Shreveport - Bossier, Louisiana's Other Side

The Villaggio, Bossier City’s new upscale community, is located at 5200 E. Texas Street, at the intersection of Interstate 20 and Highway 80 in north Bossier City. It offers 239 luxury apartment residences and the scenic six-acre Lake Villaggio, as well as shops and soon-to-open restaurants for people to enjoy. The focal point of the development is a 45-foot clock tower located in the promenade area overlooking the lake.

Villaggio incorporates the rich traditions of Italian living in its architecture, streetscapes, sidewalk cafes, residences and shopping.

Recent announcements by The Villagio are sure to enhance the experience for shoppers and diners looking for a little variety. Check out what’s coming and be sure to visit Villaggio’s website often for new openings and updates at www.villaggiobossier.com.

Esther’s Heavenly Sweet Things: Sweet treats available just in time for Easter, brought to you by Mrs. Esther! Esther’s Heavenly Sweet Things is now open at the Villaggio. Mrs. Esther offers cakes, pies, cookies, pralines and more for you to enjoy.

Archie Hebert’s Sports Bar and Grill: Scheduled to open in mid-June, this sports bar and grill will offer a menu of burgers, steaks, seafood, signature drinks and seasonal Louisiana dishes. With a spectacular view of the six-acre lake, outdoor patio seating and 11 high-definition televisions, Archie Hebert’s Sports Bar and Grill will be the place to go this summer.

The Lakehouse: The Lakehouse, Villaggio’s state-of-the-art conference center, is now under construction and expected to be open in mid-June. The facility will hold 500 attendees for major events and seat 250 for weddings, business meetings, family reunions, church services, or parties. The Lakehouse boasts a grand view of Lake Villaggio and the Villaggio Clock Tower. For booking info, contact Chez Rivage Events at 318.747.5558.

Current shops and stores offer everything from medical spa services to handmade French soaps. There are more than 20 stores currently opened in The Villagio. Be sure to visit some of the already open shops such as Boutique di Bambini, Soumas Heritage  Creole Gift Shop, Pretty Medical Spa and others.

The Villaggio is open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday – Saturday and closed on Sunday. For more information call 318.746.6107 or check out The Villaggio online at www.shopvillaggio.com.

The Shreveport Farmers’ Market will soon have something new to boast about. Southern Living magazine is including the local market in its new book, Farmer’s Market Cookbook. The book, focused on farmers’ markets from around the country, went on sale March 16.

The summer market will be held on Saturdays, 7 a.m. to noon, starting June 5 through September 4 and Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m. in June and July only. The fall market will open after the Red River Revel Arts Festival leaves and will stay open until Thanksgiving.

Noma Fowler-Sandlin has been the manager of the Shreveport Farmers’ Market for three years and has been a vendor for five years. She says that the local market is made up of a diverse group of individuals that keep the past alive through handed-down methods and recipes, yet keep up with the future by new marketing strategies.
 
“It’s a great market and one that is really growing every year. Our farmers and vendors really know what they’re doing, and the shoppers recognize that. It’s no surprise that such a creative and knowledgeable group would be featured,” says Sandlin.

She doesn’t give the vendors all the credit for making the Shreveport Farmers’ Market so unique, though.

“It’s not just the vendors that make it special – it’s our committed shoppers, too, who have their favorites and come back every time the market is open. There are more of them each year. They are learning a new way to shop and staying connected with their food and who produces it.”

So what can shoppers expect from the 2010 Shreveport Farmers’ Market? According to Sandlin, a lot!

“Every year we are seeing more interesting foods. Last year, we got cheese for the first time. We will have hot, fresh beignets and café au lait this year, and maybe even a juice bar.”

The market offers produce, wine, beef and ready-to-eat foods that you can eat at the market or take home with your purchases. “It’s not just the greens, but the hot sauce for the greens. It’s a gourmet field day,” boasts Sandlin.

On Tuesdays shoppers are treated to home-grown music to go with the food. “It’s truly a family-oriented experience that draws people together and blurs that producer/shopper line.”

You can purchase the Farmer’s Market Cookbook at most book stores nationwide for $29.95. Sign up on Facebook to learn more about the Shreveport Farmers’ Market, Click here for the facebook page.

If you’re planning on visiting any of the casinos soon, you may want to see what’s new at Diamond Jacks Casino and Resort. This riverboat casino has a new way for customers to remember them. Todd Hlavaty, owner and operator of Fine Line Tattoos, brings his years of experience to Shreveport-Bossier by opening up his newest studio at DiamondJacks. Hlavaty started tattooing in 1989 and in 1994 he opened the first Fine Line Tattoo studio in Dallas, Texas.

Hlavaty’s many years of experience in tattooing suggests he knows a thing or two about the industry. He says the average tattoo costs about $100-150 takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete.

“Our average client looks like the average person. While our average age is 21-25, we still do a lot of work for those who are out of that age bracket as well,” he said.

Business is growing and so are the tastes of the casino customers.  “We had a customer come in and get ‘13’ tattooed on him,” Hlavaty said. “This was his way of changing his luck before hitting the casino.”

Hlavaty had good reasons to choose DiamondJacks as the home for his new studio. Unlike other tattoo studios that have very little to offer customers while they wait, those waiting at Fine Line Tattoo can test their luck on any of the 1,000 slots or try their hand at the 32 table games.

DiamondJacks Casino and Resort is located at 711 DiamondJacks Blvd. in Bossier City. It offers the only Fine Line Tattoo location in Louisiana. Other Fine Line Tattoo studios can be found in Texas, Missouri and Japan. Besides their 30,000-plus square feet of gaming action, DiamondJacks offers 570 luxurious rooms with a casual, relaxing décor, four first-class restaurants, full-service spa, state of the art fitness center, and an arcade.

For more information on Fine Line Tattoo Studios, you can visit them online at www.finelinetattoos.com. For more information on Diamond Jacks Casino and Resort call 318.678.7777 or 866.552.9629 or visit them online at www.diamondjacks.com/bossiercity.

Shreveport-Bossier, the festival capital of north Louisiana, is gearing up for a very busy festival season. Things kick off with the Holiday in Dixie Festival (April 16-25), followed by the Mudbug Madness Festival (Memorial Day weekend, May 27-30) and the Let the Good Times Roll Festival (June 18-20).

The music, the food, and the cultural display of Shreveport-Bossier is fun for the entire family. Experience everything from a midway of carnival rides to sucking and peeling crawfish. But that’s not all you can experience. The festivals feature some of the best entertainment in the country including many wonderful home grown local bands. Be sure to book a hotel room and spend a weekend during any of these and other festivals at www.shreveport-bossier.org.

Holiday in Dixie will be celebrating its 62nd year in the Shreveport-Bossier area, making it one of the oldest running festivals in Louisiana and proving that some things do get better with age! The event will run from April 16-25 in downtown Shreveport’s Festival Plaza.

Holiday in Dixie began in 1949 and was a five-day pageant held at the State Fair stadium. The event celebrates the Louisiana Purchase, the arrival of spring and the spirit of community involvement and pride.

This year’s festival includes the 10-day carnival at Festival Plaza, the Doodah Parade, block parties, special events, entertainment, food and art from local vendors, as well as family-oriented activities. The parade, April 17, will start at 5:30 p.m. in downtown Shreveport at the Municipal Auditorium.

Also, no Holiday in Dixie festival is ever complete without the ever popular Treasure Hunt! This annual event stimulates the mind and gets thousands involved in searching for treasure and a grand prize of cash.

For more information visit www.holidayindixie.com.

Then roll into Memorial Day weekend with the Mudbug Madness Festival pinching tails and sucking heads. What began in 1984 as a crawfish boil quickly grew (as do all good Louisiana parties, it seems) into a two-day street festival in downtown Shreveport and is now one of Louisiana’s largest and most popular Cajun festivals featuring Cajun, zydeco, blues and jazz artists.

Mudbug Madness has grown into a four-day festival held each Memorial Day weekend and is nationally recognized as one of the Southeast Tourism Society’s Top 20 Events, drawing as many as 56,000 people in one day. The event offers mouth-watering Cajun and Creole cuisine, contests, and activities for all ages. The Madness begins Memorial Day weekend, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., May 27-30, 2010, at Festival Plaza downtown Shreveport.

The festival features fun games and three entertainment stage. The women’s, men’s, and children’s crawfish-eating contests set the true Louisianans apart from the crowd.  Contestants must eat all the meat inside of the crawfish tail (no head sucking required!). The person who eats the most will be given the high honor of Crawfish Eating Winner. For those who have never witnessed the spectacle of eating a crawfish, you won’t want to miss this! Everyone has their own technique and no one walks away clean.

When you’re not indulging in the food from the various pavilions offering everything from crawfish etouffee to gumbo and alligator-on-a-stick you can enjoy the live performances. The MetroPCS Stage, located on the area of Festival Plaza between Market Street and Spring Street, is the venue where nationally recognized entertainers perform and contests and special events are held. This year the MetroPCS Stage will welcome Grammy Award-winning artists Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience. In 2001 Simien won the Grammy in the Cajun category. His music was also featured in the new Disney movie “The Princess and the Frog.”

For a complete schedule of events and entertainers visit www.mudbugmadness.com.

But the party does not stop there. The 24th annual Let the Good Times Roll Festival celebrates the music, art and food of the African American culture and highlights its immense influence on Louisiana culture and heritage. The festival is held the third weekend in June at Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport. This year’s dates are June 18-20.

For more information visit them online at rhoomega.com.