‘A Louisiana Christmas’

Published 8:00 am Sunday, December 9, 2018

Avoid the ho-hum of holiday sameness — Adventure awaits across the state

The new book by Louisiana authors Carol Stubbs and Nancy Rust just couldn’t be contained last Wednesday as one Teche Life Food & Drinks story. There is just too much culture spread throughout the pages telling of historical, traditional or unique Louisiana Christmas sell-a-brations throughout the state. If you’ve been reading The Daily Iberian the last few weeks, many of the community-planned events have already happened but more are yet to come.

Family traditions are great and well worth celebrating, but for anyone whose family lives out of the area, singles and retired friends whose children or grandchildren are coming one weekend before the big day, starting new traditions or finding new adventures could be the wish for Santa Claus to grant this year.

Hometown Lights

To get into the holiday spirit, take the road less traveled — if you traditionally go from Franklin to Lafayette on U.S. 90. Each community along Louisiana 182, Jeanerette and St. Martinville included, is delightfully decorated with its own fanfare continuing nightly until after Christmas Day. Plan a shopping day, eat at a new or favorite restaurant along the way, and travel back home after dark when the lights will be in full glory. Make sure to travel west to catch the New Iberia Main Street lights. Although there are some on St. Peter Street, the eastbound Louisiana 182, it is Main Street that sparkles.

Then hit the trail all across Louisiana. With the weekends that remain, you can do the north trek through Shreveport to Monroe, North Shore along Covington, Mandeville and Slidell, CenLa with Natchitoches, Alexandria, DeRidder, or east starting in Hammond down to New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. The state tourism website LouisianaTravel.com has an area map to help with plans, but some destinations are not the driving trip, but time for an overnight stay.

Christmas Get Aways

In The Daily Iberian Teche Life story June 11, 2017, “Home — a nice place to visit,” describes a number of Bed & Breakfast locations throughout the Teche Area. If out-of-town guests are coming to town, each will be decorated for the holidays and if you pack your bags, too, the whole family can stay under one hospitality roof. Check availability; some may be closed or booked this season, but the idea is timeless.

The Old Castillo Bed and Breakfast in St. Martinville has spacious rooms and suites providing for multiple generations to be under one roof and not your own. Fairfax Inn in Franklin also has a multiple bedroom setup and would be a perfect place for a supper club or other close knit group of friends to ring in the New Year without having to drive anywhere. Catering is available from nearby Forest Restaurant or others.

It only takes a little forward thinking and creativity to experience something new in your own backyard.

Destination Planning

This year may be too late to start planning for the Louisiana road trips, but set your sights on something of interest for next year and make reservations early. Some families return year after year and shopping around may be required.

As an example, the picture on the cover of “A Louisiana Christmas” was made at the annual Christmas Bonfire Party at Oak Alley in Vacherie. This year is not the time to experience that tradition. Archaeological exploration and restoration through December 2018 have caused it to be cancelled this year. The Stewart gardens will be restored to reflect Mrs. Stewart’s 1930s garden, while the west lawn will be transformed into a new Roman garden dedicated to period plantings of the 1830s to 1860s. With the many cottages and rentals allowing for a complete get away for 2019.

“In order to allow the time needed to finish this important preservation project, we regret that Oak Alley’s 43rd Annual Christmas Bonfire Party will have to be cancelled this year,” the website said.

It’s hard to leave the area for Christmas Eve, but tempting every year is the Christmas Eve Bonfires lighting the way for Cajun Papa Noel rushing through the bayous on a pirogue for people going to midnight Mass. In St. John and Ascension Parishes, St. James Parish communities of Lutcher, Gramercy and Paulina, communities gather to build huge bonfires along the river levee. At 7 p.m. fire chiefs give a signal and all of the bonfires are lit, the Christmas tour book states. Surely a sight to behold.

Any of the gardens and plantation homes along River Road are fully decorated for the season, whether a day visit or at night for the lights. Check with the individual home websites to insure their availability and holiday schedules.

Some of the plantations have Bed &Breakfast accommodations like Iberia Parish’s own Rip Van Winkle Gardens. Historic homes along the Bayou Teche are ready for visitors so don’t forget Dec. 16 in Franklin. Not on that tour is the Grevemberg House but it is decorated with holiday style ready to welcome visitors all month just as the Merry Ole Christmas at Shadows-on-the-Teche and others.

Unique Anytime

Something new discovered in “A Louisiana Christmas,” was a Christmas Bird Count. As one of the most important bird habitat locations in the nation, coastal cities like Grand Isle, the site of the first Louisiana Bird trail, is prime for birdwatching. The National Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, dating back to 1900, records the numbers of birds along the Gulf Coast and throughout the nation. Information from the count is used to help protect species and their habitats, the book said. A listing at LouisianaTravel.com/Louisiana-birding-trails will give the details.

LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens

The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden has an expansive collection of specialty gardens, woodlands, wetlands, arboreta and a university research facility. Plan next year to visit during the first weekend for its Poinsettia Show and Sale to view some of the latest varieties of poinsettias and vote for favorites. The Botanic Gardens is one of the nationwide trial locations for new and classic poinsettia varieties. More than 1,000 poinsettias were on display and for sale with proceeds benefiting the research at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens.

There is more to the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens than just green spaces. The facility plays an important role in the LSU AgCenter extension and research programs, which support the state’s nursery, landscape, and fruit and vegetable industries, wetlands and coastal restoration and forestry industry. Visit any time of the year. Gates open at 8 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. on weekdays and weekends. It is closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day. New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday and Thanksgiving Day.

The list of places to go and things to see just in Louisiana goes on an on, these are just a few of the highlights found in the new book. Enjoy the season with tinsel and lights, travel with friends and meet new ones as strangers. Christmas is the best time of the year to discover holiday cheer.