” No, it’s notready. Go feed the cats.

Of course, all the recentairline rules and regula-

tions that we have to dealwith have created major is-sues. You can’t bring yourtoiletries in your carry-onanymore unless they fitinto this little plastic bag. Ican barely fit my contacts,a small bottle of saline so-lution, a tiny container ofmoisturizer, and my lipgloss in this tiny bag. Yes,lip gloss must be in a bag-gie or it’s history. I had oneconfiscated at the St.Maarten airport because itwas loose in my purse.What’s the difference if it’sin my purse or in the plas-tic bag? It’s still going onthe plane, right? Wrong.Silly me.

Soooo, all of your toi-letries that you used to putin your carry-on, whichyou really need in caseyour luggage goes missing(which happens often), hasto now be packed in yoursuitcase along with every-thing else. When you missa flight or lose your lug-gage, it’s every woman forherself.

Unpacking upon arrivalat the resort isn’t so bad,although it’s a task filled

with trepidation, because Ialways assume I’ve forgot-ten something, and I amusually right. Packing togo home is even easier. Atthis stage of the game, Idon’t care and just throweverything back in. Unless,of course, we’re bringingback liquor. Then Philsteps in, and goes througha complicated procedure ofwrapping the bottles insome of his Hawaiianshirts and bathing suits sothey don’t break. Some-times, we bring bubblewrap in anticipation, butsince I’m in charge ofpacking, I usually forget.

Then we get home.Hopefully, the bags havearrived with us; some-times, they don’t. I don’teven want to discuss thatpossibility. Now I am facedwith unpacking.

We almost always arrivehome late, usually on Sun-day. That means goingstraight to work and adeadline the next day.Other than removing es-sential items from the lug-gage, everything is going tostay where it is until I get a

block of time to tackle theproject. Since somethingalways comes up, I neverdo. I end up removing ajust few pieces a day, andnot even every day. It dragson. And on. Until I don’teven want to look at thosesuitcases at all anymore.The last few pieces ofclothing usually stay therefor another week beforethe suitcases are finallyempty.

Did I mention that thesuitcases can’t be in thebedroom? They have to bein a cat-free room. Ilearned this the hard way.One time, I had packedPhil’s clothes first, includ-ing a new silk shirt he’dnever worn. When I wentto put my clothes in, I dis-covered that one of ourcats decided the suitcasewould make a good litterbox.

Maybe it’s better to juststay home.

A Note From Lauren


Each summer whenschool lets out in the city,many parents wonder whatactivities or programs areavailable for their children.

According to HelenLewis, City of Lake CharlesRecreation and Parks assis-tant director, the depart-ment began expandingwhat was offered to chil-dren and young adults in

1998. Since then, they havedone all they can to ensurethat our youth receive theopportunity to experiencean active and fun summerthat also features an educa-tional component with thepurpose of enhancing theirquality of life.

The activities organizedby the Recreation and ParksDepartment take placefrom the first week of Junethroughout the latter part of

July. At the end of July, eachcamp presents what they'velearned over the six-weekperiod to their families.

For example, The Bel-lard and College Oaks Sum-mer Camps recital,"Dancing to the Beat" usedthe Central School Arts &Humanities Center as theirvenue. This particularrecital was completely fo-cused around music featur-ing group praise dancersages 6-11, a solo praisedancer, Bellard PetiteDancers ages 10-12, CheerDance by the Bellard JuniorDancers ages 10-12, TheCollege Oaks Dancers, LineDancing, and a “Stomp”performance by the CollegeOaks Boys. A fashion showtopped it all off.

The fashion show al-lowed students to modelclothing they made by handas part of the sewing and al-terations classes taught byprofessional seamstressElaine Powell. “Young ladieswere taught how to maketheir very own dresses,skirts, pillow cases andmuch more, while theyoung men were taughthow to make their ownpants, shorts, and other ar-

ticles of clothing,” Lewissaid.

The J.D. Clifton andMike D. Lanza SummerCamps also utilized theBenjamin W. Mount Audi-torium at Central Schoolwith their special presenta-tion "Rock & Roll SummerTime Fun." The Lanza stu-dents entertained with the“Diablo Swing Orchestra: ATap Dancer Dilemma,” “AHoe Down,” “TuTus andTennis Shoes” and a dancemix, along with a perform-ance by violinist MeganPolk.

The audience enjoyedJ.D. Clifton's “LittlePrincess,” “Cool Dudeswith Suit and Tie,” “DivaBig Girls,” a James Brownimpersonation by studentD'Angelo Davis and a soloby Jarius Barker. The recitalalso included a special per-formance of "Thriller" fromthe Goosport Center's stu-dents.

Other courses offeredthroughout the City sum-mer camp system includedentrepreneurship classes,computer courses and taekwon do. Campers enjoyeda Hoop Mania BasketballCompetition, nature walks,

a police fun day and more. The Louisiana Jam or-

ganized a field trip toLafayette with some of thestudents from the MartinLuther King and GoosportCommunity Centers. TheRingling Brothers Barnumand Bailey Circus came totown, and who better toshow them the ropes thanPhil de Albuquerque. “Thechildren got to have lunchwith the Ringling Brother’sCircus elephants,” Lewissaid. “They met with someof the performers and it wassuch a thrill for them!”

If you are familiar withthe many centers locatedthroughout the city, eachcenter benefits its sur-rounding area. To give youan example of how popularthe summer camps are, theMartin Luther King Com-munity Center had nearly250 students in attendancethis summer, while theGoosport Community Cen-ter reported having close to200 students. Other centershad 60-80 attendees.

Need more informationfor next summer? Contactthe Recreation and ParksDepartment at (337) 491-1280.

Students from the Martin Luther King and Goosport Community Centers enjoyspending the day with with the Ringling Brother’s Circus elephants.


One of the hardestthings for me to cope withwhen I first moved toLouisiana from YankeeLand was how polite peo-ple are around here.

You might think some-thing like that would beeasy—pleasant even. Butit’s not. Coming from aplace where it’s more likelyfor someone to pass gas inan elevator than say“Good morning,” it cantake some getting used to.

I try to measure up tothe standard, but it doesn’thelp when people, uponnoticing an uncouth Yan-kee-type, try to take ad-vantage of my socialawkwardness.

Here’s a case in point.Not long ago, I went withsome friends to the newOsaka restaurant here intown, where we shared asushi appetizer. There wasexactly one more piece ofsushi than the number ofpeople sharing. If I werein Yankee Land, we’d bearm wrestling over thatlast piece. Here, however,everyone was too polite totake it, and so there it sat.And though it wasn’t ap-parent from the conversa-tional tone, I was sure thatthis lone piece of sushi sit-

ting there in the middle ofthe table was a source ofconsiderable anxiety foreveryone—the proverbial800-pound tuna in theroom. And so I decidedto break the tension bysuggesting that someoneelse at the table take it.

“No!” they said, almostin unison. “You go ahead,please.”

I reluctantly grabbed itwith my chopsticks, atwhich point one of myfriends whipped out herphone and snapped a pic-ture. That fast, my imagewas on Facebook, in apost suggesting that, as adinner companion, I rankon about the same level asThe Three Stooges. Nowmy wife won’t even to goout to dinner with me.

Another behavior that Ihad a hard time with ishow people always holddoors open for each other.Back in Yankee Land, Iwouldn’t dare do that forfear of getting a reactionsuch as, “What, do youthink I’m too feeble to do itmyself?” Here, you coulddo it for some burly guywho, with his bare hands,could reduce the door totoothpicks if he so desired.He’d just smile and thank

you for the gesture.But what bothers me

most about the practice iswhen people take it to anextreme, as if they arecompeting to get their pic-ture taken with the Gover-nor as “Gentleman of theYear” or something. Forinstance, one day, I waswalking down the streetwhen I saw a man stand-ing at the entrance of abuilding down at the otherend of the block. Uponnoticing me, he immedi-ately pulled the door openand waited. It was like theguy had a spotter up onthe third floor. Now, I’mreally trying to improve inthe area of manners, andso I felt bad that this guywas taking valuable timeout of his day to do me asmall favor. I didn’t wantto keep him waiting. So Iquickened my pace, pant-ing under the weight ofmy knapsack with its lap-top computer and enoughbooks to provide a back-drop for a law office ad. Ireached the door, man-aged to wheeze out a weak“Thank you” to the man,and went inside.

The problem was, Iwasn’t even going into thatbuilding.

Pardon My Yankee-ness

TALK TO ME!Customer serv-

ice is what businessis all about, butsome operationslose sight of thatprinciple. I will notrespond to a robo-call, period. If mypatronage is impor-tant enough to abusiness, they canhave a real live per-son contact me, in-stead of amachine-generated call informing me that my business is im-portant to them and that I should either push a certain buttonor dial a number so that their customer service can take careof my needs. They always state that they want to improvetheir service to me and want my input to move them forward.

Balderdash! They are myopically too cheap to hire a niceperson to talk to me. I am not talking of a cold call, where thepurpose is to gain a new customer (me), but a business that Ihave some sort of a relationship with. The durable medicalproducts enterprises are among the worst. Fortunately, Ifound a supplier that has a real live representative that I canconverse with to meet my needs. You should look around forsomeone that cares enough to at least humanly talk to you.

DON’T BUY THE CHEAP HOOKSOne of my relatives has done business with a certain sup-

plier for many years, but recently had a problem with a prod-uct he purchased from them. The items were purely defectiveand not fit for the purpose intended. We are not referring to amega-cost product, but still, a commonly needed item inthese parts: stainless steel fish hooks.

He returned to the store and pointed out the defect: theeyelet on the hook was not fully closed so the fishing linewould slip out. He was informed that he should not havebought the “cheap hooks” and that they would not replacethem. He has since found another supplier for his fishingneeds.

It is sad when a faithful customer learns that their patron-age is of seemingly no value, leaving a sense of having beentaken advantage of. Do not hesitate to let a business knowthat their response to your needs is inadequate and you willseek another source for their product. They will at least havea clue as to why their business is falling off. If it isn’t, thenthey don’t need you in the first place—and you can take yourmoney to another business that will appreciate you.

MORE BOY SCOUT WOESWe recently found out that our local council of the Boy

Scouts of America may not even receive the $40,000 that wasspecifically designated for them in 2013 United Way dona-tions that are scheduled to be paid out next year. There aremodifiers that have come into the picture that could furtherreduce their share. The unfortunate turn of United Way froman organization that facilitates unified charitable gifting to anagenda-directing agency has many of us scratching ourheads.

The Boy Scouts have stayed true to their original focuswhile constantly updating their programs to meet with thechanging times in their own way. If the United Way forces or-ganizations to comply with their change in direction, we willend up back to a system of multiple organizations having tocompete for charitable dollars at the same time and location.This will obviously hurt many worthwhile groups. The Cal-casieu Council of the Boy Scouts of America should receive agenerous boost in donations, being a long-time favorite ofour area.

The shopping survey will continue in the future but dueto circumstances beyond our control, we will not have onefor this issue.


Strength ~ Control ~Happiness ~ Peace

It's truly amazing howa simple light can giveyou energy and happinessto take on the day. Sun-shine is Love! I think ithas the power to breathelife and happiness intoanything it touches. Weall have our own sunshineinside of us that keeps uspushing. It's a reminder totake delight in goodthings, because just likesunshine, the good thingscome and go.

StrengthFind your inner

strength. I believe thatstrength has a strong cor-relation to light and thatall of us have an innerlight that shines in us. It isonly when that light isshining bright that youfeel the most like yourself.When the light fades, youfeel as if you're losing asense of who you are, andthat everything is spiralingout of control. You maybecome more negative andfind that you are getting

impatient andangry with otherswithout truly hav-ing a valid reason.When your inner

light is dark,you are in a

more nega-tive place.

I haveexperi-enced this

firsthand.My inner

light has been dark for afew years now and I didn'teven realize it until oneday, when I felt as if every-thing around mewas falling apart.I was awakened.It made me real-ize that I wantedmore and that Ideserved more. Inthat moment, I litthe flame again.

Sometimes,you have to returnto the beginningand just startanew. I wanted toshare this, not to bragabout how strong and greatI feel, but to help those ofyou who are going throughsomething similar. We areall on this earth to help oneanother and we are all inthis wild and crazy life to-gether. When we learn per-sonal life lessons, it’simportant to get our storiesout so we can help others.My inner light has finally

been re-lit and it is shiningbrighter than ever. Onceyou can get that inner lightto shine brightly, nothing ismore powerful.

ControlWe can't control most

things that happen in life.We can get a job to controlour money, we can havecertain relationships con-trol our everyday lives, butwe can't control what theuniverse throws at us.

We have all been hurtand we all can relate to thefeeling of walking into a

room and knowing thatpeople were just talkingabout you because it getssuper quiet. Even in thosemoments, you can't con-trol what others will say ordo. What I can control ishow I react to difficultiesin my life.

I have now reached thestage where I am donecontrolling what happensto me. I am done trying to

create something to besomething when it justwon’t be. People are goingto do what they are goingto do. We have to learn toaccept what happens andthen control how we han-dle it. It is all in divineorder and I am here to tellyou that everything isgoing to be all right.

Happiness and PeaceThe success of our life is

measured by our ability tolive happily and peacefullyand die joyfully. We cannotachieve this by accumulat-

ing wealth, fame andpossessions. Life is somuch more thanthat.

There are fivethings that can poi-son our minds: anger,pride, ignorance, jeal-ousy, and the need tocling or attach tosomeone or some-thing. This createsmisery. We must deal

with these emotionswith love, compassion, andespecially, patience. Prac-ticing patience will enableus to develop a true senseof peace and happinesswithin ourselves.

To book a Soul Matterssession with Nicole ShuffArabie, call (337) 540-6573. You can also go toher Facebook page athttps://www.facebook.com/DeclutteringYourSoul

Here Comes The Sunshine

by Nicole Shuff Arabie

What a guy! Havingcome to us as a 9-monthold pup skinny withmange, no one would be-lieve this is the same guy!Now heartworm negativewith all of his hair grownback, he is one handsomedude! Our best guess isthat he is a Lab/Boxer mixbased on the markings onhis face. He certainly hasthe best qualities of both,with a sweet, gentle tem-perament. He is good withother dogs and great withcats. We recently discov-ered that he LOVES kids

and will chase a balluntil he drops. He had

no training in his formerlife but will surelyblossom with obe-dience trainingbecause he loves

to please. He is house-trained as long as he istaken outside regularly.This special boy will needa large, fenced yard wherehe has lots of room to runand play with hisperson(s). Prior to adop-tion, a vet check and ahome visit are required.To meet Laddie or getmore information, call(337) 478-7294 or [email protected].

We are searching foradditional foster homesso that we can help savemore pets. Crates, foodand bedding are pro-vided-- you provide theTLC!

Featured byLAPAW Rescue

This week marks the endof the Long Course Seasonfor area swimmers as theyhead to championshipmeets.

Barbe High’s ZachStump travels to Irvine, CAto compete in the Junior Na-tional Championship wherethe country’s fastest 18 andunder swimmers have quali-fied to compete. Zach holdsthe 15-16 year old LouisianaSwimming state record forthe 100 Breaststroke and wasthe 5A High School Cham-pion in that event. JuniorNationals will be live on

www.usaswimming.org.Barbe High’s Savannah

Antonetz will be continuingher swimming at WesternFlorida University in Pen-sacola. Antonetz was thethree-time 5A high schoolchampion in the 100 Back-stroke.

Sulphur High swimmersPamela Phillips, GabePruitt and Ryan Dominguewill be in The Woodlands,Texas for the Speedo Cham-pion Series-Southern ZoneSectional Meet. This meetwill showcase regional sen-ior and college age swim-

mers. Laura Patrick was se-lected as a member of theLouisiana team for theSouthern Zone Age GroupChampionships. Swimmersrepresenting 11 states will becompeting in Greenville, SC.

St. Louis’ Patrick wonthe 3A High School 100Breaststroke and 200 Indi-vidual Medley events.

All of these elite swim-mers train year round withSpartan Swimming at theSPAR Aquatic Center in Sul-phur. There are 23 year-round swim club programsin Louisiana.

Local Swimmers Head to Championship Meets

Keep your face tothe sunshine and youcannot see a shadow.

Helen Keller


There was nothing myCountry Doc Dad lovedmore than perch jerkin’“sacalait” (Cajun Frenchfor white perch). Notbass, brim, goggle-eye,specs, or reds. Whiteperch. Give Frank(Doc/Dad) a cane pole,green line, red and whitesnap-on cork, weight,perch hook and a shinerand he was white perchfishing.

Shaded by his pith hel-met with a Roi-Tanpanatela tucked in thecorner of his mouth, hisold white dress shirt withhis sleeves rolled up (re-plete with holes from hiscigar’s ashes), red knee-length shorts, ankle-highblack socks, and his Keds,Frank was set to go. Helooked like HumptyDumpty who sat in abateau. To paraphraseGen. George S. Patton, Jr.,“God help him, he lovedit so.”

He’d grown up fishingthe Lacassine Bayou,Bayou Nezpique, WelshBayou and Bayou Chene.Bayous are where you gofor white perch. Oh, wecaught some in the BigBurn, Superior Ditch, andthe Lacassine Reserve, butnot like in the bayous.The trick to “perchjerkin’” white perch is to

know where they are--and Dad knew exactlywhere from his youthfulbayou excursions. He hadpatients in all those areasand back in the day,country MDs made housecalls. His patients therewere reliable sources ofexactly where the whiteperch were really bitin‘.

Sacalait hide deep inthe brush just off thebayou bank drop off.Since we knew where togo, the trick was Dad get-ting away from his 24/7medical practice. I was al-ways ready. Dad’s nurseOlive would claim Dadwas on an emergencyhouse call to free him up.Mother knew to tell thesame tale because backthen, your doctor actuallyanswered his homephone. So, with thebateau in tow, we’d usually

head for the LorraineBridge on the LacassineBayou and launch--butonly after a cursory checkon Dad’s site attendantpatient and an update onwhere they were bitin’ andon what.

Usually, they were hit-ting shiners, so with ourmetal shiner bucket swim-ming in bait, we were set.Our first and often ourlast stop was an oxbowabout 15 minutes from thelaunch. Dad would stopalmost on top of the site,softly lower the anchorand use his cane pole totest the depth so we couldset our corks accordingly.Before the red and whitecorks even settled, sacalaitoften hit. You had to care-ful not to jerk too hardand pull the hook fromthe soft-mouthed whiteperch, yet not allow the

line to go slack or they’dlose the hook. Dad hadthe surgeon’s touch andalways caught two orthree to my one. If thefish hooked itself andstayed on through thestruggle against the lineand cane pole, I boated it.Sadly, after 50 years, it’sstill that way.

We’d work our wayaround the oxbow andmore often than notcaught as many whiteperch as we wished toclean and then fry. If youlook at a sacalait hardenough, it will almostscale itself. Even I couldclean one without cutting

my hand with the filetknife. Well, not very often,anyway.

My Dad was often aweary, irascible, andornery cuss, but while hewas perch jerkin’, he wasHuck Finn again with aTom Sawyer son sidekick.I saw him smile and laugh

more during sacalait fish-ing than at any other time.

Fishing done, Dadwould crank up the out-board and head for thelaunch, then load the boatand head for Jennings andhome. He was usuallyquiet and distant duringthe 30-minute drive. Wewould meticulously storeour boat and fishingequipment and head tothe outdoor sinks to scale,gut, and clean our fish,placing each filet in thetray of milk. From there, itwas inside to the kitchenand a fish fry with Mom’shomemade potato salador coleslaw, and Frenchgarlic bread. And nearlyalways the phone wouldring. Dad would put hisnapkin on the table, hisfork down and get upfrom his favorite meal.Huck would leave andDoc took his place andtook the call. I truly missboth of them. A lot.

Perch Jerkin’


This week'scomedy/culinary excur-sion has taken me andmy merry gang of come-dians to New Orleans.We are here performingmy Homegrown Com-edy Showat La NuitTheater onFreret St.

In a cityknown forgood timesand greatfood, itwasn't toohard tofind a placeworthmentioningand recom-mending tomy home-town homies. A placewhere you can have atruly magnificent mealthat is not only worthevery penny, but worthevery calorie!

We all love a goodsteak, right? Well howabout the best steakyou've ever had?

Mr. John's Steak &Seafood Restaurant at2111 St. Charles Avenuehas just the steak for

you! I'm talking about amelt in your mouth but-tery delicious filetmignon, aged to perfec-tion, and then cooked inan 1800-degree oven andseasoned simply with

salt, pepper and parsley.I got a side of their onionrings, which are madewith just a hint of Crys-tal Hot Sauce and slicedthin like straws and friedto crispy straw-like per-fection.

I had never heard ofMr. John's, but when Iwas here in NOLA work-ing on the movie GrudgeMatch with RobertDeNiro and Sylvester

Stallone, I heardDeNiro say howgreat the foodwas there. ANDit happened tobe right nextdoor to thehotel that theyhad put us up infor the filming.(The Pontchar-train Hotel is aNew Orleansclassic, home to

the best piece of MileHigh Pie I've ever tasted.)And sure enough, just aswe walked into Mr.John's, we saw a photo ofDeNiro on the wall,signed "Thanks for the

best steakEVER! - AllMy Best,BobbyDeNiro."Amaze balls.

You mustmake a reser-vation, as thispopulareatery is also afavoriteamong NewOrleans lo-cals. Everytime I eatthere, I see

someone famous. Once itwas Reggie Bush; tonightit was political punditJames Carville!

And when you dohead out for this delec-table dining experience,I also recommend thefried green tomatoestopped with lump crab-meat. It had an incredi-ble Remoulade saucedrizzled on top that Iwanted to slurp up with

a straw! Mustard basedwith a hint of heat andsweet right in the sauce.It was the perfect lightdish to get my taste budsready and excited forthat mouthwateringhunk of meat I had com-ing next.

I finished it all offwith Tiramisu and someEspresso--a supreme endto a triumphant meal.Next trip you make toThe Big Easy, make sureyou go to Mr. John's.

And tell them DeNirosent you.

Delectable Dining in NOLA

Mr. John's Steak & Seafood Restaurant


Local comedian Jen Kober has beenin town this summer, bringing her zanybrand of comedy to the stage everyThursday night at Jack Daniels’ Bar andGrill at L’Auberge Casino Resort LakeCharles. We were able to check in withthis hard-working funnywoman to seehow life has been treating her, and what’sahead!

Every show so far this summer hasbeen sold out, and I know people whohave been turned away. That’s amazing!

What do you attribute to this suc-cess? It’s been the talk of the town!

Aww… Thanks for that! It has beenamazing for us to see the room fill upweek after week, and to look out fromthe stage at that sea of people is really ex-citing. I attribute it to the cast that wehave assembled for this show. Jen Bas-com is a tremendous talent, and to haveher here for the entire summer has beena dream. I mean, aside from getting tospend the whole summer with my bestfriend, it has been such a huge help hav-ing her here to help mold and teach all ofthe local talent we are using in the show.We have really been able to put togethera show that is fast-paced and hilariousthe whole way through.

You have a house here even thoughyou spend most of your time on theWest Coast. How often do you get tocome back?

We are in talks now with the casino tohave my Homegrown Comedy Show attheir Louisiana properties once a monththroughout the year (Lake Charles,Baton Rouge, New Orleans). It would bea great way to keep all this great comedyenergy going until we return with aneven bigger and better weekly show nextsummer!

What do you usually do when you’reback home?

I'm still working on all my other proj-ects when I'm here, so a lot of my time isspent holed up in my house in front ofmy laptop, slurping on a Coke Icee andtrying to generate new material. I lovegetting out for lunch, though. You canfind me at my same places week afterweek enjoying my favorite LC delec-tables.

You’re at L’Auberge on Wednesdayand then you’re on the road workingmuch of the rest of the week. How doyou keep your energy and motivationup?

I'm very lucky to have an amazingpartner. My girlfriend, artist SusanSerice, is a great source of energy for me.She helps keep me on a schedule andmakes sure I get my work done. Susantravels with me a lot, using the timeaway from her drawing to focus onsome road photography, and having herwith me is always so energizing. It's alonely life being a road comic, and tohave her with me motivates me to keepgoing. Susan inspires me to get better.Love will do that.

You clearly have a love affair withfood. What’s your favorite Louisianadish? How often do you get to cook?

I am a sucker for anything made withshrimp! I am like Bubba from ForrestGump. I like it every way. Boiled. Barbe-cued. Baked. Broiled. Basted. Shrimp iswhy I will never leave Looziana! I doget to cook when I am home, but truth-fully, after a week of travel, sometimesI'm lazy about it. Luckily, that's whenSusan will kick in with her culinaryskills. That girl makes a mean stir-fry!Fo sho!

What’s ahead for the next 6 monthscareer-wise?

I have a new CD that will get released

in August, and I'm finishing up a sillylittle steamy Southern-styled novel Ihave been working on this summer. Wehave a publisher interested, and I'm ex-cited about how the story unfolded. It'sa fictional biography of a comedian.Really fun stuff. I wrote small shortchapters, so it's an easy read. I guess be-cause those are the kind of books I like.

I have small roles in the moviesParanoia with Richard Dreyfuss, open-ing August 16, and Grudge Match withRobert De Niro, opening in early 2014. Iwill head back into production onAnger Management with Charlie Sheenas well, so stay tuned to see more of mein your living room!

Catch Jen Kober’s Homegrown Com-edy Show every Thursday night at 9p.m. at Jack Daniels’ Bar at L’AubergeCasino Resort. GET YOUR TICKETSIN ADVANCE atwww.ticketmaster.com, the L’AubergeBusiness Center or Legends atL’Auberge. They do sell tickets at thedoor, but you’re taking a chance if youwait until the last minute!

Jen Koberstand-up comedian, actor and foodie...

not necessarily in that order.


The Coushatta Tribeof Louisiana will host itspowwow in The Pavilionat Coushatta Aug. 2-3.Admission for spectatorsis $5 per day; childrenages 6 years and youngerare admitted free ofcharge. Purchase ticketsat the gate on day ofevent.

Coushatta’s powwow isconsidered one of thelargest Native Americangatherings in the south-ern United States, whereworld champion NativeAmerican dancers andsingers gather to competefor over $64,000 totalprizes in a family-friendly, two-day event.

Men, women, andchildren representing dif-ferent tribes fromthroughout the UnitedStates and Canada weartheir traditional outfitsand enter the Dancing

Ground in a circular pa-rade during Grand Entry,a processional march ac-companied by tribaldrums and singers.Handcrafted jewelry,beaded moccasins andcolorful feathered regaliawith intricate detailsadorn the dancers––eachis hand-made or passeddown as heirloomsthrough their family.Tribal drum groups com-pete and provide musicand songs for the dancecompetitions. Exhibitiondances and specialtydances showcase each agecategory during theevent.

A popular feature isthe marketplace showcas-ing Native Americanfood such as Indian fry-bread and Indian tacos,and authentic NativeAmerican arts and crafts,including turquoise and

silver jewelry, hand-madebeaded items, the famousCoushatta long-leaf pineneedle baskets, and more.Find more information atwww.coushattapowwow.com.

Coushatta Casino Re-sort is located in Kinderon Highway 165 (I-10exit 44), featuring over2,800 slots and morethan 70 table games.Phone (800) 584-7263for more information orvisit coushattacasinore-sort.com.

Coushatta Tribe to Host Powwow August 2-3

Above: Shaudai Poncho performsthe Mens Fancy Feather Dance.

Left: Sequoia Obe performing theLadies Jingle Dress Dance


American/FamilyCracker Barrel249 S. Cities

Service Hwy.Sulphur337-626-9500

O’Charley’s1780 W. Prien

Lake Rd.Lake Charles337-478-9927

Ryan’sFamily Restaurant4501 Ryan St., Lake Charles, LA337-477-2707

AsianAsia at L’Auberge777 Avenue L’Auberge,Lake Charles337-395-7777

Osaka JapaneseSteakhouse3035 Gertsner MemorialDrive, Lake Charles337-990-5478

Kyoto JapaneseSteakhouse2610 Dillard LoopLake Charles337-478-2888

Fuji JapaneseSteakhouse3241 E. Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles337-480-3788

MiyakoJapanese Restaurant915 E. Prien Lake Rd.,Lake Charles337-478-1600

Peking Garden2433 Broad St., Lake Charles337-436-3597

Pho Tien4415 Nelson RoadLake Charles337-477-8557

China Taste1415 Beglis Pkwy.Sulphur337-527-5985

Yank Sing4626 Nelson Rd.Lake Charles337-477-9004

Bakery & DessertsCypi’s Cake Box520 McNeese St., Lake Charles337-478-0269

Pronia’s3101 Kirkman St., Lake Charles337-478-0785

Sweets and Treats411 Ryan, St., Lake Charles337-437-3913

BarbecueBBQ West2618 Derek Dr., LakeCharles337-564-5000

Dan’s BBQ Express2635 Country Club Rd.Lake Charles337-478-5858

Famous Foods1475 Gerstner MemorialDr., Lake Charles337-439-7000

BreakfastLe Peep Café3800 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-240-8497

Pitt Grill606 W. Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles337-564-6724

Pitt Grill2600 Ruth St., Sulphur337-527-0648

Waffle House2488 S. Cities ServiceHwy., Sulphur337-626-8111

BurgersCotton’s FamousHamburgers2001 Oak Park Blvd.Lake Charles337-477-9759

Five GuysBurgers & Fries2950 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-721-1903

Novrozsky’s Hamburgers2706 Ruth St., Sulphur337-527-0041

Cajun & SouthernBoudin King906 West Division St.Jennings337-824-6593

Hollier’s Cajun Kitchen1709 Ruth St., Sulphur337-527-0062

Rabideaux’sSausage Kitchen105 US 165, Iowa337-582-3184

Southern Spice3901 Ryan St. Lake Charles337-474-6065

Walker’sCajun Dining603 Holiday Dr.Jennings337-616-0766

Italian121 Artisan Bistro121 DeBakey Dr.Lake Charles337-310-7499

Joe’s Pizza and Pasta1601 Ruth St., Sulphur337-528-2560

Romano’s731 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-491-1847

Jag’s BistroNew Location,

Same Fabulous Food!

Jag’s Bistro has been alocal favorite since it firstopened in Lake Charles. ChefKeith Jagneaux and his culi-nary team of Joshua Attaway,Chris Landry and RebeccaLyons serve up delicious bar-beque, burgers and seafood—and who doesn’t love thedaily buffet?

Now you can enjoy Jag’swonderful food at their newlocation—right on the bayou!There’s nothing better thanhaving a meal overlooking thewater, is there? Whether it’sgrilled or fried catfish, ashrimp poboy, or homemademeatloaf, they do it right. Andyou’ll come back for more!

Jag’s Bistro1103 W. Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles(337) 564-6785

HoursMon - Fri: 11 am - 10 pmSat: 11 am - 11 pmSun: 11 am - 8 pm

Take out and catering available, too!


MexicanAgave Tamale521 Alamo St.Lake Charles337-433-4192

Agave Tamale1614 Sampson St.Westlake337-429-2987

El Tapatio2624 GerstnerMemorial Dr.Lake Charles

337-475-9022

El Tapatio Dos808 Sampson St.Westlake337-721-7685

Rosita’s2401 Napoleon St.Sulphur337-533-9077

Casa Manana2510 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-433-4112

CancunMexican Restaurant4001 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-477-6802

La RumbaMexican Grill1804 Ruth St.Sulphur337-287-4846

Coyote BluesFresh Mexican Grill3624 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-502-5131

PizzaCici’s Pizza3533 Ryan St. Lake Charles337-562-2223

Gatti’s Pizza1811 Ruth St.Sulphur337-527-0318

Gatti’s Pizza3522 Ryan St., Lake Charles337-474-6225

Papa John’s Pizza1415 Beglis Pkwy., Sulphur337-528-7272

Papa John’s Pizza650 W. McNeese St.,Lake Charles337-474-7272

Rotolo’s Pizzeria4201 Nelson Rd.,Lake Charles337-478-1996

Sandwiches, Soups & SaladsNina P’s Café600 W. McNeese St.,Lake Charles337-479-2201

Pappy’s Deli2627 Ryan St., Lake Charles337-436-2813

Roly Poly2241 Maplewood Dr.Sulphur337-625-5555

Roly Poly3100 Ryan St.Lake Charles337-433-3130

Roly Poly4423 Nelson Rd.Lake Charles337-474-3332

SeafoodGranger’sSeafood Restaurant2636 Hwy. 3059,

Lake Charles337-433-9130

Regatta Seafoodand Steakhouse508 Hawkeye Ave,Lake Arthur337-774-1504

Seafood Palace2218 Enterprise Blvd.,Lake Charles337-433-9293

Kenny’s Katfish Kabin1577 W. Fourth St.,Dequincy337-786-5562

Steamboat Bill’son the Lake1004 N. LakeshoreDr. Lake Charles337-494-1070

Steamboat Bill’s732 N. Martin LutherKing Blvd.Lake Charles337-494-1700

Boiling Point1730 Beglis Pkwy.Sulphur337-625-9282

SteaksBig Sky SteakhouseCoushatta Casino777 Coushatta Dr.,Kinder800-584-7263

The Harlequin501 W. College St.Lake Charles337-439-2780

Outback Steakhouse2616 Derek Dr., Lake Charles477-3161


Jen Kober at JackDaniels—EveryWednesday all Summer!

Comedian JenKober brings herHomegrownComedy Show to

the stage at JackDaniel’s Bar & Grill

at L’Auberge CasinoResort Lake Charlesevery Wednesday at 9p.m. Tickets are $10and are on sale now atwww.ticketmaster.com,the L’Auberge BusinessCenter or Legends atL’Auberge. Tickets willbe available at the doorthe night of each show;cash only please. Mustbe 21 to attend.

Flamethrowers at PartyBy the Pool at L’AubergeAug. 1Louisiana’s PremiereParty Rock Cover Bandthe Flamethrowers willbe appearing at Party bythe Pool at L’AubergeAug. 1. Tickets are $10-$20 at www.ticketmas-ter.com, at L'Aubergethrough the BusinessCenter or Legends atL'Auberge, or you cancall (800) 745-3000.Tickets may also be pur-chased the night of theshow at Legends. Doorsopen at 7 p.m. and showstarts at 8:30 p.m. Mustbe 21 years old to enter.

Art Reception at GalleryBy the Lake Aug. 1Join Linda GleasonRitchie at Gallery by the

Lake for a reception tokick off her art exhibitionfrom 5:30 -8 p.m. Lightrefreshments and winewill be served. TheGallery is located at 106W. Pryce Street in down-town Lake Charles.

‘Abraham Lincoln: The Image’ Aug. 2“Abraham Lincoln: TheImage” will be at HistoricCity Hall Arts and Cul-tural Center through Oct.12. The opening recep-tion will take place onFri., Aug. 2 from 5:30-8p.m.; all ages are wel-come at no charge. His-toric City Hall is openMonday through Friday,10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat-urday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Admission is free, but do-nations are gladly ac-cepted. (337) 491-9147,www.cityoflakecharles.com

Cameron SaltwaterFishing Festival Aug. 2-4Grab your rod and reeland head down south tothe Annual CameronSaltwater Fishing Festi-val. The three-day festi-val, Aug. 2 through 4, willbe held at the CameronJetty Pier Pavilion onDavis Road. Enjoy greatlive entertainment andother family activities in-cluding the Queens Pag-eant, waterslide, rockclimbing, food and bev-erage booths, fireworks,and more. (337) 775-5316.

KPLC MAN EXPO Aug. 3The Man Expo is aboutcelebrating what all menlike. The outdoors,sports, Saints, NASCAR,hunting, fishing, garden-ing, food, cooking, fit-ness and women. It willbe held at the LakeCharles Civic Center from9 a.m.-4 p.m. Admissionis $3 in advance (pur-chased at Ship to Shoreat 4313 Lake St., LakeCharles); $5 at door; chil-dren 12 and under free.(337) 437-7549

Salty Cajun Fishing Tournament Aug. 3Register now for the 4thAnnual Salty Cajun Fish-ing Tournament. It will beheld at Calcasieu Pointfrom safe daylight to 1p.m. Trout tournamententry fee is $50 and halfof the proceeds benefitSt. Nicholas Center forChildren. Lunch and a T-shirt are included withthe entry fee. www.salty-cajun.com.

National Night OutAug. 6National Night Out is de-signed to heighten com-munity awareness ofsafety and fire preven-tion issues and of crimeand drug prevention.Local and State law en-forcement agencies willparticipate in the com-munity block party atWest Cal Arena, 2900Ruth Street, Sulphur.Local Louisiana AntiqueCar chapters will display-

Aug 2 – White Tie AffairAug 3 – Vengeance II MMA FightAug 5 – Evening with Marvin SappAug 10-11 – Late Night CatechismAugust 10 – White Tail Unlimited BanquetAug 16 – Delta Tech GraduationAug 17 – Arts & Crabs FestivalAug 24 – Family Festival

(Family & Youth Counseling) Aug 24 - Imagination Celebration

(Children’s Museum)Aug 29 – United Way Annual BanquetAug 31- Sept 1 – Don & Rich Gun ShowSept 2 - Boozoo Chavis FestivalSept 7 – Lake Charles Black RodeoSept 21 – Midnight Fantasy Car ShowSept 26 – Home Health Harvest FestSept 27 - 29 – LC SymphonyOct 1 – New Life Counsel BanquetOct 5-6 - Shrine CircusOct 17 - Women’s Commission

ConferenceOct 18-19 - LC SymphonyOct 25 - Unitech GraduationOct 26 – Cultural FestivalOct 26 – Arts FestivalOct 31 – Harvest Festival

(Recreation & Parks Dept)Oct 29-31 – Chamber Theatre (tentative)Nov 1 – Chamber Theatre (tentative)Nov 9 – Patriot’s BallNov 10 - Jesus Christ Superstar

(Theatre Prod.) Nov 11-12 – Sesame StreetNov 13 – Melody HouseNov 14-17 – Film FestivalNov 16-17 – Don Rich Gun ShowNov 19 - 21 - Super Science Circus

(only 1 of the 3 days, not confirmed which day)

Nov 21-23 – Mistletoe & Moss MarketDec 7 – Lighting Festival & Boat ParadeDec 7- LHSA Cheerleading Competition Dec 13-14 – LCCBDec 27 – Moscow Ballet


ing hundreds of thefinest antique cars ofthe day along withSulphur's own mon-ster truck, SouthernSunshine. Free foodand drinks will beavailable. (337) 527-4500

Buckcherry at Party By the Poolat L’Auberge Aug. 8Buckcherry will rockat Party by the Poolat L’Auberge CasinoLake Charles. Ticketsare $10-$20 atwww.ticketmaster.com, at L'Aubergethrough the BusinessCenter or Legends atL'Auberge, or youcan call (800) 745-3000. Tickets mayalso be purchasedthe night of the showat Legends. Doorsopen at 7 p.m. andshow starts at 8:30p.m. Must be 21 yearsold to enter.

Basketball Tournament of the Stars Aug. 9-11Get ready for layups,steals and slam-dunks at this year’sTournament of theStars Aug. 9–11. Over60 teams, both adultand youth will partic-ipate. Games will beheld at the LakeCharles Civic Centerand other locations.All proceeds benefitthe “Raising Dollarsfor Scholars” cam-paign, as part of theMcReynolds Scholar-ship Fund. (337) 491-1466 or emailtos@cityoflc

Annual Krewe deKaroline Poker RunAug. 10The annual Krewe deKaroline Poker Run

benefits West Cal-casieu Cameron Hos-pital’s GenesisTherapeutic RidingCenter. It begins at8:30 a.m. – until atWayne & Layne's Deli& Bar. Plate lunchesat 11 a.m., auction at5 p.m., live musicnoon – until. (337)274-9155.

Gulf Coast RollerGirls Aug. 10Lafitte's Ladies meetthe East TexasBombers! Doorsopen at 6 p.m., gamebegins at 7 p.m. atThe Grindhouse, 932Enterprise Ste C,Lake Charles. Adults$12 Presale, $15 atthe door/ $6 childrenunder ten. BYOB andbring your own chair!www.gulfcoastroller-girls.com

ACTS Fundraiser ‘My Favorite Things’Aug. 10-11With a donation of$25, experience a va-riety of songs anddances that are fa-vorites of the per-formers and enjoy areception of wine,soft drinks and fingerfoods. Will be heldSat., Aug. 10 at 7:30p.m. with a receptionbeginning at 6:30p.m., and on Sun.,Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. witha reception begin-ning at 2 p.m. Bothperformances are atACTS One ReidStreet theatre.www.actstheatre.com

Whitetails UnlimitedBanquet Aug. 10Whitetails Unlimitedis sponsoring theSouthwest LouisianaBanquet at the LakeCharles Civic Center.

Enjoy dinner, auction,and prizes with awide array of prod-ucts such as firearms,outfitter packages,hunting and outdoorrelated equipment,artwork, and col-lectibles only avail-

able at WTU events.Tickets are $40 each,$25 for a spouse, or$15 for children 15and under. Ticketorder deadline is Aug9; tickets will not besold at the door.(337) 274-9142


From time to time, Icome across an artistwho seems to have anelusive quality; some-thing mystical abouttheir art and their pres-ence. Lyd Farquhar isone such artist living andworking here in South-west Louisiana.

About a year agowhen the first HeART ofSWLA column debuted,

I chose to feature her. Itwas the early summer of2012. Farquhar was fo-cused on her new seriesbased on fishing lures.Only an artist can look ata jig and see the poten-tial for a beautiful canvasto hang on the wall of afishing enthusiast.There’s that mystic qual-ity coming through, tak-ing the ordinary and

making it special.Now that The Jamba-

laya News has becomethe Louisiana Jam, Ithought it fitting tocheck in with her, to seehow the past year hasbeen for her art.

LJ: Last year, we intro-duced you to the readersof The Jambalaya News.Have there been anychanges in your work?

Lyd: Lately, I've beenincorporating more na-ture into my work—specifically, birds. Stillkeeping that abstractfoundation but playingwith fusing that touch ofsemi-realism into thepiece and making it har-monious. I find it quitechallenging and intimi-dating.

LJ: Did the past yearhold any revelations foryou as an artist?

Lyd: This past yearwas rather difficult. Idealt with "artist’s block"for the majority of theyear and just recentlybroke through a fewmonths ago. During thattime, I tried to work onletting go and enjoyingthe process and got backinto my meditation prac-tice that I had let slack,which is probably whatled to the "block" in the

first place.LJ: Where do you see

you art headed now:medium, style, etc.?

Lyd: I'm not sureabout the direction of myart. Exploring and play-ing--that's what I've real-ized is the mostimportant thing for me asan artist. I have enoughthat I need to keep sched-uled and structured inreal life--so my art muststay unpredictable, free-flowing and explorativein order for me stay pas-sionate about it. That'swhat this past year’s dis-

covery was all about. It'sall about "what happenswhen I do this, use this--where does it lead menext? My heart tells mewhat to do and when todo it. Before, I thoughttoo much and worriedabout the end result.

LJ: Where would liketo see your art headed?

Lyd: During "theblock," I felt I needed tochange things up, so Istarted taking watercolorclasses with the Deweysand I absolutely love it.It's so hard! I will con-

Catching up with Lyd Farquhar, SWLA Mystical Artist

by Monica Hebert

Lyd Farquhar, “The Resting Place”


tinue as long as I enjoyit. I hope to learn anduse it more in my cre-ative processes.

LJ: Where wouldyou like to see your artcareer headed?

Lyd: Of course, justlike every artist, I wouldlove to be able to make aliving just being anartist. but it’s also impor-tant to me that I connectwith the viewer. Asartists, we feel so muchwhen we create. We useso much emotion toconvey what the essenceof our soul is onto can-vas whether we areaware of it or not. I wantthe viewer to feel that.Not necessarily what Ifelt when I created thepiece; just to feel some-thing, anything. Any-thing that wakes up theirown awareness to thesoul inside of them-selves. We so often for-get that we have one, sowe forget how to loveeach other. That's reallywhat I want.

This artist loves sim-ply, and that love shinesthrough her face, hersmile, her work. I forone am grateful shebroke through her blockand that so many in thearea have discovered herunique pieces. Soon,you will be able to seeher work in the upcom-ing Arts and Crab Festput on by the ArtsCouncil on Aug. 17 atthe Lake Charles CivicCenter.

There are many gal-leries showing works oflocal artists in the area;the listings are updatedeach week in our publi-cation and on our web-site. Do yourself afavor: Treat yourself toa piece of original art-work created by aSWLA artist. It’s a treatlike no other.

Abraham Lincoln:The ImageHistoric City Hall1001 Ryan St.Lake CharlesMon- Fri 10 am- 5 pmSat 10 am- 2 pm8/2/2013-10/12/2013337-491-9147

Art And CrabsFestivalLake CharlesCivic CenterLake Shore Drive5 p.m. -8 p.m.Saturday, August17th, 2013www.artsandhu-manitiesswla.org

Art duLacPujo St. Café901 Ryan St. Lake Charles Mon-Fri 11am-9:30pm Sat noon-9:30PMYear Around337-439-2054

Black HeritageGalleryCentral School

809 Kirby St. Lake CharlesMon-Fri 9 am-5 pmYear Around337-488-8567

DeQuincyRailroad Museum400 Lake Charles,Ave.DeQuincy, LATues-Sat 10 am-5 pmYear Around337-786-2823

DeQuincyTown Hall Museum218 E. Fourth St.DeQuincy, LAMon-Thurs 9am-noonand 1 pm-4pmYear Around337-786-8241

Elvis Grit and GraceExhibitHistoric City Hall1001 Ryan St.Lake CharlesMon-Fri 10 am-5 pmSat 10 am-2 pm6/20/2013-9/7/2013337-491-9159

Harrington Gallery210 Tamarack St.Sulphur, LAMon-Fri 10 am-5pmYear Around337-528-ARTS

Imperial CalcasieuMuseum204 W. Sallier St.Lake CharlesTues-Sat 10 am-5 pmYear Around337-439-3797

Jack&John: JackAmuny & Mark JohnHenning Cultural Center923 Ruth St.SulphurMon-Fri 10 am-noon and 1 pm-5pm Sat 10 am-2 pm8/15/2013-9/19/2013337-527-0357

Linda GleasonRitchie Art ReceptionGallery by the Lake106 W.Pryce

Lake CharlesAugust 1, 2013(337) 436-1008

Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu809 Kirby St.Lake Charles

Tues-Fri1 pm- 5pmYear Around337-430-0043

USS OrleckNaval Museum604 N. EnterpriseBlvd.Lake CharlesMon-Fri 10 am-3pmSat 10 am -4 pmYear Around337-214-7447

Vintage ArtsBy Jeanne OwensCentral School809 Kirby St.Suite 212, Lake CharlesMon-Fri 9 am-5 pmYear Around337-304-1165

W.H. Tupper General Merchan-dise Museum311 N. Main St.JenningsMon-Fri 9 am-5 pmYear Around337-821-5532

Works of MenExhibitHenning CulturalCenter, 923 Ruth St.Sulphur Mon-Fri 10 am-noon and 1 pm-5pm Sat 10 am-2 pm7/4/13-8/8/13337-527-0357

"The BuccaneerArtists HaveLanded"Zigler Art Museum411 Clara St.JenningsTuesday, 10-4, Sunday 1-4Aug. 3-31, 2013337-824-0114

ART & CULTURE EVENTS


Dancers from theLake Charles Civic Balletand Lady Leah LafargueSchool of the Dance arecurrently participatingin a six-week SummerIntensive where theyfocus on a wide varietyof dance forms and ben-efit from instruction byan impressive repertoireof dancers.

The LCCB SummerIntensive instructorsteach ballet, pointe, jazz,character, contemporary,musical theatre, chore-ography, stretch, andpartnering. Dancershave begun learning

choreography for LCCB’sexciting new season, in-cluding Assemblé 2014and its collaborationwith the Lake CharlesSymphony. LCCB isproud to bring togetheran outstanding lineup ofinstructors from acrossthe country to help pre-pare its dancers for the2013-2014 season.

Summer IntensiveVisiting Instructors

Chloe Brevelle, ofAustin, TX, brings herexpertise in flamenco tothe LCCB dancers. Shehas performed with leg-

endarydancersfrom NewOrleans toSpain. Shecurrentlyperforms with Austingroups such as TheSpirit of Flamenco, Fla-menco 909, La Compa-nia de Pilar Andujar, andFlamencura. Brevelle hasstaged several Flamencodances on Civic Balletdancers for inclusion inthe company’s Assemblé2014 production.

Shannon Bramhamand Jessica Daley aremembers of the impres-sive Koresh Dancers andbring a unique style ofinterpretive dance in-struction. Daley, aPhiladelphia native,trained at Philadelphia’sJason Douglas DanceAcademy, The Rock

School of the Pennsyl-vania Ballet and TheAiley School. She at-tended The Universityof the Arts where sheearned her BFA inModern Dance in2004. Bramhamgraduated with her

BFA in Dance Per-formance from EastCarolina Univer-sity and has hadthe opportunityto perform in

works chosen to bepart of the American

College Dance FestivalAssociation Gala.

Amanda Edge hailsfrom New York and the

cast of Phantom of theOpera, which recentlycelebrated 25 years onBroadway. With an im-pressive history ofdance, including studyin Brazil, the North Car-olina School of the Arts,and eventually a com-pany member of theNew York City Ballet,Edge has much to offerLCCB dancers. Thissummer, she is setting aFoose Medley on Level 2and 3 Summer Intensivedancers, which will beperformed in the Assem-blé 2014 lineup.

Nancy Sensat Hig-ginbotham was ac-cepted to ballet trainingprograms at MarylandSchool for the Perform-ing Arts, North CarolinaHigh School for Per-forming Arts and Na-tional Academy of theArts in Champagne, Illi-nois. Last year, she hadthe pleasure to teach be-ginning pointe at thestudio.

Megan Richard is aformer LCCB principaland a LLLSOD regularfaculty member. She re-ceived her Bachelor ofArts in Art from Mc-Neese State University in2008, with a concentra-tion in photography.Most recently, Richard

taught at Ballet Pen-sacola’s ballet school andspent a season perform-ing as a soloist with thecompany.

Ginger Gondron hastrained with manyrenowned classical balletand jazz dance profes-sionals. She has also per-formed professionallywith the HoustonGrande Opera, TheatreUnder the Stars, TexasDance Theatre, DeliaStewarts Jazz DanceCompany, City Ballet ofHouston and others. Avery popular teacher injazz and ballet, she hasalso been invited toteach numerous GuestMaster classes.

LCCB welcomesback, William “Billy”Ward, who was born inLake Charles and beganhis dance training withLady Leah Lafargue andLCCB. For 26 years,Ward was a solo dancerwith the New York CityOpera. During histenure with the com-pany, he performed soloand principal roles innumerous acclaimedproductions. He serveson the Board of Gover-nors of the AmericanGuild of Musical Artists,and he is a member ofthe Screen Actors’ Guild.

Warming up for an exciting 2013-2014 season.

Photo: Romero & Romero Photography


Golden Wright, anative Texan, receivedhis Master of Fine Artsin Dance and Bachelorof Fine Arts in Dancefrom Sam Houston StateUniversity. Some of thecompanies Mr. Wrightperformed for includeBallet Arkansas, BalletAustin, Ballet Forte,Beaumont Ballet The-atre, Corpus ChristiConcert Ballet, BalletForte, Gobel School ofDance, Texas WorldDance, Sam HoustonDance Company, Cor-pus Christi Ballet, Con-cert Christi ConcertBallet, Lamar DanceCompany, Venecia Stu-dio and the VictoriaBallet Theatre. Wright

toured and performedin Tanzsommer, Austriaand has trained in NewYork and at the JoffreyWorkshop in San Anto-nio.

Kisler HathawayWhitworth was a per-forming member ofLCCB for many years.She studied dance withmany dance masters in-cluding Madame NatalieKrassovska, and withcompanies such as theDallas MetropolitanBallet and City Ballet ofHouston. She attendedthe Ballet TeachingSeminar at WesternMichigan University inKalamazoo and was as-sociate director of LCCBunder Lady Leah from

1987-1992. Her workthis summer includedthe staging of significantportions of the storyballet Cinderella, whichwill be performed aspart of LCCB’s Assemblé2014 and feature theLake Charles Symphony.

For more informa-tion or to become asponsor visitwww.lakecharlescivicballet.com, follow@LC_CivicBallet onTwitter, visit www.face-book.com/lakecharlescivicballet, email us [email protected] or call KellyGifford at 337.802.5779or Rhonda Chargois at(337) 842-6930.

McNeese State Univer-sity alumnus MichaelShewmaker has receiveda 2013 Wallace StegnerFellowship in Poetryfrom Stanford University.Shewmaker is a 2010graduate of McNeese’sMaster of Fine Arts inCreative Writing pro-gram and a doctoral can-didate at Texas TechUniversity.

2013 Pulitzer Prizewinner Adam Johnson –who is also a McNeeseMFA alumnus - was a re-cipient of this prestigiousfellowship. The cele-brated writer and envi-ronmentalist Stegnerfounded the StanfordCreative Writing Pro-gram and Writing Fel-lowships in 1946.

The Stanford writingprogram offers 10 two-year creative writing fel-lowships each year, five infiction and five in poetry.This year, over 1,700

writers ap-plied forthese fellow-ships.

“The fel-lowshipmeans a lot –particularlythe time towrite and re-vise, reviseand write, to-ward com-pleting my firstmanuscript of poemswhile studying at StanfordUniversity,” Shewmakersaid.

After the fellowship, hehopes to find a publisherfor his completed manu-script and to finish up hisdoctorate at the sametime. “More than any-thing, though, my goalwill be to continue towrite the best poems thatI can—the poems thatonly I can write,” he said.

Shewmaker said histime spent at McNeese

was special.“For the first

time in my life,I was sur-rounded bypeople whocared as muchabout writing asI did. The writ-ers in the MFAprogram weretalented artistsand—as if that

wasn’t enough—extraor-dinary human beings.Many of my closestfriends I met while study-ing in the creative writingprogram at McNeese,” hestated. “Being in such anenvironment helped meto grow as an artist and asa person. I’m especiallygrateful to all of the Mc-Neese faculty in the cre-ative writing departmentwhile I was there - AmyFleury, Morri Creech,Neil Connelly, KeaganLeJeune and JacobBlevins.”

McNeese Alumnus Receives Poetry Fellowship

Michael Shewmaker


Thursday, Aug. 1Flamethrowers7 p.m. @ L'AubergeParty by the Pool

777 AvenueL'AubergeLake Charles

Open Mic Night9 p.m. @ Dharma

329 Broad St.Lake Charles

Friday, Aug. 2Leon Chavis Concert9 p.m. @ Gator Lounge@ Delta Downs2717 Delta DownsVinton

Foxy & The Highhats(Jazz) + “White Tie Affair” Afterparty!10 p.m. @ Dharma329 Broad St.Lake Charles

Street Side Jazz Band7 p.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Remedy KreweGabriel’s Last Breath,Angel Siren, Downthe Phoenix10 p.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Logan Soileau,Blues/Rock Guitarist9 p.m. @ Cigar ClubPrien Lake Rd.Lake Charles

John Guidroz9 p.m.@ Micci’s3606 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Saturday, Aug. 3Leon Chavis Concert9 p.m. @ Gator Lounge@ Delta Downs 2717Delta DownsVinton

Thomas & Theresa7 p.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Gabriel’s Last Breath8 p.m. @ Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Jay Kacherski6 p.m. @ Zeus Café409 Prien Lake Rd.Lake Charles

Sinners+The Ramblin’Boys+The Way High Men!10 p.m. @ Dharma329 Broad St.Lake Charles

Wayne Dylan9:30 p.m. @ Micci’s3606 Ryan St.Lake Charles

The Kadillacs8 p.m. @ Isle of Capri100 Westlake Ave.Westlake

Ryan Bunch, Classic/Modern Rock Guitarist9 p.m. @ Cigar ClubPrien Lake Rd.Lake Charles

Sunday, Aug. 4Street Side Jazz Band11 a.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Thursday, Aug. 8Buckcherry7 p.m. @ L'Auberge

Party by the Pool777 Avenue L'Auberge,Lake Charles

Friday, Aug. 9Sam Pace &The Guilded Art10 p.m. @ Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

John Guidroz9 p.m. @ Micci’s3606 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Timberhawk8 p.m.Sam Pace9 p.m.Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Friday Nite Live Music9 p.m. @ Cigar Club1700 E. Prien Lake Rd.Ste. 5, Lake Charles

BB & Company9 p.m. @ Gator Lounge@ Delta Downs 2717 Delta DownsVinton

Saturday, Aug. 10The Ruxpins10 p.m. @ Luna Live710 Ryan St.Lake Charles

Paul Gonsoulin7 p.m.Luna Bar & Grill719 Ryan St.Lake Charles

at Coushatta Casino Resort


The Floating Popes, a four-piece rock/pop band from righthere in Lake Charles, began theirjourney when Charlie Frye, for-mer guitarist of Southern metalpowerhouse Choke, approachedgalactically-renowned bass wiz-ard Trip Wamsley with the intentof breaking new musical ground.

Originally conceived as an‘80s pop band in the stylings ofDuran Duran and Tears forFears, the duo invited Choke'slead singer Tracy McGinnis tosuit up, a natural choice for bothhis avid interest in the style andhis soaring vocal talents. Drum-mer Kevin Radomski, Trip's for-mer bandmate in SnydleyWhiplash during the late ‘80s-mid ‘90s, brought in a heavierrock element and the team wascomplete. Ready for lift-off, Cap-tain.

They want you to believe thatThe Floating Popes are outside ofour continuum, a group of “retroastronauts” transplanted into ourreality after exploring the wrongwormhole, products of a time be-fore iPads and the “inter-Google,”when regular folks believed aWar of the Worlds was immi-nent. The truth is out there. Wel-come to Planet Trip, populationfour.

These are the masks theywear: By day, Tracy is a firemanand Charlie is an aspiring mathe-matician. Kevin, based in Hous-ton, currently spends much of histime outside of this band as adrum technician for Jane's Ad-diction, and Trip now tours the

world as the bass player for“American Idols Live,” in addi-tion to his solo instrumentalworks on bass and a slew of sideprojects.

For all four members of TheFloating Popes, this project is anexploration, boldly goingwhere...well, you know the rest.

As an avant-garde solobassist, Trip answers to no oneand writes music that 20 peoplein the known universe will un-derstand, but says, “To write anepic rock song is one of the mostdifficult things ever. I could notwrite ‘Judy is a Punk’ to save mylife.”

The synthesis of a perfectrock song, in Trip's opinion, de-pends upon “a balance of the vis-ceral lizard brain, the primal, andthe intellectual.” To be successful,rock music must not only enter-tain, but also make you think.“The best gigs, through the tri-umphs and the bitterest disap-pointments, always leave youchanged,” he says.

Musically speaking, TheFloating Popes are odd, an anom-aly even. The songwritingprocess typically consists of Tripand any other member pairingoff to record their individualcontributions, which are thenshared with other band membersone at a time. Due to geographi-cal challenges, the band as awhole rarely sits in the sameroom and rehearses until thenight before a show, when all ofthese musical ideas synthesize tocreate a fully fleshed-out song.

The results, Tracy says,are “odd, fresh, and or-ganic, but never over-done. It's barely done.”

Trip's mad scientistvibe seems to be catch-ing, as one of Charlie'scurrent experiments in-volves integrating mathematicalequations and theory into actualmusical compositions. He refer-ences a complex concept knownas the Fibonacci Sequence,named for a 13th century Italianmathematician and explored mu-sically by composers like Bartokand Debussy, as well as the rockact Tool.

Another current song proj-ect, tentatively titled “Breakbeat,”is based around the idea of noone hitting the downbeats at thesame time. Of this, Tracy says,“You gotta like a band that un-derstands time signatures and ig-nores them.”

But don't be misled by all thismusical jargon. Despite theselofty ideas, The Floating Popesjust plain rock, as in like a hurri-cane. The beauty of this band andsongs like their first online demo,“What Price Fame,” is that the av-erage casual listener hears a funclassic rock song a la The Cult,and serious scholars may hearcomplex musical ideas, all withinthe same three minutes, creatingthat perfect balance of street andschool, influenced by smart butpassionate bands like The Jam,The Police, and Living Colour.

Concerning the role thatLouisiana plays upon their

music, The Floating Popes could-n't be happier about where theirplane has landed. “For manyyears, I was ashamed of beingSouthern, like we were somehowall chicken-fried and brain-dead,”Trip says. But there's a way wedo it and there's a way we lay itthat ain't nobody else can cop.Everything was born here, withinthe stretch of I-10 that goes fromLake Charles all the way to Ark-abutla, Mississippi. I can embraceall the musics of the world but, atthe end of the day, I'm Southern.”

He goes on to talk about thebeginnings of rock and roll, hereand in Europe, with everyonefrom Elvis Presley and LittleRichard, to The Beatles and TheRolling Stones. All those ground-

breaking ears were tuned to righthere, the birthplace of Southernblues, jazz, country, and there-fore, rock and roll.

The Floating Popes, whohave so far only played four gigs“packed with love,” will take ahiatus from performing live untilafter October, during whichKevin will be on the road withJane's Addiction and Alice inChains. The band can be foundon Facebook and the demo song“What Price Fame” has been re-leased at soundcloud.com/trip-wamsley. But beware of “sonicmind control” from the deepestreaches of space, where no onecan hear you scream, but theycan certainly hear you shred.

From left to right: Charlie Frye,

Tracy McGinnis, Trip Wamsley,

and Kevin Radomski

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LIQUID SOCIETY'S PARTY BY THE POOLIt was another sizzling evening at L’Auberge’s Party by thePool! Between the Bikini Bombshell Contest finals and the

rock band 311, the crowd of partygoers had a fabuloustime. The Ladies of L’Auberge served up cold drinks to hotand happy patrons who got their groove on into the night.

Where else can you have so much fun on a Thursday?Party on!

CAJUN MUSIC & FOOD FESTIVAL

Country Cajun songwriter Jo-El Sonnier packed in the crowd to kick off the 26th annual Cajun Music and Food Festival at Burton Coliseum! There were savory foods such as jambalaya, gumbo, cracklins

and more to satisfy your taste buds, along with kiddie games, vendors and raffles and live music and dancing. No one can party like the Cajuns!!

Nikki Douga, Megan Moore and Caitlin Theriot Rachel and Rebecca Breaux

Iris, Tristen and Ethan Judice Becky and Evalynn Sterling with Kendee Authement Andy and Charmaine Anderson with John Michael White, Sarah Shultz and Ricky Vincent

Jessica Suire, Dominique Dantoni, Mikalyn Brown and Taylor McGuire

Miranda Collins, Michael Durry and Cortney Collins Jesse Gilmore, Ashley Guillory and Jay Landry

Courtney Cooper and Autumn Cooper Chasity Perron, Anita Graham, Rachel Chapa

and Lindsey Williamson


Charlie ChaplinComedianComedy CentralFunnyGiggleHilarious

ImprovisationJokesLaughterLucille BallOne Liner

RiddleSaturdayNight LiveSeinfeldStand Up

Comedy!

word search

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Players take turns connecting two dots. When you make a square, put your initials in the box and take another turn. When all dots are connected,

the player with the most boxes wins.


The Louisiana Jam - 08/01/13, Vol. 1, No. 1

Documents

lake charles louisiana

position of louisiana

louisiana jam columnists

trip toarizona

daytime clothes

legal responsibility

phils packing skills

time ofgoing