Shiloh Baptist Church, Mooringsport: Lead Belly's grave and annual jam at noon on Sat, Nov 7

The annual Lead Belly graveside memorial jam will be banged out at noon on Sat, Nov 7, about noon at the Shiloh Baptist Church graveyard in Mooringsport, Louisiana (10395 Blanchard Latex Rd, Mooringsport, LA 71060-9150), says Katy Hobgood Ray. Louisiana musicians will gather at the grave of Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter to perform his songs from noon - 1 p.m. All are welcome.

The legendary Huddie Ledbetter was a larger-than-life American singer called King of the Twelve String Guitar, and, sometimes, the Father of American Folk Music. He was known for a vast repertoire of songs - ranging in style from children's ditties to political rags to waltzes to country blues. Many of his songs have become standards, including “Goodnight Irene,” “The Midnight Special,” “Rock Island Line,” “Alberta,” “Pick A Bale Of Cotton,” “The Bourgeois Blues,” and “Birmingham Jail.”

Kathryn Hobgood Ray, 504-650-1238, kathryn@bienvilleray.com or Danny Wilder, 318-751-2733.

The drive to Shiloh Baptist Church traverses some of the lovely woods of North Louisiana. The route also passes the Longwood General Store and Mobil station where drivers can fill a tank and fill numerous hungry bellies. Take I-20 Exit 3 (LA -169), North 10 miles to Caddo Parish #6. (a.k.a. Blanchard-Latex Rd.). Turn left on Caddo Parish #6, drive 2.6 miles to Shiloh Baptist Church.

Voces Castellanas presents Dia de los Muertos celebration in Columbia Park on Sat, Nov 7, 1 pm to 4 pm

Voces Castellanas and Multicultural Center of the South happily invite you to the Day of the Dead Festival, says Janine Gomezjurado Demerath.

Día de los Muertos, A Celebration of Life, takes place on Sat, Nov 7, 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Columbia Park.

"Bring your family to do hands-on crafts, enjoy music performances, folkloric dances, exhibition of ofrendas, face painting, Bread of the Dead, games and more. Admission is free," says Lee Spruell.

Columbia Park, 600 Columbia St., Shreveport

Info: 840-9701.



Photo Julia Miranda Bonet 2015.

Math and art in hands-on exhibit at Artspace Shreveport: interactive work by painter-designer Harriet Stone Evans opens Thurs, Nov 5, 5 pm - 8:30 pm

Harriet Stone Evans loves math. She also is an accomplished designer and painter. Thus the exhibit of her work, “From Flowers to Form: Art Inspired by Mathematics,” will illuminate the mathematical elements in art. Viewers can expect to experience the power of geometry and algebra as artforms through Evans' artworks. And most of her work is interactive.

The Evans exhibition has been presented at the Museum of Science in Boston and the Louisiana Children’s Museum in New Orleans.

Tours will be led by the artist, Harriet Stone Evans - who is a dancer and yoga devotee and vibrant conversationalist - and professional leading area artists from Monday, November 9 through Thursday December, 17.(318) 673-6535

Cirque de la Symphonie with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra: aerialists, jugglers and surprises on Sat, Oct 31, 7:30 pm, Riverview Theater

"Aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen," says Cirque de la Symphonie, are what audiences can expect on Sat, Oct 31, in Cirque's performance with the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. Indeed, "Each artist's performance is professionally choreographed to classical masterpieces and popular contemporary music in collaboration with the maestro."

Cirque performed to acclaim in Shreveport in 2009. The SSO audience seemed awed by the variety and high quality of the circus performers.

Tickets.

Making sure not to ignore that it is Halloween, the SSO says "Join us at 6:30 PM before the concert for some Halloween fun: face painting, Halloween-themed carnival games and treat bags for kids. We invite kids and adults alike to come in costume and join us for a costume parade."

Because you never know when parking on the riverfront is going to be a hassle, there's a free shuttle service which starts at 6:30 pm. The bus picks up at Regions Bank parking garage at the corner of Milam & Market Streets.

Improv in classical piano: composer Steven Termini performs in Anderson Auditorium, Centenary College, Shreveport, 7:30 pm Tues, Oct 27

Pianist, composer, and improvisatory artist Steven Termini will visit Centenary College of Louisiana on Tues, Oct 27, says Gale Odom. He will perform a concert of improvisatory piano music in the Anderson Auditorium at 7:30 PM. The concert is free and open to the public.

Prior to the concert, Dr. Termini will conduct a workshop with Centenary’s new improvisatory student ensemble, Genesis Jam, at 6:00 PM. “Being able to improvise well is a rare skill, but there is an increasing need for that skill in today’s musical world,” said Dr. Odom, Dean of the Hurley School of Music.

Dr. Termini earned his Ph.D. in Performance Practice from the Royal Academy of Music in London; he also holds a Masters in Fine Arts (Jazz) from California Institute of the Arts and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin, said Odom. More at centenary.edu/news/.

Those who attended the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra concert featuring pianist Gabriela Montero will remember that she touted her encore as a breathless moment of improvisatory freedom. She asked for audience suggestions for her theme and stopped when she heard the crowd pleaser "You are my sunshine." I am not so sure that it was a spontaneous, unrehearsed bit. Still, she ran a lot of scales and dazzled the crowd with her knowledge of stock material. She approached the famous melody from several directions and won more applause. As a jazz buff, I was not impressed with what she played for the SSO audience. Then again, how can you play something interesting for a middle of the road audience in a tertiary city?

Surely Termini, performing in a quiet, academic setting, will set his sights high in regards his extemporaneous adventure.

Chamber music in Shreveport: Noel Foundation performance at Anderson Auditorium on Sun, Oct 25, 3 pm

One hates to say that a dynamic performance of classical music by professional musicians is "free." In so many ways, the word "free" is a sickly and false word. A better description of the Noel Foundation Chamber series on Sun, Oct 25, 3 PM, is no charge. The fees for the Shreveport Symphony production have been paid by the foundation.

The concert features Debussy/Schoenberg, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Schoenberg's Transfigured Night and Strauss Jr./Schoenberg, Emperor Waltz, says Lois Robinson.

In the chamber orchestra: Matt Albert, Jennifer Carsillo, Rachel Bundy, Russell Lewis, Todd Gabriel, Sherri Fleshner, Charles Regauer, Ruth Drummond, David Jankowski, Belinda Viesca, Christopher Allen, Tim Wright, Sally Hundemer, Theresa Bridges, Chan Teague and Gay Grosz.

A unusual note is that Daniel Ley will play harmonium. The last accompaniment by harmonium that I remember is when Allen Ginsberg played a portable harmonium while reciting poetry in the Shell amphitheater at Centenary College.

Friendly, award-winning high school seeks students; visit on Halloween day, 10:30 - 12:30 during 8th grade preview or at JAMbalaya Music Fest, 12:30 - 4 pm

Caddo Magnet High might be a good fit for you.

It is a medium-sized school with enough students (about 1100) to provide a variety of course choices (for instance, I teach African-American Studies, Fine Arts Survey and Video journalism as well as world geography) yet small enough to feel comfortable. It has a wealth of sports - lacrosse, volleyball, fencing, gymnastics, tennis, cross country, soccer and more - and the ROTC program provides a world of additional choices - such as orienteering and activities in Rangers.

Magnet is known for the academic tone of its campus as well as its friendliness and acceptance. Yet there are small worlds within the campus: among them the drama family, the theater tech group, the orchestra students, the Quiz Bowl teens, the debaters, the band musicians, the Student Council workers.

Magnet teachers give individual attention to their students before school and after school. Actually, it is a school where the average student submits their homework on time. Yet across the school students are helping each other study and cooperating to make their deadlines.

Please visit the campus and meet students Sat, Oct 31, Halloween, between 10:30 and 12:30. If you arrive later, you may check out Magnet's newest music and food fest, JAMbalaya ($8).

Regardless of the time, if you'd like to visit, we'd like to make it happen. Please call assistant principal Sheryl Thomas, 318.221.2501, to schedule a visit.

French romance at Robinson Film Center: 2 movies En Francais Oct 23 - 29

“French cinema, at its best, is very smart, stylish, and innovative,” said Jeff Hendricks, Film Society chair and professor of English and film studies at Centenary College. “Bringing these films to our community via Robinson Film Center helps remind us of the long-standing political, economic, and cultural relationship between France and the United States. And we couldn’t do this were it not for the support from the French embassy and Consulate General in New Orleans.”

From Oct 23-29, RFC will screen a pair of contemporary French movies that both center around unconventional romances: “The New Girlfriend” and “3 Hearts.”

And there's a French Dinner, avec les grands fromages from the Embassy.
$30 (includes dinner and two movies passes good for any movie during French Week)
Evening films: $9.50 ($7.50, RFC members) Matinee films: $7.50 ($5.50, RFC members)
318.459.4122.

Planting trees and policing the grounds around Highland Park: Shreveport Green and Highland Restoration Assoc sponsor volunteer beautification on Sat, Nov 7 , 8 am to noon

Highland Restoration Association and Shreveport Green are gathering Highland neighbors for a morning of beautification, says Stephen Pederson.

"We will be picking up trash at and around Highland Park," Pederson says. Perhaps more importantly, "We're also planting 30 trees to help replenish Highland's aging trees."

Highland chef extraordinaire Andrew Parsons will serve up a delicious lunch from 11 until noon.

Illustration: mask made from Highland trash by Kathryn Usher.

Sheveport Farmers Market opens Sat, Oct 24, 8 am til noon; runs through Nov 21

Shreveport Farmers' Market will open on October 24 for its fall session, says Noma Fowler-Sandlin. It will run each Saturday from 8 a.m. until noon through November 21.

Under the East Pavilion in Festival Plaza, at 101 Crockett Street in downtown Shreveport, there will be a large selection of locally-grown fruits and vegetables, locally-raised meats, gourmet, baked and canned goods. No medical marijuana, but just about everything else.

At the Market Cafe under the Spring Street Bridge, various types of ready-to-eat foods will be available, along with tables at which to dine while listening to music performed by areated musicians.

Hydrogen Child charting with "I Know" from "The Sirens" EP; groove to Hydge in costume on Halloween at Strange Brew, Shreveport

"Y'all, what the af is going on?? We're charting now?!" says Chris Rimmer of Hydrogen Child. "I Know" is listed at #12 in Spotify's US Viral 50 and is 18 in the Global Viral 50.

Little do listeners know what rich tunes they are about to discover if they follow a purchase of "I Know" with more from Hydge, masters of the pop hook.

Strange Brew is a salubrious room for a performance of the quintet's arena-sized tunes. On Halloween they will perform at Shreveport's capacious Strange Brew along with Seratones and, Ansley Rimmer says, "a wonderful group from down south - Lafayette - called Rareluth."

Voices. Costumes. Romance. Shreveport Opera performs Carmen at Riverview Theater on Sat, Oct 24, 7:30 pm

The 67th Season of Shreveport Opera: Bizet's Carmen on Sat, October 24, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. at Riverview Theater, 600 Clyde Fant Parkway in Downtown Shreveport.

Tickets: $25-90 and $15 for students. (318) 227-9503 or shreveopera.tix.com.

Cast information.

Chris Fowler-Sandlin knows books; see his book sale on Sat, Oct 17, 8 am to 2 pm, 505 Wilkinson

Chris Fowler-Sandlin is the kind of knowledgable, passionate book seller who was more common in a recent era.

Trust his judgment on books.

Sign in for vendor space at the Texas Ave Makers Fair on Nov 14, 2015, 10 am to 4 pm

Bring your own 10X10 tent and tie downs, says the Texas Ave Community Assoc. Squares are $55 and $75 at eventbrite.com.

"Vendors new to the Fair or pre-2014, please e-mail 4 or 5 representative photos and a brief description to makersfair@texasave.org We hope to make sign up a smooth & easy process, via the EventBrite link in your email, once qualified. We don't have staff to field calls or monitor Facebook messages or posts. Send the pictures if you haven't," says Dan Keele.

"It's a family event. Sociable dogs on non-retractable, short lines are welcome," says Keele.

TAMF is about original or repurposed art and handcrafted goodies, plus food trucks, music and fun.

"Stay all day. Visit, shop. See what life we bring to the Core of the City," adds Keele.

Saturday, November 14, 2015 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

888 Texas Avenue - Elvis Presley Blvd & Texas Ave. (maps may say Grand Ave, not EPB). Shreveport, LA 71101

Plant walk, nature photography, skull maze, canoeing: all ages welcome at Red River National Wildlife Refuge annual celebration on Sat, Oct 17, 9 am to 2 pm

Canoeing, archery, hayride refuge tours, face painting, fish printing, and other nature-oriented activities. Seeing an eagle, native snakes, turtles, baby alligators and a young wood duck.

It is the annual Refuge Celebration and Open House on Saturday, Oct 17, 9 am to 2 pm, at Red River Natl Wildlife Refuge, says Terri Jacobs.

- New this year will be a skull maze. Visitors are given a mammal skull to identify by walking the maze.
- A guided native plant walk starts at 11 am.
- A nature photography program, titled "Birds, Bugs and Beasts of Red River National Wildlife Refuge" will start at 12:30 pm in the Education Center.
- The new Nature Discovery Outdoor Play Area, designed for children ages 4 through 10 years old, will be open to the public for the first time.

Fawn photo: Ronnie Maum.

Dylanesque, Pettyesque, Flaming Lipsesque group Highway Lions on roof of the Remington, 220 Travis St, on Mon, Oct 12, 7 pm

Stepping onto the smooth, white vastness of the Remington Suite roof recently - it was the Louisiana Film Prize awards brunch - verified this location as one of Shreveport's most urbane aeries.

And performing a set reminiscent of the Beatles on the roof of a London building on Mon at sunset will be the Highway Lions, an affable, bankable group of seasoned rock n rollers. These guys - Daniel Goodwill, Chris DeRosia, Michael Cherene and Steven Emery - consume Dylan for breakfast, Petty for lunch and spend two out of every three evenings bathing in the Flaming Lips.

7 pmish. Chill.

Sharing your cash with Red River Radio / Public radio: not easy? Easy? Go away?

Sharing some of your hard earned cash with public radio is not an easy moment.

But for me KDAQ / Red River Radio is a serious quality of life aquifer.

Would you rather contribute or would you rather do without it?

Keep Kate Archer Kent busy, eh?

By the way and to be sure, there are numerous material incentives.

Underground sound at Big D's BBQ, 101 Common St, Shreveport, on Sat, Oct 10, 4 pm til midnight

"Free show at Big D's BBQ this weekend. I am playing and so are my friends! All kinds of music. 4 pm-12," says edm mixer, trickster Sasha Sosin, aka Action. His melodies and textures are being thrown down about 8:15, says Action.

Free hugs: big-voiced singer Alyse Black at Shreveport House Concerts, 1508 Fairfield, Sun, Oct 11, 7 pm

"Hi! I'm crossing my fingers that you might be able to make it to my little show at Shreveport House Concerts this Sunday, Oct 11, 7 pm," writes Austin and Seattle-based singer Alyse Black.

"People frequently say that my music "sounds like falling in love!" What a sweet thing to say, right? It's something like a cross between Brandi Carlile, Billie Holiday and Adele. Things have been taking off like crazy this year, and I have to pinch myself pretty often to remind myself it's real." The multi-instrumentalist charmer ends her note, "Anyway, I hope I get to meet you and give you a big hug Sunday!"

$20
1508 Fairfield Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71101
318-220-0400

Spice mandalas, digital chlorophyllation. sequinned voudou: tripping meditatively in Meadows Museum, Shreveport

The mystic Meadows vibe began with sequined voudou flags and maps in the Haitian art display. They are dimly lit so as to preserve the fabric. Does the quiet light remind the viewer of the low lumens typical of artists' shops in the old quarter of Port au Prince?

Sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floors was what this artist found most comfortable in the 2 upstairs exhibits.

In a dark room is a digital exhibit of subtle action and form - New Orleans artist Courtney Egan has installed captures of flowers of the Crescent City and caught them in intimate action. The metamorphoses are accompanied by appealing, wee sounds.

Symmetric mandalas made of vivid plats of spices filled 2 rooms in Meadows and another room at Turner Art Center across Centenary Blvd from Meadows. It is an exhibit by artist Stephen Watson. While he is not a Tibetan Buddhist monk, Watson is most assuredly inspired by Tibetan sand sculpture. His designs present a powerful marriage of color and form, some of them reminding me of Matisse cut outs.

Highly recommended.

Meadows hours have been extended under the new directors: Tues - Fri, 11am-6pm and Sat, noon - 4pm.

Lecture by Dr David Otto on Sat, Oct 10, 1 pm: "Mandalas: Their Meaning and Use" at the Meadows - in conjunction wi the art of Stephen Watson.

PXRF, infrared camera, 3D geomorphic scanning: Archaeology Day at SciPort Shreveport on Sat, Oct 17, 10 am to 2 pm

SciPort Shreveport presents International Archaeology Day on Sat, Oct 17, 10 am to 2 pm, says Ann Fumarolo.

Tad Britt, Chief of Archaeology and Collections with the National Park Service’s National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, Natchitoches, La, will give technology demonstrations involving a PXRF – a hand-held x-ray machine used to identify the elemental composition of an artifact – and other technologies including an infrared camera and microscope, under which visitors can view sections of artifacts like stone tools and ceramics.

Dr. Robert Z. Selden Jr., Stephen F. Austin University, will demonstrate 3D geomorphic scanning techniques involving ceramic Caddo artifacts like bowls, pots and bottles.

Sci-Port visitors are encouraged to bring artifacts from home for identification by archaeologist Jay Gray of Cultural Resources Analysts, Inc. Gray will analyze items such as arrowheads, kitchen tools, hardware and remains of goods left behind by pioneers.

Archaeology Day activities are free with regular Center admission.

Above: Curtis Bias pot in homage to Caddo design.

John Bogan the warden in Tennessee Williams' first play, Not About Nightingales, Oct 8 - 11, Marjorie Lyons Playhouse, Shreveport

Not About Nightingales is a three-act play written by Tennessee Williams in 1938, says Wikipedia. A group of inmates go on a hunger strike in attempt to survive cruel treatment.

Eva, the new secretary at the prison, is busy avoiding the Warden's advances and falling for Jim, an inmate. Williams gained inspiration for the play after reading newspaper accounts of inmates who suffocated in a steam room in a Pennsylvania prison.

Although the play was originally written in the 1930s, it wasn’t discovered until the late 1990s when Vanessa Redgrave made it her personal mission to track it down.

Directed by Assistant Professor of Theater Logan Sledge, Not About Nightingales will run at Marjorie Lyons October 8-10 at 7:30 p.m. - with a 2 p.m. matinee on October 11.

John Bogan will guest star as Warden Whalen. Says Bogan, “It’s easy to hear notes of a style that would later coalesce in memorable characters like Harold ‘Mitch’ Mitchell in A Streetcar Named Desire, Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie.”

On opening night, Oct 8, Centenary faculty and staff will facilitate a post-performance “talk back” exploring the 2015-2016 theater season theme “Why Unto Others…”

Above: Aiden Poling as Jim, John Bogan as Whalen. More photos.

Sweaty, shakin,' kinetick freaks at the Revel: Big Sam's Funky Nation on Fri, Oct 9, 8:30 pm - 10 pm

Crescent City cut-ups devoted to the art of funkily fanning the flames of flying flip-flops on Friday night at the Revel: Big Sam's Funky Nation.

Introduced to Shreveport, as far as I know, by Bears Fairfield, this quintet does everything a thumping New Orleans band must do.

Worth the tariff.

Much of the moxie morphs here: NTT's at Artspace Shreveport on Tues, Oct 6, 6 pm to 9 pm

New Talent Tuesdays at Artspace Shreveport: send your best emissaries to watch talent grow like hearty weeds between the cracked walls of the Texas St buildings.

$5 for untold good.

Artist Don Edwards exhibit, Walk on the Wild Side, at Rainforest Art Foundation, 710 Travis St, Shreveport; Truffle Party on Oct 20, 5 pm to 7 pm

Rainforest Art Foundation presents work by naturalist, photographer and wildlife artist Don Edwards, says Stephanie Yu Lusk.

Edwards has traveled to Colorado's Rocky Mountains, Wyoming's Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Alaska, and been aboard three trips to Africa, including visits to the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya and Kruger National Park in South Africa.

To celebrate the Edwards exhibit a Truffle Party will be held by the Rainforest Art Foundation on Tues, Oct. 20, from 5-7 pm. Admission is free - with a suggested $10 donation to benefit Rainforest Art Foundation. Black truffle-infused mushroom pasta and chocolate truffles will complement the photography exhibit, “Wild Mushrooms of the Rainforest.”

Voting for their favorite Don Edwards painting in the “Walk on the Wild Side with Don Edwards” exhibition (excluding the Duck Stamp painting) will put patrons in a door prize drawing. The winner will choose a 20” x 30” canvas giclée of their choice valued at $450, including frame.

See the Rainforest Art Foundation / Marlene Yu Museum hours at www.MarleneYuMuseum.org. Visit during off hours by calling (318)717-9111, says Iris McClean. 710 Travis St, Shreveport, Louisiana 71101

Baroque Artists of Shreveport perform Vivaldi at St Mark's Episcopal on Sun, Oct 4, 2 pm

A septet of professional players awaits their audience at St Mark's Episcopal on Sun, Oct 4, 2 pm.

Sit as close to the musicians as possible to enhance the clarity of these articulate performers.

No fee. Sponsors have subsidized the series.

La Film Prize movie "Honey and the Hive:" all-ages, bee-related games at 516 Texas St on Fri, Oct 2 and Sat, Oct 3 , plus discounted LFP movie passes

Filmmaker Austin Alward has directed an 11-minute movie about a seven year-old adopted girl and about bees. It is called "Honey and the Hive" and is being shown this weekend as one of the 20 competitors in the La Film Prize.

He has also created a center for bee-related games - Bee Hive Corn Hole, for example - at 516 Texas St inside a decorated, winged school bus called the Bumblebus.

Those who like what Alward is doing with bees and his poetic, charming movie may want to purchase a discounted ticket to the LFP viewings - so that, if you watch all 20 movies, you can vote. Viewers' votes comprise 50% of the score in the LFP.