530. Katy Morlas Shannon returns to talk about her children's historical fiction, Sharcropper's Daughter. "Born
a sharecropper’s daughter on a Louisiana plantation, Frances Darbonne
wonders if she will ever escape the rural poverty that has plagued her
family for generations. When Frances learns that going to school
requires her to abandon the French language she has spoken all her life,
she struggles to reconcile her Cajun identity with her desire to read
and write. Determined to Americanize its citizens, Louisiana instructs
its educators to eradicate this heritage language, stigmatizing the
Cajun people and using shame and threats of violence to silence them... Inspired by the author's grandmother, Sharecropper's Daughter
vividly portrays a child’s experience of World War II and prominently
features the Louisiana Maneuvers, the military training of 400,000
troops not far from Frances’s home."
This week in Louisiana history. July 7, 1912 Grabow 'Lumber
War' shootout takes place near DeRidder, 3 killed, 37 wounded
This week in New Orleans history. Thomas Semmes Walmsley
(June 10, 1889 – June 19, 1942) was Mayor of New Orleans from
July 15, 1929 to June 30, 1936. He is best known for his
intense rivalry with Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long.
This week in Louisiana.
43rd Annual Natchitoches/NSU Folk Festival
July 22, 2023
Visit Website
220 South Jefferson Street
Natchitoches LA 71457
The annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival is back! This year’s
theme, “Celebrating Louisiana’s Cultural Gumbo,” will
celebrate how Louisiana’s folklife – its unique crafts, food,
music, and culture – are alive and well. Held on Saturday July
22 in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern
State University campus in Natchitoches, the Festival will
feature three stages of music, the Louisiana State Fiddle
Championship, Cajun and zydeco dance lessons, a harmonica
workshop, exhibits, and some of the best folk foods in
Louisiana! Regional crafts such as beadwork, quilts, Native
American baskets, Czech Pysanky eggs, and handmade banjos will
be exhibited during day long demonstrations by over 70
traditional craft persons. Narrative sessions will feature
Delta blues, juke joints and dance halls, Creole crafts, Cajun
dancing, traditional blacksmithing, and Native American
dancing. Headline music includes Delta blues by Jimmy “Duck”
Holmes, gypsy jazz by the Russell Welch Hot Quartet with
special guest Aurora Nealand, classic country by Hugh Harris
& the Drifting Cowboys, Americana music by James Linden
Hogg, Rusty Metoyer & The Zydeco Krush, the Cajun
Stompers, the Jambalaya Cajun Band, special appearances by the
Choctaw-Apache Rising Sun Youth Group and the Broussard Family
Juré, and more. The Festival will also feature traditional
blacksmithing, Dutch oven cooking, and a gumbo cookoff!
Children 12 and younger admitted free of charge. Vive la
Louisiane!
Phone:
(318) 357-6011