THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

B1

LIFE
IMITATES
ART

Supper club
to benefit art
in schools.
B4

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Festival aims to keep

Cajun heritage alive
American Press archives

By Crystal Stevenson

cstevenson@americanpress.com
St. Margaret Catholic
Church is trying to keep the
heart of Cajun culture alive
using the communitys taste

buds.
The Calca Chew Festival, which began in 1984 as
a small church event, has
grown into a communitywide celebration that spotlights Southwest Louisiana

cuisine. This years event

will be 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday,
Sept. 27, in the churchs
family center, on 17th Street
near Enterprise Boulevard.
Its a fun-filled, familyoriented festival, said

American Press archives

By Mary Newport

mnewport@americanpress.com
The Lake Charles art scene
lights up Sept. 25 as venues
across the city open their doors
for the annual Gallery Promenade. Art spaces, galleries
and museums will unveil new
exhibits and featured artists in a
cooperative art walk that includes everything from painting
and music to Elvis and haircuts.
Gallery Promenade is an annual celebration of the talented
Lake Area art community and
the businesses that support it
year-round. An art movement is
gaining momentum in this city,
and Promenade is an awesome
way to experience this talent and
beauty firsthand, said Jody Taylor, project coordinator for the
Arts Council. Art isnt the only
reason to attend, though. Some
stops have special features like
the Gallery By the Lakes Take
a Selfie With Elvis, live music at
Exposure magazine and Stellar
Beans, musical numbers from
upcoming productions at ACTS
Theatre, costumes and set pieces
at Little Theatre, and pottery-

throwing demonstrations at The

Art Factory.
With 21 venues announced so
far, theres a lot for art walkers
to see and do, especially since so
many locations offering multiple
activities. The USS Orleck Naval
Museum in particular is participating in a big way this year.
Their Southwest Louisiana veterans tribute exhibit will include a
digital slideshow honoring area
veterans and works created for
the occasion by local artists. Featured artists include Jay Coker,
Erica Nelson, Jeremy Price and
Ben Von Duke. The exhibit is
part of the museums continual
mission to preserve naval history
and honor those who took part
in it.
I have been involved with the
ship since before we brought it
to Lake Charles and it has been
very rewarding to be part of preserving history for future generations to enjoy and learn from,
said Garrett Miller, director of
IT. The really rewarding part
is meeting former Orleck crew
members and other destroyer
veterans and helping preserve
and share their stories through

family center director Mary

Martin Rothermel. There
is no alcohol, theres no (admission fee) and, of course,
the whole community is
invited.
Rothermel, who has been
event chairman for 19 years,
said visitors can expect a
variety of Cajun foods awaiting them at the event.
On the menu is shrimp
etoufee; boudin; jambalaya;
gumbo; fried fish; french
fries; fried pork chop on a
stick; crispy chicken tenders; and homemade cakes,
candy, pies and cookies.
My favorite are the
popcorn balls, Rothermel
said. I was too late last year
to get one, but look out this
year.
Rothermel said the St.
Margaret Knights of Columbus will prepare about
700 barbecue dinners and
deliver them at about 10 a.m.
to be sold at the festival.
The smell alone is
enough to make your mouth

the information technology that

is available to us today.
Thats not all the museum has
in store. McNeese art students
Ashley Broussard and Maegan
Gonzales will direct an interactive Message in a Bottle exhibit,
and certain rooms on the ship
tour will come alive for the
evening with re-enactments of
the day-to-day operations of a
functioning destroyer vessel.
Visitors can even become part
of one such re-enactment, in a
way. Meg Johnson Newman from
Queen of Hearts Salon will set
up shop in the Orlecks Barber
Room to offer $10 clipper cuts, $12
scissor cuts and $5 beard trims.
Just off the ship, The Sloppy
Taco food truck will debut a new
recipe for hungry art admirers.
For a more hands-on approach, art walkers can head to
The Art Factory. A growing new
business that offers art classes
and summer camps, The Art Factory is equipped with a gallery
for display and a working studio
that produces clay and pottery.
During the Gallery Promenade,

start to water, she said.

Get there early; they sell
out fast.
Rothermel said the
church will also buy 80
pounds of shrimp for Jeff
Manuel from a Daisy a Day
to make etoufee.
Its a secret recipe, just
like the family bean recipe
on TV, she said. Even I
dont know the recipe. All I
know is that it is great and
there is never a bite left to
eat.
We try to keep the Cajun
heritage alive, therefore we
make all the Cajun food we
can, she said. Whoever
doesnt like this menu cant
be Cajun.
Rothermel said music
will be provided by Les
Amies Louisianaises
during a morning Mass and
then Red
Saltzman

will perform beginning at 9

a.m.
Dancing, live and silent
auctions, and a raffle are
planned. There will also be a
special section for childrens
games and activities.
Its air-conditioned, so
you dont need to worry
about the weather, she
said. Everything basically is inside. Yall
come and pass a
good time.

Its about that walk

See PROMENADE, B4

Special to the American Press

Left to right: Work by Ronnie Collins at Central Schools Art Associates Gallery; Leather Bound by Gary Rock at Artisans Gallery; Gerry Wubbens Untitled at McNeeses
Shearman Fine Arts Center; and work by Ogden Myers at the Common House.

The American Press will not have a Scene section in the Sept. 24 edition in order to print a commemorative 10th anniversary of Hurricane Rita issue.