Brick & Row Merci Beaucoup’s Christmas in July Warehouse Sale at 214 Texas Street (old Tommy Stewart Showroom) this Saturday, July 29, 2023, from 8 a.m. till noon.
ALL warehouse merchandise will be marked down 60%, so take advantage of the sale and get a jumpstart on your Christmas Shopping with 60% OFF EVERYTHING!!!!
The sale will be inside the air-conditioned warehouse!
COME SHOP WITH US!!! SEE YOU THIS SATURDAY!!
The Natchitoches Parish School Board held its annual Back to School Expo at NSU’s Prather Coliseum Tuesday, July 25. Over 1,000 students and their families came to the event to meet their teachers and principals, learn what resources the district, and community offer and to have fun.
The school district and governor’s office combined forces to give out 2,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to the families who attended. The sheriff’s department’s youth services division was on hand as was the police department’s McGruff the Crime Dog. The fire department had a fire safety demonstration and plenty of their new Alf the Alligator fire safety coloring books for the youngsters to enjoy. A team from the Alexandria Medicaid Office was there with fun prizes for the children and important information for their parents about insurance coverage to keep their young men and women healthy. It was even possible for a family to register their children for school at several tables staffed by helpful teachers and support staff.
A group of civic minded volunteers from the Natchitoches alumnae chapters of Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta came out to help hand out backpacks and serve wherever needed. LOSFA was also at the expo to explain TOPS, a big help for the parish’s high schoolers and their families.
The 2023 Back to School Expo was an unqualified success. The over 1,000 attendees were able to meet their child’s principal, some of his or her teachers, register for school, learn about the various services offered by the district and state as well as win some really nice prizes. Every child in attendance also was able to leave with a backpack filled with school supplies. The expo was a wonderful way to prepare for the upcoming school year!
I learned life the hard way, I took all my knocks and lumps
But when I look back down the road at where I’ve been,
I can see that all the things I’ve done in this ol’ life have been more fun
’Cause I shared them with someone who was a friend.
— “A Friend,” written and recorded by Jerry Reed (and featured in the movie W.W. and the Dixie Dance Kings, which you should watch ASAP)
Few people if any enjoyed being themselves as much as Jack Brittain loved being Jack Brittain, or “Britt” as his friends called him, and he had more of those than you can find grains of sand and beer bottle tops at the Redneck Riviera.
This is the biggest weekend of the year for locals in my line of work; it’s the annual Louisiana Sports Writers Convention and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration in Natchitoches, where Britt has served as unofficial mayor for decades. You can find out more about the weekend and how you can enjoy it at LASportsHall.com. You can find out more about Britt by asking anyone in Natchitoches or in the LSWA.
A piece of work and then some, this guy.
So, it was a profound and unwelcome sadness when Britt, our LSWA brother, died two weeks ago at age 67 after a short and surprising illness.
He was the red on the candy cane, the helium in the balloon, the sunshine through any cloud.
His attachment to the LSWA was solid and eternal, even though Britt was a lawyer and financial planner. He didn’t write any stories. He was the story.
He was so good at St. Mary’s that he’s in the high school’s Hall of Fame, then he lettered four years in football at Northwestern State before law school, but shoot, lots of people could do that. What set him apart was a heart and smile big as centerfield, his uncanny ability to see the best in people and the brightest side of things virtually all the time. He went around lettering every day in life, a seed-sower of joy and laughter and earthy charisma.
One of those ‘girls want to ride in his boat, boys want to be his best buddy’ kind of dudes.
It’s hard to describe the impact he had on the LSWA and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame because we don’t have anything to compare him to. He was just always there, a part of, a calm in a sometimes-stormy sea of egos and chaos, a smile to calm the tide.
In 2017, Britt was the recipient of the LSWA’s most prized honor, the Mac Russo Award, given to an individual who “contributes to the progress and ideals of the LSWA.” It was my lucky and treasured honor to present it to him. If memory serves, I said something clever like, “Here Britt; sorry it took us so long. We’d give you a half-dozen of these if we could — and you’d deserve every one.”
“Think where man’s glory most begins and ends,
And say my glory was I had such friends.” — W. B. Yeats
Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu
It’s almost showtime for the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Natchitoches (except for Friday’s BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash in Alexandria), so it’s time to plan to take in as much fun as you can.
The most-asked question — can I still get tickets for the Saturday evening Induction Reception (from 5-6:30 at the Hall of Fame museum) and Ceremony (at 7 in the Natchitoches Events Center)?
YES. While the usual big turnout is coming, there is still time to go online at LaSportsHall.com to purchase admission to the signature event. But don’t delay – it could sell out.
The reception provides an array of food stations with fare from not only local restaurants, but some from around the state, along with refreshments and music. It’s a chance to see new exhibits (the Kim Mulkey showcase, for example), new display items to celebrate the museum’s 10th anniversary, the just-installed Class of 2023 display cases, and to meet all of the new inductees and perhaps snap a selfie.
The Induction Ceremony at the neighboring Events Center kicks off promptly at 7 with the National Anthem, followed by the stirring Walk of Legends showcasing past Hall of Fame members returning, then introducing the Class of ’23, set to music from The Natural. The 12 inductions begin immediately after, featuring compelling video introductions followed by on-stage conversations with inductees – producing lots of laughter and some misty-eyed moments certain to create lasting memories.
Saturday evening is the only “dress up” event of the Induction Celebration. Blazers for the men and cocktail dress-style attire for the women are requested.
Otherwise, it’s casual for the rest of the festivities, starting with the free, open to everyone Thursday evening Welcome Reception from 5-7 at the museum. La Capitol Federal Credit Union will mark its 20th year presenting that signature event – again with food, refreshments and music, and the new inductees and their families having traveled in some cases almost 2,000 miles to celebrate the occasion.
There’s still room for bowlers to join in Friday’s BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash at Four Seasons Bowling Center in Alexandria. The doors open at 11:30 with lunch provided by Walk On’s, plenty of warm up bowling and music, and more mingling with inductees, their families, and other sports celebrities before they’re introduced and “competition” begins at 1. Again – sign up at LaSportsHall.com.
The biggest free event is Friday evening on the downtown Natchitoches riverbank stage – the Rockin’ River Fest Concert, from 6-10:30.
It’s family friendly. A free interactive kids zone presented by Louisiana Propane Dealers will include basketball, football, golf and science games for all ages to enjoy.
Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters are back as the headline act. Dopsie has played the White House to the Jazz Fest, boogied with James Brown and John Fogerty, and wowed crowds all over, described as “Mick Jagger of the marsh” as “a party seems to break out whenever and wherever Dopsie and his band show up.”
The opening act is Jason Ashley & The Hot Sauce Band, featuring the Alexandria native and regional country music star playing hits from yesterday and today, an act popular around the Gulf Coast and all the way to Nashville.
If you want to beat the summer heat and enjoy a tasty collection of Louisiana foods and specialty refreshments, you can visit LaSportsHall.com to snap up some of the few remaining $100 tickets to the VIP Taste of Tailgating presented by Hancock Whitney.
That party runs from 7-10 p.m. in the air-conditioned comfort of Mama’s Oyster House and Blues Room that will provide exclusive access to the 12-member 2023 Induction Class. They will also be introduced on stage at 9:15, just before a 10-minute fireworks show set to sports-themed music.
Saturday morning’s Junior Training Camp hosted by the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans at NSU’s Webb Wellness and Recreation Center has only a handful of free spots left for kids 7-17. Advance registration is required at LaSportsHall.com.
There’s no more room for Saturday’s Round Table Lunch downtown at The Venue. It’s sold out.
But there are plenty of other chances to see the Class of 2023: Eli Manning, Alana Beard, Paul Mainieri, Matt Forte, Wendell Davis, Paul Byrd, Walter Davis, Ron Washington, Walter Imahara, M.L. Woodruff, and sports journalists Bruce Brown and Lori Lyons.
You’re invited to join the fun, starting Thursday evening in Natchitoches.
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And the saga continues. Once again anglers are taking advantage or blatantly ignoring the rules of their sport. Major League Fishing has brought to light a controversy that took place at the Stage 6 tournament on Lake Cayuga, N.Y.
Major League Fishing (MLF) announced June 21 it was investigating accusations that four anglers may have violated sight fishing rules. For those that have no idea what sight fishing is, it’s a technique where anglers visually see a bass sitting on a bed looking to spawn and will try and entice these bass into biting their lure. But one very important rule must be followed. If you are sight fishing, you are required to hook the fish inside the mouth. If the fish is hooked outside the mouth, the fish is considered an unofficial catch and must be returned to the water immediately. This rule is in place so that anglers don’t go out trying to catch fish by snagging them.
Some analysts think it’s immoral or unethical to fish for bass on beds, but it’s not that big an issue since the MLF Bass Pro Tour is a catch and release format. As each fish is caught, it is weighed, recorded and released immediately.
But here’s the accusations — some anglers were not following protocol when they pull their catch on board. Anglers who are sight fishing are required to show their on-board marshal (an observer who weighs and monitors each fish caught; making sure anglers follow the rules) that the fish is hooked inside the mouth. If not, it must be released — considered an unofficial catch. But in this event, some anglers were being discreet and hiding their fish as they brought them on the boat so that the cameras nor the marshal could see how the fish was hooked. They would just unhook the bass and proceed to weigh it without confirming it was hooked inside the mouth.
The next issue from this event: some anglers were catching the same fish more than once during the day. The rule states that an angler cannot catch and weigh the same fish more than once in a day.
They can return and catch that same fish the following day if they choose. After video reviews, 16 anglers were called in and subjected to a polygraph test. One failed.
MLF officials have been hard at work reviewing video footage of the anglers in question in order to make sure all the rules were followed. If they find rules have been violated, MLF officials will have to decide to what extent they should be punished. This is where things could get a little weird and revealing. MLF has got to come down hard on this if they find violations were made. No longer is a slap on the wrist a strong enough punishment for violating the rules. MLF’s reputation and integrity are at stake with these rulings.
Extensive punishment is called for — like suspension for the next event or even worse, suspension for a full season. The best way anglers will get the message that cheating will not be tolerated is to hit them in their checkbook. Disqualifying their days catch and dropping them in the standings a few places is not strong enough. A message needs to be sent that will make anglers think twice about cheating.
Yes, I said cheating! Since its inception, MLF has basically turned a blind eye to certain violations. Just like NASCAR, drivers are always trying to push the envelope and dabble in the grey area of the rules. Bass tournaments are no different as anglers are always looking for an advantage over their competitors by looking for loopholes in the rules.
Due to the amount of money involved in today’s bass tournament world, with thousands of dollars up for grabs, anglers are thinking outside the box and looking for ways to get around the rules in order to be successful or gain an advantage. But now the time has finally come for anglers to be held accountable for their actions.
While 98 percent of the anglers do a great job of self-reporting and holding each other accountable, it’s the other two percent that need to be made to pay a penalty. With the increase in live prime time TV coverage and national exposure, it’s important to preserve the integrity of the sport and show the anglers and their fans that rule violators will not be tolerated.
I hope MLF officials will come down hard on the angler or anglers if rules were violated. Nothing will bring the sport down faster than anglers who insist on cheating.
‘Til next time, good luck, good fishing, and always read and follow the rules for any tournament you’re competing in.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com
There are football legends, a women’s basketball great, four baseball icons, a two-time USA Olympian, a world-renowned weightlifting champion with an amazing life story, and five LSU Tigers.
They – and a fun-filled slate of events — are among the reasons to be in Natchitoches Thursday, Friday evening and Saturday, to enjoy the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.
Festivities include three free events, and four others which require admission charges. Only the grand finale, the Saturday evening Induction Reception and Ceremony presented by State Farm Agents of Louisiana, is a dress up affair.
Two – the Friday lunchtime Bowling Bash presented by BOM, in Alexandria at Four Seasons Bowling Center, and the free Saturday morning New Orleans Saints and Pelicans Junior Training Camp on the Northwestern State campus – are activity-filled.
Another – the free Friday night Rockin’ River Fest Concert featuring Rockin’ Dopsie and The Zydeco Twisters, and rising country artist Jason Ashley, along with a 10-minute fireworks show over Cane River – is activity-optional, dancing encouraged.
The concert also features a free kids zone presented by Louisiana Propane Dealers with football, basketball, golf and science fun on the Natchitoches riverbank.
Tickets for the Bowling Bash, the Friday night VIP Taste of Tailgating party at the concert, and the big finale, the Induction Reception and Ceremony, are available at LaSportsHall.com or by calling 318-238-4255. The Saturday noon Round Table Luncheon is already sold out.
Advance registration at LaSportsHall.com for kids 7-17 is required for the free Junior Training Camp, which will feature many of the 2023 inductees participating as coaches in football and basketball.
Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning (from New Orleans) joins four-time WNBA All-Star Alana Beard (a Shreveport native with Natchitoches roots) and College World Series champion LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri in a star-studded 12-member induction class.
The Class of 2023 also includes New Orleans native and resident Ron Washington, who managed the Texas Rangers to a pair of World Series appearances and in 2021 helped the Atlanta Braves win the world’s championship (and is still the Braves’ third base coach); two-time LSU track and field USA Olympian and world champion Walter Davis from Arnaudville; and Slidell native, Tulane great and Chicago Bears two-time Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte.
Also set for induction are All-American LSU pitcher Paul Byrd, a 14-year Major League Baseball veteran who made the 1999 All-Star Game; Shreveport native Wendell Davis, who shattered LSU football receiving records before heading to the NFL; multiple national champion and world class weightlifter Walter Imahara, a Baton Rouge florist and UL-Lafayette legend who as a child spent 2 ½ years in a Japanese American internment camp in California; and retired Baton Rouge-Parkview Baptist baseball coach M.L. Woodruff, whose teams claimed 11 state championships.
Two south Louisiana sports journalists, Bruce Brown of Lafayette and longtime New Orleans Times-Picayune high school reporter Lori Lyons, will also be honored.
The Class of 2023 will be enshrined Saturday night at the Natchitoches Events Center to culminate the 64th Induction Celebration.
The Thursday reception at the museum, the Friday evening River Fest and the Junior Training Camp are free. As noted above, camp participants need to register online in advance.
The 2023 Induction Celebration will be hosted by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation, the support organization for the Hall of Fame. The LSHOF Foundation was established as a 501 c 3 non-profit entity in 1975 and is governed by a statewide board of directors.
For information on sponsorship opportunities and other participation, contact Foundation President/CEO Ronnie Rantz at 225-802-6040 or RonnieRantz@LaSportsHall.com, or Greg Burke, Director of Business Development and Public Relations, at 318-663-5459 or GregBurke@LaSportsHall.com .
The 2023 NSU Folklife Festival saw the long-awaited return of one of its most popular events – the Gumbo Cookoff. This year saw a fierce culinary battle as the different chefs filled the air outside of Prather Coliseum with a tantalizing aroma. After the judging took place, festivalgoers were able to enjoy cups of gumbo from each contestant and vote on their favorite.
Joel Sylvie won in the seafood category.
Laurie and Merryll Smith took top honors in the Poultry Plus category.
Natchitoches’ own Elvin Shields was the People’s Choice
The Gumbo Cookoff is more than a cooking contest. It is a celebration of one of Louisiana’s signature foods and a symbol of the many parts that come together to make our state the uniquely wonderful place that it is.
NSU’s Prather Coliseum was transformed into the finest musical venue and restaurant in Louisiana for the 2023 Folk Life Festival, July 22. Thousands of festivalgoers packed NSU’s Prather Coliseum to be entertained by an eclectic variety of musical acts and presenters from all over Louisiana and surrounding states. In addition to the music, over 65 vendors from Louisiana and surrounding states sold books and crafts as well as educating festival goers on various Louisiana and Native American folk way. Festivalgoers who ventured outside could see a blacksmith from the LSUS Pioneer Heritage Center demonstrating blacksmithing as well as a representative from the West Baton Rouge Museum in period dress demonstrating laundry day in the days before machines.
NSU alumna and educator on Native-American culture Rhonda Gauthier was named as the honorary Chair of the 2023 Folklife Festival. She was joined onstage by her fellow 2023 inductees into the Louisiana Folklife Center Hall of Master Folk Artists. This accomplished and eclectic group ranged from Ms. Gauthier to Country Musician Hugh Harris and the Broussard Family Jure. Jure is a hauntingly beautiful style of African American folk music. Dr. Lisa Abney, retiring NSU faculty member and longtime fixture of the Folklife festival since its inception, was given the “Folklife Angel Award.”
The festival is a long-standing favorite as evidenced by its loyal following. Many of the attendees and performers have been coming for years. The loyal following and the festival’s new friends kept the dance floor moving and the concerts well attended.
The Folklife Festival, now in its 43rd year, is designed to showcase, preserve and perpetuate Louisiana’s unique culture. This year’s theme was “Celebrating Louisiana’s Cultural Gumbo”, a fitting theme for our state’s unique mixture of cultures. For a modest admission fee, the Natchitoches/NSU Folk Festival features a solid day of superb music, crafts, food and above all, fun.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video might be worth 10,000.
Case in point – click on the video above to get a look at the food, fun and frolic that everyone involved will enjoy at lunchtime this Friday, July 28, in Alexandria, in the only out-of-town activity during the three-day 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration in Natchitoches.
The LSHOF’s big party starts Thursday evening with the La Capitol Federal Credit Union Welcome Reception, free to all from 5-7 at the LSHOF Museum on the Front Street traffic circle in downtown Natchitoches.
Then the scene shifts to Alexandria and Four Seasons Bowling Center for the Celebrity Rock N Roll Bowling Bash presented by BOM. Everyone is encouraged to wear their finest Rock N Roll gear and come ready for tons of fun, along with plenty of food and an open bar.
To enter or get more information visit LaSportsHall.com and click on the Induction Week button, or call 318-238-4255.
The bowling party will begin at 11:30 a.m. with lunch catered by Walk On’s Sports Bistreaux for everyone in the house – bowlers and spectators. That’s right – you don’t have to bowl to enjoy the party. Admission is $50 for adults and $25 for youth to mingle, eat, and watch the action.
Bowlers can enter as individuals ($100) or as a team ($400). Teams can be four people paired with a celebrity, or five friends playing without a celebrity.
The headliners on the lanes Friday will be the Class of 2023 LSHOF inductees, including Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte, WNBA All-Star Alana Beard, retired LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri, 14-year MLB pitcher and personality Paul Byrd, Atlanta Braves third base coach and former Texas Rangers World Series manager Ron Washington, and LSU and NFL star wide receiver Wendell Davis.
Among the other celebrities will be previously inducted Hall of Famers and Louisiana sports stars, including many who may ultimately be inducted in future years.
The five-person teams warm up and play a 10-frame game, with the top team winning prizes. The top five individual bowlers and top five celebrities will have playoffs. The bowling party will wrap up about 2 o’clock, in plenty of time for everyone to make it back to Natchitoches for that evening’s free Rockin’ River Fest starting at 6 on the downtown riverbank stage, and the VIP Taste of Tailgating inside Mama’s Oyster House and the Blues Room beginning at 7.
One of the most festive events of the Induction Celebration, the Celebrity Rock N Roll Bowling Bash presented by BOM is an event fit for the avid bowlers or those who just like to have fun. There’s still time for you and your pals or family to join the party.
Rick Cabrera, the new head Basketball Coach at Northwestern State University joins Billy West. Coach Cabrera talks about his coaching background and the challenges of managing the roster in the new age of the transfer portal. Coach Cabrera highlights the new players he has brought in and shares his excitement and vision for the continued success of NSU basketball.
The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum was host to a dedicated crowd of history lovers Friday, July 21 for this month’s installment of the popular “Lunch & Learn” program concerning the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training’s (NCPTT) documentation of Louisiana’s surviving Rosenwald School buildings.
The talk was given by NCPTT intern John Richardson, a Morehouse College psychology major from Philadelphia. He is spending the summer working at the center and learning about its preservation mission. Mr. Richardson was on a team documenting the buildings using laser equipment to produce a 3-D model.
The schools were financed by Sears executive and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald who would match money raised by local sources. The facilities were built to provide schools for African American children. The schools were built from common designs and would arrive in kits similar to the Sears houses then sold by Sears. Over 5,000 of the schools were built throughout the South, with 395 of them in Louisiana. Of those, 18 are still standing, one serving as a community center in Powhattan. There is also one, standing after a fashion, below the waters of Toledo Lake.
The Rosenwald Schools, who at one point were educating about a fifth of the African American children on the South, were built from 1912 to 1932. They fulfilled a vital function of providing educational opportunities during a time of segregation and discrimination when there were little or no opportunities for African American families to educate their children.
The Natchitoches Parish Journal trusts that Mr. Richardson enjoyed his time in Natchitoches and found it productive. We also wish him all the best as he returns to Morehouse College to complete his studies.
The Louisiana Gumbo Cook-Off is returning to the Natchitoches-NSU Folk Festival on Saturday July 22, in air-conditioned Prather Coliseum located at 220 South Jefferson Street on the Northwestern State University campus in Natchitoches. In honor of this year’s festival theme, Celebrating Louisiana’s Cultural Gumbo, the festival will see the long-awaited return of the Gumbo Cookoff, in which professionals and hobbyists alike can compete in any of three categories and demonstrate their cooking skills.
Registration and the Cooks’ Meeting will take place at 8:00 am. Tasting and judging will begin at 12:30 pm with winners be announced at 2:30 pm. There is no fee to compete in the Cookoff. Gumbo must be cooked on-site outside of Prather Coliseum.
The Gumbo Cook-Off is the Louisiana Folklife Center’s way of celebrating the state’s unique and storied foodways, as well as the rich culture behind the cooking of gumbo. The ways of preparing gumbo and the ingredients used are as varied as the people who cook it, so there is no better way to embody this year’s festival theme of Celebrating Louisiana’s Cultural Gumbo.
For all those times you’ve wondered what it would be like to visit with sports stars you see on TV or read about, you get the opportunity free of charge next Thursday evening at the La Capitol Welcome Reception kicking off the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.
You can be right there at the Hall of Fame museum at 800 Front Street (at the traffic circle) in Natchitoches. No need to dress fancy, just enjoy food and refreshments and music and a world-class museum, mingling with sports stars and their families from 5-7 next Thursday evening, July 27, at the museum.
Adding to the excitement — one of America’s most prized sports trophies will be on display on the second floor. Billy Cannon’s 1959 Heisman Trophy will be in the house through the weekend festivities, courtesy of the Cannon Trust, as a cornerstone of the museum’s months-old Heisman Trophy exhibit that showcases the state’s four winners: Cannon, John David Crow (1957), Joe Burrow (2019) and DeVonta Smith (2020).
But the spotlight is squarely on the Class of 2023, which includes a two-time Super Bowl MVP (Eli Manning), a women’s basketball superstar with Natchitoches roots (Alana Beard), a College World Series-winning LSU coach (Paul Mainieri) and three more LSU sports heroes (big league pitcher Paul Byrd, NFL receiver Wendell Davis and two-time USA track and field Olympian Walter Davis).
There’s another Pro Bowl NFL star, former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte. For fans of the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers, Ron Washington will entertain you – he managed the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011, and as the current third base coach for the Braves, he was also in that role when Atlanta won the 2021 Fall Classic. He was also third base coach in Oakland during the “Moneyball” years (he’s a featured character in the movie headlined by Brad Pitt).
Meet the amazing 86-year-old Walter Imahara, a Japanese-American who became a world-class weightlifter for decades – while running a Baton Rouge floral business, and serving in the United States military in the early 1960s. Another Baton Rouge hero is M.L. Woodruff, who won 11 state championships coaching baseball for Parkview Baptist.
Sports journalists Bruce Brown (Lafayette) and Lori Lyons (New Orleans/Houma) have covered many amazing games and highly-accomplished athletes, including plenty of LSHOF members, in their careers and will be inducted next weekend as well.
The Welcome Reception is also a wonderful chance to stroll around the 27,500-square foot museum, which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. Lots of display items have been rotated into exhibits, and there’s a new Kim Mulkey exhibit showcasing the LSU women’s basketball coach.
A frequent reaction from first-time local and area visitors: “I didn’t realize it would be this great! I can’t believe I haven’t been here already. I’m bringing friends next time.”
That’s the same sentiment for the entire Induction Celebration, which includes a free Friday evening Rockin’ River Fest concert on the downtown riverbank stage, and a free Junior Training Camp Saturday morning, July 29 with the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans teaming with Hall of Famers to provide activity and instruction to kids ages 7-17 (no charge, but registration is necessary at LaSportsHall.com).
You’re invited to all the fun. Visit LaSportsHall.com to get more information and the schedule of events, make online ticket purchases and Junior Training Camp reservations, or call 318-238-4255 for participation opportunities for ticketed events.
State Rep Gabe Firment talks about issues important to his district and his most recent bill regarding limitations to health care for children and Governor Edwards’s veto of that legislation and the recent override of the Governor’s veto and the impending Court challenges that are expected to that legislation.
