On the outside, it just looks like an old house, well-worn but still livable. But, when you step inside, the aging structure is full of treasures that its owner, J.D. Soileau, chose to tell a story of how people lived a century ago
If you want to hear authentic Cajun music and see how the south Louisiana music is being passed down from one generation to the next, just head on over to the Vermilionville weekly jam sessions in Lafayette.
For years, the Alexandria Museum of Art has been acquiring new pieces, not only from some of the state’s better known artists, but also art from students and their instructors.
The Multicultural Center of the South is a museum that recognizes the fact that the people living in a particular area likely have roots that stretch around the world
The unique blend of rock and roll music known as swamp pop grew popular in the dance halls of south Louisiana and managed to score a few top hits in the 1950s and 1960s.
A Louisiana swamp has become an adventure destination for teenage scouts from across the country to take a deep into the Atchafalaya Basin for a week of paddling, camping and discovery at Swamp Base.
For nearly two centuries, the 8-foot thick brick walls of Fort Jackson have survived being hit by thousands of Civil War cannonballs and some of the most severe hurricanes of the 20th century.
It may be one of the more unusual interstate highway rest stops. But if you are traveling I-10 through Southwest Louisiana, you can take a break at Jennings and pet an alligator.
If you think you might enjoy a leisurely walk through an outdoor garden of sculptures, the New Orleans Museum of Art has stepped up its game with a whole new exhibit.
Days away from the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the world is remembering the many tragic stories of the deadly war -- including one involving a Cajun paratrooper.
All across Louisiana, you can find centuries-old live oak trees still standing, but one Church Point farmer is doing his part to ensure they will continue to thrive for even more centuries to come.
The Southwest Louisiana town of Eunice has become a hotbed for Cajun music, and if you want to learn more about the legends of Cajun French music, you can see them all in a Hall of Fame Museum.
It’s early September 1896 and the steamship SS New York has just left Galveston for a trip to New Orleans when it runs straight into a fierce hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.
It was on a sandbar not far from a spot on the Mississippi River near Vidalia, LA, where frontiersman Jim Bowie made a name for himself and his knife. Born in Kentucky, Bowie grew up in Catahoula Parish.
Thousands of Rosenwald Schools were built in the early 20th Century as a way to educate black children living in the rural South. Few are still standing, including one in Donaldsonville.
Great fishing in Louisiana’s lakes and bayous doesn’t always happen automatically. The state Wildlife and Fisheries Department plays a big hand in making sure there are fish to catch.
Today's popular Zydeco music was born on the prairies of southwest Louisiana. It evolved from music that was first performed, and recorded by French-speaking creoles like Amede Ardoin.
While it seems a bit out of place Louisiana, some biking enthusiasts say one of the best trails for mountain biking is right here in the Bayou State -- “The Beast.”
For some African Americans in Louisiana, researching your family tree can take you to plantations and slavery, but one Terrebone Parish museum is working to provide the missing links.
There's something about a model railroad that can bring a little town to life, and maybe even give us a glimpse into what it was like at some other place and time.
The flat land of Southwest Louisiana’s Cajun prairie is famous for a few things -- its rice fields, crawfish farms, spicy food and music. And also, for a certain restaurant, complete with dance floor and live music.
A Christmas display in downtown Morgan City got a major upgrade this year with help from Hollywood. An Emmy Award-winning special effects artist has turned the town’s landmark shrimp boat into Christmas on the bayou.
If you're planning on enjoying a pecan pie for the holidays, there are plenty of Louisiana-grown pecans at the market. Many of those come from orchards along False River in Pointe Coupee Parish.
It’s a really old hardware store that first opened its doors just 10 years after the Civil War. But H.J. Smith and sons in Covington is still open, and today its shelves are a mix of household needs and museum pieces.
Following such a divisive election, we thought we’d spend some time with a politician that almost anyone can like, no matter their party affiliation. He’s been in office longer than many of us have been alive.
Sometimes our family interests or talents can skip a generation. That’s what happened to Cajun country music legend Vin Bruce of Lafourche Parish. It was his grandson he finally shared the stage with.
After opening in the 1950s, Hodges Gardens in West Louisiana became a state park a decade ago. But budget cuts forced its closure. Now the scenic property has a new mission: bringing back a Louisiana longleaf pine forest.
What may look like worthless pieces of driftwood to most of us conjure up images of animals and faces to a folk artist in the Assumption Parish town of Pierre Part.
It’s been more than a half century since anyone could speak the language of Louisiana’s Tunica-Biloxi tribe. But thanks to the notes and recordings of early linguists, the tribal leaders are now teaching their language in hopes of bringing it back to life.
Perhaps the most dominant feature of the Hammond Regional Arts Center is a white staircase that cuts through the middle of a historic downtown building. That staircase has become the stage for a series of concerts by area singer-songwriters.
Back in the early 1960s, car designers and drivers were pushing the limits of speed and setting land speed records at the Bonneville salt flats in Utah. One of those record-breakers was Knot Farrington of New Orleans, who just celebrated his 99th birthday.
One South Louisiana chef has the perfect answer for anyone who wants to know the meaning of Creole food. It’s a history lesson that credits seven different nations for the rich flavors of South Louisiana cooking.
In the city where jazz was born, you can see and hear its history in an expanded state museum. The old U.S. Mint, now the New Orleans Jazz Museum, features live performances along with treasured jazz artifacts.
Back in the 1800s, it was not unusual find one-room school houses, especially in rural communities. There's one that's been saved and turned into a museum in Ponchatoula.
Since it opened more than 70 years ago, Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans has kept a strong tie with one of America's early aviation pioneers.
One of the most relaxing ways to experience the natural beauty of Louisiana is to tour a swamp in a kayak. One of the most beautiful places to paddle is Lake Martin.
There was a time when dance halls were a part of nearly every community in South Louisiana. But in recent years, nearly all of those places have disappeared. A researcher at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette is trying to capture those dance hall stories before even the memories disappear. This decaying old building near Opelousas is one of countless dance halls that are disappearing from the Louisiana landscape. "Leading up to, and then after World War II, pret...
If you've ever driven I-55 between Laplace and Ponchatoula, you've probably noticed an exit for Ruddock. Today it's only a boat launch, but a century ago, it was a thriving railroad town until a hurricane washed it away.
When you hear about Saints in New Orleans, you probably think football. But a New Orleans woman is on a path that could lead to her becoming the first native-born African-American saint in the United States.
You may not think of South Louisiana farms as a place where you can pick fresh apples and a lot of other fruits, but one New Iberia farmer is determined to grow everything in his fruit orchard.
There have been times when New Orleans was under attack. Two hundred years ago the British army threatened the city and most recently it was a hurricane.
New Orleans was founded 300 years ago, but there was an attempt at an earlier settlement. It was a fort on the river that was lost and then found two centuries later.
A poor Irish immigrant saves the orphaned children of New Orleans and a free woman of color turns her back on Creole society and begins a journey that could take her to Sainthood.
Since its earliest days, there has been a church in New Orleans' Jackson square. But St. Louis Cathedral has had its share of difficulties over the past three centuries.
As the City of New Orleans celebrates its 300th anniversary, there is a French Quarter coffee shop that's been around for more than half of those three centuries. Café du Monde in the French Market has become a favorite of tourists and locals.
It may be hard to imagine what New Orleans was like in 1718, the year it was founded, three centuries ago. But an exhibit at the Historic New Orleans Collection is bringing that founding era to life with drawings, maps and artifacts from the earliest days of the city.
In April, the strawberries are big and red, and they're ripe and sweet. It's the perfect time for picking berries at the Liuzza family farm near Amite.
If you want to do some serious hiking, like trekking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, you're most likely going to need months of preparation to get in shape for that kind of hike. Dave McNamara shows us how he did it by hiking some of his favorite trails in the Bayou State.
There was a time not-so-long ago when telephones really didn't change much. Instead of standing in line every year to buy the latest upgrade, families would go for decades with the same home phone.
The tiny northwest Louisiana town of Haughton is an unlikely place to see a massive collection of wild animals from around the world. But years ago, a husband and wife team turned their taxidermy skills into the creation of a homemade natural history museum.
Before there was zydeco music, early French-speaking musicians in Southwest Louisiana were creating Creole music. And one of the earliest recording artists was accordion player Amede Ardoin, whose life on the Creole music trail went from stardom to tragedy.
You have probably seen the paintings of this renowned Louisiana artist - from a giant clarinet on a New Orleans hotel, a blues harmonica on a Baton Rouge casino and murals of Cajun history scattered across South Louisiana.
Royanne kropog plays a Hungarian folk song, a tune that arrived in Southeast Louisiana more than a century ago. It's music that is played at the annual harvest dance in an area known as Hungarian Settlement near Albany, LA.
It didn't take tax incentives to lure the very first Hollywood blockbuster to film in Louisiana. The very first Tarzan film was shot in Morgan City and released to enthusiastic audiences 100 years ago.
It's an unlikely place to find a piece of presidential history. In fact, it's a rather large piece - an aircraft that served as Air Force One 60 years ago.
For more than 150 years, these old lighthouses have marked the entrances to rivers and ports across coastal Louisiana. But most of the old structures have fallen victim to hurricanes, sinking land and newer technology.
This is that time of year when bags of Carnival beads will be dumped into trunks, closets, attics and even trash cans. But one artist has spent years turning discarded beads into colorful, three-dimensional works of art.
If you like to see old, historic buildings, the oldest one in Louisiana is located in the French Quarter in New Orleans. It was built in the mid-1700s as a home for French Ursuline nuns. As New Orleans celebrates its 300th anniversary this year, Dave McNamara takes us inside the Old Ursuline convent in the Heart of Louisiana. The wooden steps show the wear of nearly three centuries. "These are the ones on this side that really have a nice dip in them and ...
These young, first-time puppeteers have only one hour to learn how to handle their new colorful new friends. To teach them how to talk, to sing and move in rhythm with the song.
When it comes to experiencing Cajun culture, you can do some one-stop shopping in the town of Eunice. And the music, the dancing and the cooking demonstrations are all free.
