Shreveport - Bossier, Louisiana's Other Side

Photo courtesy of Rockin' J Rodeos.

I grew up on small town rodeos. Barrel racing, calf roping, and running poles were just a few of the exciting events that I happily ignored as a child, choosing instead to run around the arena with all of the other kids, making repeat visits to a Lions' Club-run concessions stand while waiting for the Calf Scramble. During the Calf Scramble, dozens of children would chase tiny calves around the arena, competing for the grand prize of a one-dollar bill. You'd think that such old-fashioned entertainment would have gone the way of the buffalo by now, put out of business by XBOX 360s and 3-D movies. But J.E. Jorden, organizer of this weekend's 2nd Annual Ray Forcier Memorial Rodeo in Benton, is a long way from hanging up his spurs.

“I like to see young people who’ve never been to a rodeo come out, because they’re seeing something they’ve never seen,” said Jorden. “Lots of kids these days have never done anything like it. I’ve given away many a dollar bill during the Calf Scramble. It’s worth it.”

In addition to the Calf Scramble (which probably isn't a "main attraction" to anyone but me!), there will be bareback bronc riding, steer wrestling, team roping, bull riding, and performances by acclaimed rodeo comedian and barrel man Rudy Burns. The rodeo will be held at Willie Waggoner Arena, 221 Rubicon Road in Benton, beginning at 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday night. Admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children 12 and under.

Lagniappe
Visit the Rockin' J Rodeos website.    

The 2010 Red River Dragon Boat Festival. Photo by Jim Huckabay.

The Red River Dragon Boat Festival returns 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Saturday, September 10. Dozens of dragon boat teams from Shreveport-Bossier, as well as visiting teams from places like Lafayette, LA and Houston, TX, will compete. In addition to the competition, there's a festival vibe to the event. Last year, I showed up early, set up lawn chairs, grabbed a tasty breakfast taco from Columbia Cafe, and enjoyed some great company while watching the teams battle it out. Admission is free, and the weather should be incredibly nice (i.e. still in the 70's and 80's) for this kind of event. As is detailed in today's story in The Times, there's a dynasty champion here - the Shreveport Fire Department have walked away from this event as champions every year to date. Several teams have been very public about seizing the title this year, but none of them strike me as having anywhere near the combined muscle mass of the SFD gang. We'll see!

Whether you're a dragon boat enthusiast or a complete newcomer, this event makes for a great excuse to enjoy the riverfront that we're so lucky to have in Shreveport-Bossier. I recommend bringing lawn chairs, sun block, and possibly a bullhorn with which to encourage (or discourage) the team of your choice.      

A view of the main room at the McNeill Street Pump Station, snagged from an anonymous Flickr profile.

On Friday, October 14, Shreveport's McNeill Street Pumping Station (142 North Common Street) will host the 2011 MSPS New Music Festival, an evening-long showcase of site-specific performances, installations and recorded compositions by some of the world's most revered experimental musicians and sound artists. The roster of performers has been finalized, and includes the likes of ambient music legend Tim Hecker, multimedia artist Mark Fell, and a smorgasborg of about 26 others, including locals like Pete Fetterman and Dacoda Montana. The theme of the exhibition is “Architectural Explorations in Sound” and the concept of the entire show is to "play the building" as an instrument. At a planning meeting last night, event co-curator Bob Greenwood said that two performers were planning to string 100 foot-long piano strings between buildings at the Pumping Station and pluck them using pulleys of some sort. Another act will perform utilizing an eight-channel mix - an 8.1 surround sound system. It all sounds pretty fantastical and completely strange and wonderful.

The fest will run 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Admission will be $10. Carpooling is highly recommended. If you're not familar with the McNeill Street Pumping Station, an 1887 steam-powered water works that was retired in 1980, take a look at their website. To get a sense of the beauty of the building, I recommend checking out this Flickr photoset.

Lagniappe
Visit the McNeill Street Pumping Station website
Visit the MSPS New Music Festival 2011 website
"Like" the festival on Facebook

DJ Quickie Mart, better known to many locals as Shreveport native Martin Arceneaux, will preside over a hip-hop/dubstep/ghettotech showcase at Fatty Arbuckle's on Saturday night.

Local boy makes good hip-hop/dubstep/electronic music, and makes time to share it with a hometown crowd. Shreveport native and Los Angeles/New Orleans resident DJ Quickie Mart, who (as always) appears to be in the midst of a never-ending world tour, will bring his unique fusion of hip-hop, grime, and dubstep to Fatty Arbuckle's Pub on Saturday night. The show will kick-off around 10 p.m., so there's time for both LSU football and an off-the-chain DJ performance. Quickie Mart's skills behind two turntables and a microphone have taken him a lot of places: Resident DJ for a season on Last Call with Carson Daily, performing at large events like SXSW and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, touring with Q-Tip and The Cool Kids, performing on-stage with the legendary Dr. John...the list goes on and on. According to Facebook, he's bringing a troupe along this time. The show at Fatty Arbuckle's will also feature Corey G, Piranha, Mr Smith, Shorty D Techknowledge, and Ronnie Lopez, and will last "all night long."

Fatty Arbuckle's Pub is located in the Red River Entertainment District at 450 Clyde Fant Parkway in downtown Shreveport. Admission prices aren't listed anywhere, but cover is usually $10 at a larger show at Fatty's. 21+.

Visit DJ Quickie Mart's site for recent music, performance videos, and more.
Quickie' Facebook page and his Twitter are both pretty active.

A piece from the series "Dominance and Affection" by Reading, Pa.-based artist Bethany Krull. Krull's work will be on display at Meadows Museum of Art August 21-November 6.

It's been an amazing couple of years for Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College. As an art lover, I've personally been wowed again and again by exhibits like Andy Warhol's polaroids, "Visions and Visionaries" by David Holcombe, "Copley to Warhol: 200 Years of American Art," and Bennett Sewell's kick-ass "It's What You Make of It." Diane Dufilho and her staff at the museum are on a roll. From the looks of things, that winning streak will resume 1 p.m.-4 p.m., Sunday, August 21, as the Meadows Museum of Art opens two complementary exhibits: Bethany Krull's "Selected Ceramic Works from the Series ‘Dominance and Affection’, ‘Signal’ and ‘In Servitude’” and Dr. Ed Leuck's “Species in Crisis: Endangered Flora.”

Both exhibits tackle the topic of how humans relate to and interact with the natural world. I'm most excited about Krull's sculptures, which are porcelain and cast bronze meditations on the relationships between human "owners" and the pets we say we love. Take a look at the "Dominance and Affection" series on her website. It's pointed, powerful stuff.

Dr. Ed Leuck's "Species in Crisis: Endangered Flora" is an exhibit of 18 endangered floral specimens collected over a 30-year period by Dr. Ed Leuck and Centenary College students, a very different kind of rumination on the impact humans make on the ecosystem within which we exist.

Swing by Sunday afternoon. There will be air conditioning, art, and coffee - what more could you possibly need?

Lagniappe
"Like" the Meadows Museum on Facebook.
See the entire year's schedule of events and exhibits at Meadows Museum of Art.

Adam Dale, lead singer of The American Tragedy, performs live.

Beginning at 5:15 p.m. tonight (Saturday, August 6) at Municipal Auditorium, a slate of homegrown rock bands will be performing at a fundraiser concert benefiting Media Star Entertainment Hall, an all-ages rock venue. Media Star was open for a while last year, hosting mid-range touring acts like Christian metal icons Underoath (see video from their show here) and African-inspired instrumental rock band Toubab Krewe. The venue was cited for code violations (the most costly was a required $30,000 fire sprinkler system), which required it to close while making the necessary upgrades to operate legally and safely.

The bands performing tonight are: Irene and the Sleepers (5:15 p.m.), Porcelain Arms (6 p.m.), Shayliff (6:45 p.m.), Dylan the Astronaut (7:30 p.m.), Ballet (8:15 p.m.), April's Love Affair (9 p.m.), and The American Tragedy (10 p.m.). Admission is $15 and tickets will be available at the door.

The video above is the latest music video from The American Tragedy. It's called "Louisiana Loves Her Dead," and is directed by local Stephen Patrick Walker.

Bill Causey leads the Constellation Orchestra at Chicky's Boom Boom Room on Thursday, July 28.

Last night I finally caught Bill Causey's Constellation Orchestra at Chicky's Boom Boom Room. The big band has had a standing engagement on Thursday nights, 7:00 p.m.-10 p.m., since early this year. Thursday is also ladies' night at Chicky's Boom Boom Room, so women get in free. For guys, there's a $5 cover. The big band night is definitely something new to Shreveport-Bossier's night life offerings: not only was the music impressive, the crowd was, as well. There was lots of dancing and an atmosphere of respect for the performers - this crowd was here for the music.

The only downside to this experience is that it made me genuinely want to learn to dance. I've managed to scrape by at any number of indie rock shows by stuffing my hands in my pockets and (occasionally) swaying slightly; if I want to go back to Big Band night, I've got to learn to cut a rug.

I shot a handful of photos of the Constellation Orchestra, view them here.

2010 Shreveport Zombie Walk photo courtesy of www.shreveportzombiewalk.com.

Yesterday at around 4 p.m., an exclamation point and all-caps filled e-mail went out from Michelle McCrary, the self-described "Zombie Queen" of the annual Shreveport Zombie Walk. The e-mail began:

"EXCITING NEWS! This year's (and from now on) the Shreveport Zombie Walk will be held in Downtown Shreveport! Yes, that is right! The 600 block of Texas Street near McNeil and the Courthouse area will be Shreveport's Zombie Central on October 8th from 4 - 6 PM!"

If you're not familiar with the Shreveport Zombie Walk, it's a canned good and food drive benefiting the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana. Held each year on World Zombie Day (which falls on Saturday, October 8 this year), the event has previously been held at Mall St. Vincent, where upwards of 200 zombies convened to moan, stagger, stare lifelessly into the distance, and donate food to a good cause in 2010. The 2010 event collected over 800 pounds of food.

One aspect of this event that has always impressed me is the extent to which McCrary is capable of inspiring collaboration. This year's event, for example, is said to include: live music from The Moulin Dudes, "Zombie Crowd Control" by the Twin City Knockers Women's Roller Derby Team, one or more zombie films screening at The Robinson Film Center (which is located on the block the zombies will be taking over, so they really have no choice but to participate), and more.

One last thought: This year's Shreveport Zombie Walk falls on the same day as the closing day of the Red River Revel. Anyone else find this combination of events sharing a space possibly really, really interesting?

To learn more about the Shreveport Zombie Walk, visit their website.

(On the shoulders of Giants “Best show award” Untitled By: Stan Carpenter)

On the Shoulders of Giants

Artspace is Shreveport’s only arts center, located at 710 Texas Street, dedicated to the creation, production, presentation, promotion and exploration of all of the art disciplines and forms for multi-generational audiences. Artspace is not a museum or a gallery; rather it is a place where the public can connect to the arts in wonderful, new, and exciting ways. The first floor is dedicated to art exhibitions and the second floor the café at Artspace.

My experience at Artspace was like no other. The pictures were soul moving. There is a current show titled “On the Shoulders of Giants” and the photograph that won the Best Show Award is pictured above. This picture is indeed the best picture at the exhibition. When I look at this picture it reminds me how blessed our generation is. This picture shows us how far America has came and that we still have a long way to go. On the back of the shirt are the names of some of the most powerful people past and present of the world like Fredrick Douglas, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela.

There are currently two exhibitions at Artspace titled “Oh, Really..” which last until July 30 and “On the Shoulders of Giants” which last through August. “Fantastic Mr. Fox” will follow, July 14-20, On Thursdays from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

I picked this attraction because I have heard so much about Artspace since I have been working here at the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau so I wanted to go and experience it myself. I must say that I am very pleased with the outcome. The hours of operation are Monday, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.; and Saturday, 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. Artspace is free to the public. For more information you can contact them at 318-673-6535 and online at www.artspaceshreveport.com

Musicians perform at the 2010 Red River Revel. The Revel is an eight day festival featuring 100+ art vendors, dozens of live bands, and food booths galore.

More details of the 2011 Red River Revel live music schedule will be announced soon, but a handful of confirmed performers have been announced by Revel organizers. The opening night performance on Saturday, October 1 will feature Better Than Ezra with special guests Super Water Sympathy. Other highlights include country-rock bad boy Colt Ford, R&B crooners The S.O.S. Band, Whiskey Myers with the Wes Jeans Band, Christian rockers Red, Civil Twilight, and many more. The line-up on Sunday, October 2 will focus exclusively on bluegrass music, combining well-known touring acts with local bluegrass performers.

The Revel staff is currently preparing a press release with a more complete list of performers. The 2011 Red River Revel will be held October 1-8, 2011 in downtown Shreveport's Festival Plaza. The Revel has also just created a Twitter profile - if you're a social media user, you may want to follow them for updates directly from the source.

What are you looking forward to at the Revel? We're fans of the sometimes-outrageous food (fried Snickers bars?), the live music, and the art vendors. Mostly, we're fans of seeing huge crowds enjoying themselves on the downtown Shreveport riverfront.

Lagniappe
Visit the Red River Revel's website.
View a gallery of photos from past Revels.
Follow @RedRiverRevel on Twitter.