This September, ConventionSouth magazine, a national multimedia resource for those who plan events held within the South, asked readers and Facebook fans to vote for the cities they felt were the best places for music and to hold a meeting or event. The Facebook ballot provided a list of 30 small market destinations across the South to select from and the top 10 vote-getters are receiving recognition as the “South’s Top 10 Small Markets with BIG Music.”
The winners are:
Florence/Lauderdale County • Alabama
Wytheville • Virginia
Natchitoches • Louisiana
Cumberland • Maryland
Jackson • Tennessee
Lubbock • Texas
San Marcos • Texas
Bartlesville • Oklahoma
Stillwater • Oklahoma
Alexandria • Louisiana

Each city will be featured in the November issue of ConventionSouth.

Readers and fans were asked to vote on destinations where groups can best experience unique music while holding a meeting or event, according to ConventionSouth Editor Marcia Bradford. “Meeting Planners and event organizers from across the country look for unique destinations in the South to hold their meetings and events, and ConventionSouth’s 2016 list of the ‘South’s Top 10 Small Markets with Big Music” provides these planners with interesting insights on some of the South’s most alluring smaller cities for musical fun. Cities with a rich musical heritage and vibrant music scene bring an added layer of excitement to a meeting or event. This allows meeting planners to create unique themes during their events, infuse upbeat rhythms to their events, and increase attendance and attendee engagement. By adding the element of music to an event, meeting planners create a more memorable experience for attendees and therefore, increase the success of the gathering.”

The new exhibit Beyond Sunday: Fifty Years of the New Orleans Saints, at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum, located at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches, opens late Saturday afternoon.

The public is invited, free of charge, to a reception Saturday at 5 p.m. with drinks and appetizers.

“The Saints are Louisiana and Louisiana is very much part of the Saints,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “We congratulate the organization on this milestone and look forward with anticipation to the Black and Gold’s next 50 years.”

The Saints 50th anniversary exhibit is housed in the Atmos Energy Gallery at the back of the first floor of the three-year-old museum at the traffic circle on Front Street.

It is undoubtedly the most impressive new sports exhibit prepared by the Louisiana State Museum system at the local museum.

“This was an exhibit in the works since before the museum opened in 2013, and it looks like it,” said Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland. “The professionals with the museum system have done a fantastic job telling the story of the Saints. You don’t have to be a Saints fan, or a football fan, to be very impressed by this, but if you are, you’re going to love it.”

Included are items loaned by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the New Orleans Saints, fans, collectors and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Among the greats whose items are showcased are Archie Manning, Drew Brees, Jimmy Taylor and Marcus Colston, with a special exhibit telling the compelling story of Steve Gleason and the Saints’ return from Hurricane Katrina all the way to their Super Bowl triumph and today’s team.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, with children 12-18, seniors and military personnel discounted, and kids under 12 admitted free. School groups also are admitted free.

The exhibition runs through September 2017.

Kevin’s Gallery

Natchitoches Central High School held its Homecoming parade and pep rally on the downtown riverbank Sept. 22. On the 2016 NCHS Homecoming Court are: Azaria Revels, Madison Thompson, Lakendria Remo, Rylee Page, Alana Branham, Nautyca Alex, Emmalyn Houghty and Hyleigh Larry. Sayla Baker and Kaia Collins were named this years Homecoming Queens.

Velocity Urgent Care will celebrate their grand opening on  Today from 11am until 2pm.  The new clinic is located at 307 Keyser Avenue in Natchitoches.

During the grand opening Velocity Urgent Care will be providing FREE blood sugar checks, FREE blood pressure checks, $15.00 Flu shots and a drawing will be held for an iPad Mini 2.

There will be a bounce house, FREE sno-cones and plenty of pizza for all.

 

Velocity Care is an exceptional option for people who lead busy lives. We can usually get you in and out of our clinics in about an hour.
Time savers include a comprehensive list of services all under one roof.

Occupational Health

Ear, Nose and Throat
•Cough/colds
•Bronchitis
•Earaches
•Sore throat

Broken Bones/Fractures
•Sprains
•Strains

Allergies
•Rash
•Allergic reactions

Dermatology
•Abscess and boil treatment
•Wound care
•Minor burn care
•Ingrown toenails/fingernails

Head/Sinus
•Sinus infections
•Headache

Gastrointestinal
•Diarrhea
•Nausea/vomiting

Feminine Care
•Gynecological problems
•Pregnancy testing

Arthritis
•Gout
Asthma/Emphysema

Eye Problems
•Conjunctivitis
Dehydration
•IV fluid treatment

Flu
Fever
Urinary tract infections
Toothache
High blood pressure
Sexually transmitted diseases
Laceration repair/stitches
Screening Physicals
•School
•Sports
•Employment

X-ray/EKG
•Digital state of the art X-ray capabilities
•X-rays and EKGs are read immediately

Occupational Health
•Pre-employment physicals
•Workers compensation
•Work restrictions/return to work
•Drug and Alcohol testing
•DOT physicals

The Natchitoches Arts Council unveiled the 2016 Natchitoches Christmas Festival poster on Thursday, September 22 at Dickens & Co. in Natchitoches. The poster was created by Anna Dieter of Natchitoches. In her own words, she describes the inspiration for the piece as follows:

“I wanted to capture the beauty and essence of Natchitoches with some of the iconic landmarks of our historic city. Everyone can relate to something in this piece, and while looking at small details, you can see the personal touches that give it the hometown southern charm, honoring the ones we love and remember and bringing back memories we cherish from a city that is unforgettable. I thank God for guiding and directing me throughout the process of creating this piece. I am honored to be the 2016 Christmas Festival poster artist.”

Numbered prints of the 37th Annual Limited Edition Natchitoches Christmas Poster are now available and on sale to the public. Earnings from poster sales are used to fund an Art Scholarship at NSU and to sponsor art camps and projects in the community. “It is our goal to sell as many posters as possible so that we can expand our donations to additional art endeavors. We believe that art is a vital part of our culture here in Natchitoches as well as a creative outlet for all to enjoy!” stated Karen Terrell.

The price for all available posters is $35 each. This includes one mini poster. Extra mini posters can be purchased for $3 each. Posters may be purchased at the Natchitoches Arts Council office located at the Community Development Office (City Hall Annex), 420 Fourth Street, Natchitoches, Louisiana. All of the original artwork can also be viewed at the Natchitoches Arts Council office.

For more information, please call Karen Terrell at (318) 352-6925 or Alicia Rachal at (318) 357-3838.

Make the blitzes in your life into opportunities. Jeff Kemp, former NFL player and keynote speaker at the Women’s Resource Center’s Celebration of Life Gala, referred to Romans 5: 3-5 during his speech Thursday evening, Sept. 22 at the Events Center. Taking the yucky parts of life, the blitzes, persevering and turning them into triumphs creates better mothers, better families and better communities.

Jeff played 11 seasons as a Quarterback in the National Football League. As he speaks and trains throughout the United States he passes on dynamic lessons learned during eleven years in the world of professional athletics. Persevering through the highs and lows of pro football gave him a valuable perspective on teams, leadership, and life.

Jeff is dedicated to strengthening families and strengthening teams. He is passionate about advancing collaboration to support marriages, families and children.

WRC Board President Dion Boyett, Pastors Steven Harris Sr. and Steve McAlister and Executive Director Beverly Broadway also spoke at the event.

Broadway read a special letter from Gerald and Rose Long, who couldn’t make it to the event, but wanted to send their thoughts and prayers to the WRC family and the Natchitoches community.

 

Thursday’s Kiwanis Club meeting, Sept. 22, was all fun and games as Dion Boyett introduced a game called the Great Food Race. Teams of four raced to see who could finish chocolatey treats first. Items included moon pies, nutter butters, snickers and nutter butter bars.

Dion also had everyone fill out a card to determine what their Kiwanis nicknames are. The names were chosen by listing the name of each member’s first pet and their mother’s maiden name. Hilarity ensued as members read their names aloud. Some were Chocolate Ashley, Friskee Fallon and Indy McGlamery.

On a more serious note, the club unanimously passed a motion to adopt the new I-Plan. Haley Blount said the club has raised over $70,000 toward its Project Eliminate goal. They have three more years to raise funds for the project, which is an umbrella project of Kiwanis International. She also talked about the amount of service projects the club has completed for the year, including a shoe drive, skeet shoot, gun raffle, kids day and uniforms and coat drive. Also, 2,800 students were presented with Kiwanis Terrific Kids Awards so far.

Adam Jonson will leave NSU, where he works as the executive director of the Demons Unlimited Foundation, to take a job as the new athletic director for LSUA.

“Becoming a director of athletics has been a dream of mine, and I am blessed and humbled by LSUA having faith in me to join its team,” he said. “For more than a decade, I have been directly connected to Northwestern State athletics, and that experience has undoubtedly served as a major contributor in preparing me for this opportunity.”

Known as a hot spot for lunch in downtown Natchitoches, Merci Beaucoup will open its doors for dinner every Saturday night from Oct. 1 through the rest of the year.

Dinner and drink specials will be offered, including their famous Cajun potato with two fried shrimp, a catfish plate and a 7oz. filet with a stuffed potato and homemade bread pudding for dessert. And you can’t beat 2 for 1 cold beer.

To add a little something special to the evenings, there will be live music from 6-8 p.m. Soft tunes will serenade guests as they enjoy their dinners.

The restaurant is also available for group Christmas Parties in December. The private room seats up to 80 people. Private space is still available for Christmas Festival day. Call Johnny or Angel at 318-352-6634 for information on group or company parties.

By Joe Darby

Dear readers, it is now fall — by the calendar if not by the temperature — and that means footballs are filling the air all over our grand land. So it’s time to get TRIBAL!

What in the world do I mean, you may well ask. It’s my theory that our love of football and the strong emotions it brings to many of us, goes back to our primitive tribal days. No matter what our ethnicity or race, we all have histories of tribal periods, when our loyalty was first and foremost to our local village group.

We know of American Indian and African tribes and white Europeans lived in tribal modes in the years before Rome organized and conquered Europe. Even our Jewish friends have the twelve tribes of Israel.

I think this feeling is still within us and nothing illustrates this fact more than football. We can get very excited indeed about basketball and baseball (my personal favorite sport) but football, with its violence, approximates our tribal struggles of long ago.

We could even say that the scoring of a touchdown is the equivalent of capturing an enemy tribe’s village. Racking up six points means we have accomplished our goal, we have bested those other guys who were trying to stop us.

The players, obviously, represent the gallant young warriors of our tribe. For those of us not skilled enough or too old to play, we can bathe in their reflected glory or despair at their failures.

The tribal instinct is inculcated and reinforced in us no later than high school, when we have pep rallies and follow our junior warriors to the battlefield, or gridiron.
Then, even if we have never spent a day in a college classroom, many of us form a strong emotional attachment to university football teams. A win makes us happy all week and a loss ruins the whole week. When LSU or NSU wins, we can truly say “WE have won,” although we had nothing to do with the actual victory.

Of course, we have the pros of the NFL, whom I suppose you could call our mercenary soldiers, or soldiers of fortune. Lots of fans are just as excited, if not more so, about their favorite pro team as they are about a college team.

To me, there’s nothing like the emotions that ensue when LSU plays. I am glad when the New Orleans Saints win, but a loss (such a frequent occurrence too) does not really bother me.

I well realize that many of us, men and women, boys and girls, could care less about football or other sports. They will find some other outlet for their basic tribal feelings, though, I suspect.

So, in some respects, it seems us humans are very slow to change.
Hey, I heard that the village across the river is beating its drums and doing a war dance. Time to rouse our young warriors to teach them a lesson, right?

City Marshal Randy Williams wanted to inform the following people that they have outstanding bench warrants through the Natchitoches City Marshal’s Office. The names on this list did not pay their fines in full nor did they return to court on the court date they were sentenced to by City Court Judge Gahagan. These individuals will need to clear up their fines and bench warrant fees at the City Marshal’s Office located at 373 Second St. to stop any further actions:

FINE PAYMENT (F):
Angelina Aquinaga, 4921 Hwy 3278 Lot #18, Natch, La – Exp MVI
Ebon Bush, 4195 University Pkwy, Natch, La – One or No Tail Light
Vivan Clark, 190 Sorgee Rd, Natch, La – DWI, No Brake Light, NCR
Keisha Farley, 2599 Hwy 71, Campti, La – TBS
Robert George, 341 Mora Batiste Church Rd, Natch, La – Remaining on Premises
Rosalyn Hawkins, 210 University Pkwy, Natch, La – TBS
Primes Hill, 1405 Amelia St, Natch, La – DP
Edward Jones, Rt 4 Box 253, Coushatta, La – DP
Linda Kent, 100 Rolling Hills LP Lot #10C, Coushatta, La – TBS
Billina Sanders, 1118 Old Robeline Rd , Natch, La – DP
Thomasina Rachal, 119 Pecan Court, Natch, La – No DL
Eric Ratliff, 1424 Stella St, Natch, La – No DL, DP
Markell Roy, 151 Melissa Place, Natch, La – Simple Battery
Hannah Sims, 9104 Texas St, Robeline, La – TBS
Ashley Solitaire, 130 Schoolhouse Rd, Cloutierville, La – Speeding
Travis Thompson, 146 Schoolhouse Rd, Cloutierville, La – NSB, Exp MVI
Kelly Williams, 421 Julia St, Natch, La – NCR, Ran Red Light
Kewanna Williams, 4104 Lakeview 300, Natch, La – TBS
Laphiama Yeargin, 198 Cedar Grove, Natch, La – Discharging a Firearm
Sarah Zeringue, 414 Sibley St, Natch, La – Obstructing Public Passages

Trial (T):
Quanteria Allen, 415 Winona St, Natch, La – NSB, No DL
Willie Willis, 843 Koonce, Natch, La – Animals Running at Large
Laphiama Yeargin, 198 Cedar Grove, Natch, La –Reckless Operation
Cortney Thaynie, 2354 Hwy 6, Natch, La – TBS
Felenn Sowells, 621 Abbie Dr, Natch, La – DWI, DUS, Speeding
Quanisha Smith, 712 Brahma Dr Apt 712, Natch, La – TBS

Joe Stampley will headline the 90th Natchitoches Christmas Festival on December 3.   Listen Thursday morning to 949 The River as Georgia Hilton features Joe from 6am until 10am.

949 The River – Listen LIVE HERE

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame welcomed a group of Louisiana Festival queens touring Historic Natchitoches Sept. 10. The museum treated them to ice cream and refreshments. Hosted by 2015 Meat Pie Festival Queen, Jessica Gray, and her mother, Valerie Gray, Pageant Queens from all over Louisiana took a walking tour of downtown conducted by Jan Frederick, and they stopped by the LSHOF for a treat and a chance to cool off on the hot Saturday afternoon before attending the Meat Pie Festival Pageant to support the 2016 contestants.

The Ice Cream Social event was offered as an opportunity for the public to attend and become aware of upcoming free events at the museum which include:

Beyond Sunday: Fifty Years of the New Orleans Saints Exhibit opening Sept. 24 at 5 p.m.

“Less Traveled: A Journey from Pine to Palm” film screening at 2 p.m.

Music at the Museum Oct. 18 at 5 p.m.

Talking the Blues: A Musical Performance with Ed Huey Oct. 22 at 2 p.m.

Photos by Kathy Hooper at “TreasuredMemoriesPhotographybyKathy “

The Thirty-Seventh Annual Christmas Festival Poster Unveiling will take place on Thursday, September 22, 2016 at Dickens & Company.

Release:  Received on 09-21-16 at 3:05pm!

Local Bank  sponsors the 6th Annual Sabine Parish CASA Awareness Social that will be held Thursday, Oct. 13 at the VFW Hall Post #4858 on San Antonio Avenue in Many.

CASA is dedicated to serving the abused and neglected children of Natchitoches, Red River, and Sabine Parishes. For more details on becoming a sponsor contact CASA Executive Director Jack Duty at 318-238-2446 or via email at ed@casanat.org.

Bike Natchitoches is sponsoring an antique bike show in conjunction with the Natchitoches Classic Car Show. Mike Hopkins, owner of Red River Cyclery, will have a replica of a Penny-farthing bicycle circa 1880s on display. The replica was built in 1976 for the celebration of our Nations Bicentennial.
The display will be Oct. 1 on the north end of the riverbank in front of the Roque House from 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. Anyone with an antique bicycle or tricycle is welcome to bring it to the Roque House for people to view and reminisce. Bike Natchitoches will have a booth with cold drinks and information about its bicycle club and annual Plantation Ride.

The staff at Welaka National Fish Hatchery in Florida welcomed Tony Brady as their new Deputy Project Leader. Tony was with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 13 years, and comes to Welaka from Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery where he spent the past 6 years doing freshwater mussel research, Alligator Gar culture, and assisting other hatcheries in starting up successful mussel propagation programs.

Tony started his career as the Service’s first Mussel Propagation Biologist stationed at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, Genoa, WI. At both of his former hatcheries, Tony has gained a lot of experience with outreach and connecting people with nature. Tony developed a very successful Archery Program at the Natchitoches NFH, through the Natchitoches Parish 4-H.

He is already making plans to work with the Putnam County 4-H to start an Archery club based here at the Welaka NFH. Tony brings three experienced archers with him to help start the Archery club in his daughters, Stasi, Jordan and Leslie. All three girls have competed in several Louisiana regional and state 4-H archery tournaments. Finishing out the Brady family is Tony’s wife Anita, the “Archery MOM”, as clearly stated by the large pink window decal plastered across the back window of their vehicle. Anita is a stay at home, homeschooling mom, who supports the girls and Tony in all their adventures. Welcome to Florida, Brady Bunch! The Welaka NFH is looking forward to teaching Tony about Striped Bass culture, and to see what he brings to enhance Welaka NFH in the future.

Natchitoches Parish Fire Protection District # 9 was dispatched to a truck fire in the 600 block of Louisiana Highway 486 Campti, by the Natchitoches Communications Center Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 12:02 a.m. Fire units arrived about 6 minutes later to find the truck tractor fully involved with fire in a field. The fire was extinguished by firefighters. The owner reported that he was woken by dogs barking and noticed his truck on fire. He had recently purchased the truck. The cause of the fire has not been determined at this time.

Natchitoches, LA – Members of the Class of 2018 at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts attended a required meeting on Thursday, Sept. 15, to prepare for the upcoming PSAT/NMSQT. The PSAT/NMSQT (National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test) is a standardized test that most high schools in the United States administer to their 11th grade students.

Considered to be a ”preliminary SAT,” the PSAT test gives students a sense of the format, question types, content and time limits that they will encounter on the SAT. Additionally, the PSAT test serves as a qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship program.

The 10th Annual Natchitoches Classic Car Show will offer an enjoyable weekend Sept. 30 – Oct. 1 on Front Street and the downtown riverbank.

Events set for Friday, Sept. 30:
•Car Registration: 12-7 p.m. at Prather Coliseum on NSU’s campus (Register online at natchitochescarshow.com)
•Poker Run: 12-5 p.m. – $1,000 TOTAL PAYOUT
•Fish Fry: 5:30-8 p.m. on the Riverbank

Events set for Saturday, Oct. 1:
•Car Registration continuing from 7a.m. – 12 p.m. at Prather Coliseum
•Car Show will kick off at 7 a.m.
•Live entertainment from three stages throughout the day
•Visit local shops, restaurants and museum on Front Street
•Awards will be given out at 4 p.m.
We hope to see you there!

For more information visit our website at NATCHITOCHESCARSHOW.COM or call Jill at 1-855-342-7469.

Wednesday, Sept. 21
International Student Reception: 5 p.m.
Hunched Gallery on NSU Campus

Thursday, Sept. 22
Women’s Resource Center’s Celebration of Life Gala: 6:30 – 9 PM
Natchitoches Events Center

Friday, Sept. 23
“Unité et Diversité: A conference on Louisiana French”: 8 AM – 5 PM
Natchitoches Events Center

Saturday, Sept. 24
Grand Ecore Bike Cruise: 7:30 AM
Grand Ecore Visitor Center

La Table Française: 9 AM – Noon (Part of Unité et Diversité)
Fort St. Jean Baptiste

Beyond Sunday: 50 Years of the New Orleans Saints: 5-7 PM (exhibit opening reception)
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum

18th Annual Julian Foy/KA Golf Tournament: 8 AM
Northwestern Hills Golf Course

New Direction Life Ministries’ 5th Annual Birthday Bash: 5:30 – 7:30 PM
MLK Recreation Center

Sunday, Sept. 25
Teal Tea & Nails: 11:30 AM – 12:45 PM
Trinity Episcopal Church

Tuesday, Sept. 27
Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society Concert: 7:30 – 10 PM
Magale Recital Hall on NSU Campus

NGHA Meeting: 7 PM
Natchitoches Arts Center

Scott Kelby announced the official date of his highly anticipated 9th Annual Worldwide Photo Walk, the world’s largest photo walk, Saturday, Oct. 1 in thousands of cities all over the world, including Natchitoches. This is the third year of participation for Natchitoches photographers and enthusiasts.

The Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk, dubbed the world’s largest global and social photography event, has grown immensely in size and popularity since the inaugural walk in 2007. Last year, over 25,000 photographers of all walks of life and skill level converged to explore their corners of the world through photography and social community.

The concept of a Photo Walk is simple. Photo Walks are created by Walk Leaders in cities all over the world. Walkers meet up at a pre-designated location – downtown areas, zoos, business parks, you name it! – to spend a few hours socializing, capturing images and sharing with like-minded people. At the end of the photo walk, most groups convene at local restaurants or taverns to share their images and experiences over food. Natchitoches walkers will meet at 8 a.m. near the fountain in front of the Natchitoches Main Street office, near the La Sports Hall of Fame. The walk will end near a local cafe for fun and refreshments.

In addition to the event, photo walkers will be able to upload their favorite picture to our popular Photo Walk contest for a chance to win a 1-year membership to http://www.kelbyone.com, a DSLR, gift cards, apps, camera bags and more. We will also name a Grand Prize winner and 10 finalists to be selected by Scott Kelby himself!

The event is free, but pre-registration is required. Register at http://www.worldwidephotowalk.com, locate Natchitoches and complete the free sign up form.

For information contact JP Thompson at jp@jpthompsonphotography.com.