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