Flamboyant Festivities

THIBODAUX

Fit for a King
Vote for your favorite king cake prepared by esteemed local vendors, dance to live music and watch a children’s parade during the January 27 Bayou King Cake Festival in downtown Thibodaux. Hosted by the Lafourche Education Foundation (lacajunbayou.com).

Sugarplum Shindig
Put on your baker’s cap and decorate gingerbread houses during the Dec. 9-10 Sugarplum Shindig Gingerbread House Decorating Party. Enjoy a pancake bar, a hot chocolate bar and mimosas with the added allure of holiday-themed entertainment and character photo ops presented by Broadway on the Bayou Performing Arts. Each purchased gingerbread house comes with an apron and baker’s cap for little elves (207 East Bayou Road; bayhisgreenacres.com).

LAKE CHARLES

Twelfth Night Parade Extravaganza
Mardi Gras makes a flamboyant entrance January 6 with a glitzy Twelfth Night Parade Extravaganza in the Lake Charles Civic Center. More than 60 krewes join the colorful procession as guests dance to live music while hailing their favorite royals. Many of the costumes will be prominently placed in the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu. Tip: Guests who find plastic babies in their king cake slices win lavish grand prizes (visitlakecharles.org).

LAKE CHARLES, ABBEVILLE

Shucks at Contraband Pointe
The first phase of Lake Charles’ massive Marcel Contraband Pointe development is taking shape, but the eagerly anticipated second location of Abbeville’s Shucks seafood restaurant is still in the planning stages according to co-owner Bert Istre. “I’d love to make it roll, but we need a building to open!” he says of the delay. Meanwhile, Abbeville’s Shucks has a new heated patio and such winter specials as dark-roux duck gumbo and “big scoops, not slices, of our pecan pie cobbler” (shucksrestaurant.com).

ACADIANA

Bears, Bears Everywhere
While Louisiana black bears are most heavily concentrated in the Tensas and Atchafalaya basins, their fast-growing prevalence in places where enormous omnivores have never been seen before (including backyards, farming and hunting areas throughout Acadiana) has prompted plans for a 2024 bear season. Bears have a keen sense of smell, can climb trees, open coolers, latches and sliding doors and unscrew jar tops. Safety tips: Secure garbage cans, remove bird feeders, fallen seeds and pet food (wlf.louisiana.gov).

SCOTT

Halal Boudin Debut
Lafayette restaurateur Ema Haq (Bailey’s Seafood & Grill; Ema’s Café) is transforming an 8-acre property in Scott that he recently purchased for $2.2 million into a halal and kosher meat processing and food distribution center with a new line of Louisiana staples including halal and kosher-prepared boudin and tasso. The Bangladesh native is known for hosting an elaborate, free Thanksgiving luncheon for homeless and elderly people in Lafayette for the past 26 years (facebook.com/BaileysSG).

LAFAYETTE

New Paleontology Concentration
Students seeking an undergraduate degree in geology from UL Lafayette can now choose from new concentrations in paleontology and energy resources beyond the existing earth sciences and environmental geology concentrations in 2024. The School of Geosciences is expanding to meet the growing private and public sector demands for jobs in the Geosciences. The newest concentration includes courses in Micropaleontology, Invertebrate and Vertebrate Paleontology as well as Museum Techniques (geos.louisiana.edu/academic-programs/geology).

OPELOUSAS

Inaugural Cultural Hub
Opelousas has a new Acadiana culture shop in the historic downtown district. Jennifer Woodson, owner of Black Pot book shop and gift store, relocated her business to a storied building that was once home to the barber shop featured in the 1934 Bonnie and Clyde movie (located in the 1924 Shute’s building across from the courthouse). The revitalized, larger space features an emerging cultural workshop enhanced with historic citywide tours, lectures and information for visitors and locals alike (facebook.com/BlackPotBookshop).