NATCHITOCHES, LOUISIANA… Experience the charm of Louisiana’s original French colony during the 54th Annual Fall Pilgrimage on October 9-11, 2009 in Natchitoches Parish.

The tour, presented by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, showcases national historic homes and plantations; some of these sites are not normally open to the public.

The Candlelight Tour is Friday, October 9 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. featuring the Jefferson Street Townhouse, Steel Magnolia House, and Scott House. Guests may visit the homes in any sequence, but make the Steel Magnolia House your last stop for wine, cheese and music. The Town Tour is Saturday, October 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features the Chaplin House, Soldini House, Cunningham Cottage and Secret Garden. A special presentation featuring the Flags of Natchitoches will be displayed at the Soldini House.

The Cane River Country Tour is Saturday and Sunday, October 10-11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This tour includes Melrose Plantation, Oakland Plantation, Cherokee Plantation and Lambre’s Gin Plantation Home.

While in the Cane River National Heritage Area, visitors are invited to join the celebration at the St. Augustine Annual Catholic Church Fair held across from Melrose Plantation. Known for their unique Creole culture and cuisine, the festivities feature great food, games, music and a jaunt through historic Cane River. The St. Augustine Catholic Church was also the site of the wedding scene in Steel Magnolias.

Photographs and descriptions of the homes can be found at the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 781 Front Street.

Advance tickets are $15.00 per person for an individual tour, $28.00 per person for a two-tour package and $38.00 per person for a three-tour package. Advance ticket sales end on October 8. For children ages 6-12, tickets are an additional $5.00 per tour. Ages 6 and under are free. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Tickets may be purchased at the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau located at 781 Front Street. The Visitors Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be reached at (800) 259-1714. Visit www.natchitoches.net for more information on accommodations or upcoming events.

Natchitoches - Natchitoches has released the new 2009 Christmas Festival brochure with calendar of events for the Festival of Lights.

The brochure includes times, dates, entertainment lineups, admission information and Holiday Tour of Homes information.

This year marks the 83rd Anniversary of the Festival of Lights. The city and parish are waiting in anticipation for the biggest and best Christmas Festival yet. The brochure is made possible by the City of Natchitoches, Natchitoches Events Center, Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce, Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission, Natchitoches Historic Foundation and the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Begin planning your trip to the 83rd Annual Christmas Festival now by calling 800-259-1714 or visiting www.natchitoches.net and filling out a contact form to be mailed the brochure.

Also visit the official Christmas Festival website at www.christmasfestival.com for more information about the festival and up-to-date information.

Beginning the week of July 27, we will begin updating HistoricNatchitoches.com and ChristmasFestival.com to a new expanded format. Thank you for your support while renovate!

- Natchitoches.net Staff

NATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches Main Street Program will continue Alive After 5 on Saturday, August 8 with a downtown Latin night.

The Latin night will be held on Saturday, August 8 in downtown Natchitoches on north Front Street from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Attendees can expect Latin dancing, music, food and loads of fun.

A variety of Latin dance styles will be taught at Latin night including the cha cha, salsa, rumba and more. No prior dance experience is required and attendees should be prepared to just have a good time! Randy Sims with Vicki’s Dance Centers of Alexandria and Pineville will be the evening’s dance instructor.

A Latin food and beverage tasting will be available at Cane River Kitchenware located at 732 Front Street.

Don’t let the heat keep you away from such an amazing event. Large barrel fans will be located on Front Street for the event to keep dancers cool while dancing the night away.

Alive After 5 is a six month series of evening events taking place from April to September. The series includes art events, concerts, musical theatre and other cultural events which will all take place in the Natchitoches Historic District.

All events are free to the public and tourists and residents alike are encouraged to become more engaged in downtown arts and culture. The final Alive After 5 event for this year will take place on September 26.

For more information about Alive After 5, call the Main Street Office at (318) 352-2746 or toll free at (866) 941-MAIN.

The 30th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival will be held July 17-18 in Prather Coliseum on the campus of Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.

This year’s festival is themed “New Populations in Louisiana.” The 2009 theme will celebrate the importance of those cultures either new to the state or those which have sometimes been overlooked because of their cultural “invisibility” to many people.

The two day event is filled with activities, food, discussions, and music for the entire family. Tickets are $8 for an all-day pass, $5 for an evening pass, and $11 for a weekend pass which is available in advance only. Children ages 12 and under are admitted free with an accompanying adult.

The Festival begins on Friday at 5:00 p.m. with music, dancing, and door prizes. A mixture of Cajun and Zydeco music will set the tune for the night with performances by Kyle Huval & the Dixie Club Ramblers and Don Fontenot & Les Amis de Louisiane. Champ Crossno will also be giving Cajun dance lessons both Friday night and Saturday morning.

Traditional meat pies, boudin, gumbo, jambalaya, and ethnic foods will also be available to eat during the Festival.

Saturday’s festivities kick off at 8:00 a.m. with the beginning of the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship and the opening of the Kid Fest area. The Fiddle Championship will take place throughout the day with the champion performing at 6:00 p.m. Saturday night.

Kid Fest is an area set aside for activities that will teach children about folk traditions through hands on projects and crafts. The Kid Fest area will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Activities will include folktales, folk games, scavenger hunts, learning how to use chopsticks and experimenting with Japanese calligraphy.

Musical entertainment will be available throughout the day Saturday with performances by the Silayan Choir of New Orleans, Hadley Castille, Back Porch Band, Blake Brothers Bluegrass Band, Knight Train, Jesse Brown, Gail Holiday, Knight Train, Goldman Thibodeaux and more.

Other areas of interest will be narrative sessions exploring the lifestyles and customs of Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, Cajun, Italian, Korean, Czech, Hispanic and Thai cultures. Vendors will be on site offering baskets, toys, filè, bonnets, walking canes, jewelry, knives and much more.

For a complete schedule of events or more information on the Folk Festival, please call the Louisiana Folklife Center at (318) 357-4332 or the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 259-1714 or visit the Festival website at www.nsula.edu/folklife.

Enjoy an old fashioned country fair family day at Celebration on the Cane, Natchitoches’ Fourth of July celebration.

The day kicks off at 9 a.m. with the Cane River Green Market, Natchitoches’ only local farmers market. Besides fresh produce, customers can choose from a selection of “value-added products” including farm fresh eggs, breads, jams, honey and much more. Craft vendors will have handmade items such as woodwork, jewelry and art.

A children’s patriotic parade will begin at 10 a.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center parking lot, located at 750 Second St. The parade will take place throughout the Historic District, ending at Bank of Montgomery. There is no fee to enter the parade and prizes will be awarded for best costume and best decorated.

Children’s activities will take place throughout the day including water activities, arts and crafts, fair games, a karaoke contest, dunking booth and cake walk. Other activities include a Burger Cook-off, Blue-Ribbon Bakeoff and hotdog and pie eating contests.

Food vendors will be selling fair type foods throughout the day and picnic blankets will be provided for families to enjoy lunch on the downtown riverbank. Green Market vendors will have hotdogs, pies, tamales, watermelons and beverages.

Beauregard’s Courtesy will provide live musical entertainment from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the downtown riverbank followed by the Detention Center Choir from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Later that day, Kim Brasso and LA Boogie will perform on the Fleur de Lis from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The evening will culminate with a fireworks show over Cane River Lake that will take place at approximately 9 p.m.

For more information, please visit www.natchitoches.net or call the Natchitoches Main Street Office at (866) 941-6246 or the Natchitoches Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau at (800) 259-1714.

Host Alton Brown explores a bayou staple, the delicious and sustainable alternative to lobster, the crawfish. Alton spotlights a local crawfish farm in Natchitoches Parish. Click here for information on this episode.

The 2009 schedule for Natchitoches’ annual Festival of Lights, held November 21 - January 6, 2010, is now available. Go to www.christmasfestival.com for up-to-date information on this year’s celebration. Check back regularly, as some information may be changed.

Additional information on the Festival can be obtained by calling the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) 259-1714. Vendors contact the Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce at (318) 352-6894.

The Festival of Lights’ official brochure will be released this summer. Call (800) 259-1714 for your copy.

Never underestimate the appeal of a small town. Natchitoches, Louisiana, a town that has a population of about 18,000, was recently featured in Rand McNally, “America’s #1 Road Atlas”.

The town’s annual Christmas Festival of Lights celebration was featured the 2010 Road Atlas and Festival Guide, a piece that contains detailed information on 600 festivals and events in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Other featured Louisiana events include Mardi Gras in New Orleans and the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in Morgan City.

Rand McNally has been in operation since 1856 and offers tools to help travelers discover, map and navigate the world. In addition to the Road Atlas, the company also produces The Thomas Guide map books, custom-made wall maps and numerous online tools.

The 256-page, 10.875” x 15.375” paperback sells for $24.95 and can be found in Wal-Mart and most book stores. The Guide can also be purchased directly from Rand McNally at www.randmcnally.com.

For more information about the Natchitoches area, visit us online at www.natchitoches.net or contact the Convention and Visitors Bureau at (800) 259-1714.

The Melrose Arts & Crafts Festival will celebrate its 34th annual event on June 13 and 14, 2009 at historic Melrose Plantation.

More than 100 craftsmen from at least eight states will be on hand displaying and selling wooden sculptures, ironwork, handcrafted jewelry, unique yard art and handmade candles. Returning to the Festival this year will be okra-pod artist, Kathy Tate Davis, who specializes in carving roosters, Santas, witches and many other figures from dried okra pods.

Children’s book author Kathy Whitehead will make an appearance at the Festival this year. Whitehead’s picture book, Art From the Heart, was inspired by a trip to Melrose Plantation and examines the life and art of African-American artist Clementine Hunter who lived on the plantation.

And of course there will be famous Natchitoches meat pies and other regional foods. There is a $5 admission fee for adults, $2 for children age’s six to 12, and under age six is free. Tours of the main house and the African House will be available for $5.

The Melrose Arts & Crafts Festival is sponsored by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches. Visit their site at www.preservenatchitoches.org.

Melrose Plantation is located 18 miles south of Natchitoches at 3533 Hwy. 119. For vendor information, contact Alice Bryant at (318) 352-5640 or abryant@earthlink.net.

For information about Natchitoches, accommodations or more upcoming events, visit www.natchitoches.net or call 800-259-1714.