Louisiana’s Cultural Crossroad
Posted on July 2, 2015 by bob in Travel
Shreveport-Bossier at night. (courtesy Shreveport-Bossier CVT)
by Chris Jay
Shreveport-Bossier, in the northwestern corner of Louisiana, is the third-largest community in Louisiana, home to a thriving nightlife and entertainment scene with a year-round calendar of festivals and cultural events. It also has a burgeoning culinary scene and opportunities to explore the great outdoors.
The city serves as a crossroads where Cajun and Creole traditions of Louisiana blend with the wide-open spirit of Texas. This combination can be tasted in the food, where Texas-style barbecue often shares a plate with traditional Louisiana favorites — gumbo, po-boys and crawfish étouffée. This cultural combo is also heard in the music, where jazz and soul share the stage with blues, country, rock and zydeco. Local festivals, celebrating everything from crawfish to black history, provide year-round opportunities to immerse yourself in a fascinating blend of cultures.
The Mudbug Madness Festival features plenty of crawfish. (Courtesy Shreveport-Bossier CVT)
Music history enthusiasts will find much to explore in Shreveport-Bossier, including the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, a National Historic Landmark and home to the legendary Louisiana Hayride radio broadcast from 1948 to 1960. Elvis Presley made his performance debut at there on Oct. 16, 1954. A statue of The King welcomes visitor to the auditorium on Elvis Presley Boulevard.
Blues legend Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter was born and raised in Mooringsport near Shreveport. His gravesite at Shiloh Baptist Church Cemetery in Mooringsport is a frequent destination for blues aficionados. Other well-known local musicians include country singer Claude King, guitar legend James Burton, blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, country superstar Kix Brooks and jazz drummer Brian Blade.
A group gathers at the spot where Elvis Presley played at the Municipal Auditorium. (Photo by Bob Corley)
If you’re feeling lucky, visit one of the six riverboat casinos or enjoy the excitement of live horse racing. Many casinos are located along the Red River downtown near one of the areas hottest music venues, Horseshoe Riverdome, drawing legendary performers including Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson and The Beach Boys. The Horseshoe Casino and Hotel includes poolside party cabanas, multiple bars and an outdoor stage hosting touring bands and DJs.
Enjoying the great outdoors takes many forms, from a trip down the Red River aboard the Spirit of the Red River Cruise, to zip-lining through a swamp filled with live alligators at Gators and Friends Alligator Park and Exotic Zoo. The Red River National Wildlife Refuge is one of Louisiana’s top bird-watching destinations with 6.5 miles of hiking trails, a lake for fishing, and an interpretive center offering interactive educational programs for all ages. Walter B. Jacobs Memorial Nature Park in Shreveport also offers an outstanding network of trails, many wheelchair-accessible. You can also hike and bike along the scenic riverfront.
Several Shreveport-Bossier eateries are among the best-known in Louisiana: mom and pop diner Strawn’s Eat Shop was featured in Southern Living magazine; local seafood restaurant Herby-K’s was included in Garden & Gun magazine’s “100 Southern Foods You Absolutely, Positively Must Try Before You Die;” and Bossier City’s Silver Star Smokehouse was listed among the best BBQ restaurants in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal.
Mardi Gras is most often associated with New Orleans. However, Carnival season – with its parades, parties, and costumed balls – is huge in Shreveport-Bossier. In 2014 an estimated 283,120 people attended Shreveport-Bossier’s two largest Mardi Gras parades, the Krewe of Centaur and Krewe of Gemini parades.
After Carnival season several major festivals commence in early Spring, including Holiday in Dixie, one of the oldest annual festivals in the U.S., celebrating the arrival of Spring with a carnival, live music and more. It concludes with the Ark-La-Tex Ambassadors BBQ Cook-Off, a competition BBQ event attracting top teams in the South.
Elvis Presley statue outside the Municipal Auditorium where he performed early in his career.
Barksdale, the country’s oldest Air Force base, is in Shreveport-Bossier. The Barksdale Air Force Base Airshow features the world’s top aerobatic teams including the Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force Thunderbirds. The history of the base is showcased at the recently renovated Barksdale Global Power Museum.
Each Memorial Day Weekend, the sounds of zydeco music and the scent of boiling crawfish drift through the air during the Mudbug Madness Festival. Named one of the “Top 100 Events in North America” by the American Bus Association, the festival includes outstanding Louisiana cuisine, three stages of live music and kids’ activities, and more than 80,000 pounds of boiled crawfish!
One of most anticipated events each June is the Let the Good Times Roll Festival, a celebration of black history and culture featuring old-school, gospel, R&B and funk music and an array of food vendors and art booths. The event was named a “Top 20 Event” by the Southeast Tourism Society.
Other events include the Cross Lake Flotilla, a gathering of hundreds of boaters, and the Sunflower Trail and Festival in nearby Gilliam, featuring arts and crafts, live entertainment, food, and the chance to explore the giant fields of sunflowers that bloom along Highway 3049.
In summer, local farmers’ markets open including the enormous Shreveport Farmers’ Market with hundreds of vendors selling farm-fresh produce, locally made arts and crafts, ready-to-eat artisan foods, live music and cooking demonstrations. The recently-opened Benton Farmers’ Market takes place each Sunday afternoon in June and July in downtown Benton.
September provides a range of events, from the Pioneer Heritage Festival in Greenwood to the Highland Jazz and Blues Festival in Columbia Park. The Red River Revel Arts Festival is the most-anticipated event in the fall, an enormous, eight-day outdoor event with hundreds of visual artists and three stages of non-stop live music.
Craft beer fans will like to sample the brews created by Great Raft Brewing, Shreveport’s first craft brewery and tasting room, named “One of 10 U.S. Breweries to Watch in 2015” by Gourmet magazine. October brings Shreveport-Bossier’s largest craft beer event, BREW: A Premier Beer Tasting, featuring more than 150 beers, live music and food from some of the area’s top restaurants.
Also in October is the Louisiana Film Prize, a weekend-long film festival with audiences voting to determine the winner of a $50,000 grand prize. The State Fair of Louisiana, held in October and November, has received national acclaim for its unusual variety of food vendors and free entertainment, along with all of the delights of a State Fair midway. The 2015 State Fair of Louisiana will be held Oct. 22-Nov. 8.
As the year winds down there’s the Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, Christmas in Roseland (a lights extravaganza at the Gardens of the American Rose Center), and the Christmas on Caddo Fireworks Festival.
“Louisiana’s Other Side” is an oft-used term describing Shreveport-Bossier’s location in the state, and its unique combination of Cajun and Creole culture and Texas cowboy heritage. From the glittering excitement of the casinos to the wonderful array of festivals, the mouth-watering local cuisine, fantastic shopping and numerous outdoor activities and attractions, Shreveport-Bossier has all the necessary ingredients for a memorable getaway.
Chris Jay is PR Manager of Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. For more information visit www.shreveport-bossier.org.
