A Season of Plays, Ballets and Art Shows Across the Region
On any given year, Louisiana’s blessed with a rich tapestry of culture, filled with both popular and classical concerts, lively dance and theater and vibrant visual art. This fall, South Louisiana adds to that repertoire, reaching into the past and future with an homage to the legendary Clifton Chenier, who would have turned 100 this year, and the emergence of new arts venues and special events.
LAFAYETTE
100 Years of Clifton Chenier
The incomparable Herman Fuselier, star of KRVS’s “Zydeco Stomp” radio show and author of “Ghosts of Good Times: South Louisiana Dance Halls Past and Present,” hosts Louisiana Crossroads at the Acadiana Center for the Arts (ACA) in Lafayette. In September, Louisiana Crossroads honored the legendary “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier with special musical guests and friends, including Chenier’s son, zydeco musician C.J. Chenier who now helms the Red Hot Louisiana Band.
It’s just one event among many that honor the man who changed music history.
“The music world changed when Clifton Chenier was born 100 years ago,” said Fuselier, who works as executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission in Opelousas, Chenier’s home town. “Clifton took zydeco music out of the cotton fields of Southwest Louisiana and put it on a world stage. He became a Grammy winner and a Lifetime Achievement Award winner with music in the Grammy Hall of Fame. That same Lifetime Award has been won by Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Michael Jackson and Prince.”
Valcour Records recently released a tribute album to Chenier that included The Rolling Stones, Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal and Steve Earle.
“The Rolling Stones didn’t blink when they were asked to perform on the new tribute album,” Fuselier continued. “That shows the respect Clifton commanded in the music world. He was and always will be the King of Zydeco.”
LAFAYETTE
Fall at the ACA
The special performance to honor Clifton Chenier is only one of many at the ACA, which offers visual art gallery openings (many of which tie in with Lafayette’s Second Saturday ArtWalk), theater, dance, literary events and arts education. On Oct. 24-25, “Ten Tiny Dances” ® will be performed on a 4-foot by 4-foot stage in ACA’s Moncus Theater.
“It will be all local performers and local choreographers,” said Rachel Adams, ACA marketing manager.
Special ACA events include Gulf Brew fundraiser featuring regional breweries on Oct. 18 in downtown Lafayette, now in its 17th year, and the Sept. 13 block party on Vermilion Street with bands, food vendors and the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles poster unveiling. The block party celebrates the upcoming Louisiana Music Museum to be housed in the former 1890s Lafayette Hardware Store next to the ACA.
For information on what’s happening at the ACA, visit acadianacenterforthearts.org.
SUPLHUR
Chaos Theory
Chaos theory, a series of random chaotic systems represented in patterns and other feedback loops, has been the goal of art shows at the Brimstone Museum in Sulphur since 2008. Chaos Theater 2025 continues the community-driven show which invites artists of all genres — including gamers, cosplayers and those working in pop culture — to participate. This year’s theme is “Chaos Theory: Future,” and the show runs through Nov. 15.
Learn more about Chaos Theory and the museum’s other events at brimstonemuseum.org.
LAKE CHARLES
White Linen and Chuck Fest
The City of Lake Charles and the Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA started what hopes to be an annual event in September, a downtown promenade of folks in white linen enjoying art galleries titled White Linen Night.
Coming up on Oct. 18, Arts & Humanities Council continues its fall programming with Chuck Fest, a festival that started as a grassroots celebration of everything wonderful about Lake Charles and has now become something residents look forward to once the weather turns lovely. There will be Louisiana-based music on multiple stages performing everything from funk and blues to country, food vendors, local artwork for sale and much more.
“It’s a free, 12-hour festival that shines a spotlight on everything we love about Southwest Louisiana,” said Lee Ann Stenvick, executive director of the Arts & Humanities Council of SWLA. “It’s the kind of event where you run into everyone you know, make a few new friends and discover something unexpected around every corner.”
For more information on Chuck Fest, visit chuckfest.org. To learn more about what’s coming up with the Arts & Humanities Council, including new exhibits and programming at the Central School Arts and Humanities Center, visit artscouncilswla.org.
LAFAYETTE
Beyond the Botanical
Opelousas native Mare Martin wants viewers of her art to explore our connection with the natural world in her exhibit “Mare Martin: Beyond the Botanical” at the Hilliard Art Museum in Lafayette. The earthy studies, which runs through Feb. 14, includes paintings and sculpture.
Harriet Joor (1875-1965), Manon Bellet (French-born, Louisiana-based), and Hannah Chalew (Louisiana-based) weave a dialogue between ecology and craft through different decades and contexts in their exhibit, “Fragile Matter,” through Jan. 31, 2026. Joor was a celebrated Newcomb artist and former University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor, whose ceramic works represent one of the founding gifts of the museum’s permanent collection.
Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, also known as Shoplifter or Shoppi, offers an installation commissioned for the Hilliard now through July 25, 2026.
Hilliard’s upcoming events may be found at hilliardartmuseum.org.
NEW IBERIA
Broadway on the Bayou
They don’t call the Iberia Performing Arts League (IPAL) “Broadway on the Bayou” for nothing. The performances at the historic Essanee Theater in downtown New Iberia routinely feature large casts and full orchestras. The community-based theater produces five large shows a year, closing out 2025 with “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” Oct. 17-26 and “Elf The Musical” Dec. 5-14. The season rolls through 2026 with “Fiddler on the Roof” March 20-29 and “Freaky Friday The Musical” May 22-31.
Tickets and more information may be found at ipaltheater.com.
LAFAYETTE
The New Basin Arts
Ten years ago, Clare Cook opened Basin Arts in downtown Lafayette to give visual and performing artists gallery and studio space, but also to offer arts classes and events. This fall, Basin Arts begins its 10th anniversary year by opening its new space at a 10,000-square-foot transformed warehouse at 126 South Buchanan Street in partnership with the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority (LPTFA).
“We were busting at the seams and the LPTFA wanted their building to have a more active use,” Clare said of the warehouse space that was recently used to store equipment for a Los Angeles film company.
The new facility will include the Dirk Guidry Art Studios as an anchor tenant and offer larger spaces for galleries and studios, a theater and an intimate performance space. With the new venue, two events may happen at once without interference from the other.
“A lot of the programming will be what you know from Basin Arts but we’ll be able to expand that footprint,” Cook said.
The new and enlarged Basin Arts will open in October with a grand opening Nov. 8 to coincide with Lafayette’s Second Saturday ArtWalk. Check out their fall and winter programming at basinartslafayette.com.
LAFAYETTE
Happy Birthday ‘Avatar’
It’s popular among many millennials and Gen Zs and now audience members can relive their favorite show with “AVATAR: The Last Airbender in Concert – The 20th Anniversary Tour” on Oct. 23 at Lafayette’s Heymann Performing Arts Center as part of the Performing Arts Serving Acadiana (PASA). The concert features a live orchestra performing Jeremy Zuckerman’s iconic score from the animated fantasy TV series synced to scenes on a full-size cinema screen.
On Nov. 14, PASA presents the play “In Honor of Jean-Michel Basquiat” starring actor, writer and director Roger Guenveur Smith to be performed at the Theater at Baranco, a performing arts venue located at Baranco Elementary School in Lafayette. Then on Dec. 3, it’s Scott Bradlee’s “Postmodern Jukebox: Magic, Moonlight & Mistletoe.”
For more information on PASA, visit pasaonline.org.
LAFAYETTE
The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
If it’s December, you know it’s “Nutcracker” time. Every year the Lafayette Ballet Theatre produces the annual two-act ballet, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 fairy tale, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” The ballet features principal guest artists and local contracted dancers with dozens of local ballet students in the cast. This year, the Lafayette Ballet Theatre celebrates its 25th anniversary of the holiday performance and information is available at lafayetteballettheatre.org.
For a Louisiana version of the famous ballet, F.I.R.E. Expressions Performing Arts Conservatory (promoting faith, inspiration, relationship and experience through dance) presents “The Creole Nutcracker” that celebrates Creole culture through dance, music and storytelling. And here’s some lagniappe: F.I.R.E. creators Jazmyn Rene Jones and Leigha T. Porter have written a children’s book for the holidays titled “Clarice and the Creole Nutcracker,” illustrated by Herb Leonhard. For information on “The Creole Nutcracker” and Conservatory offerings, visit thecreolenutcracker.com.
ARNAUDVILLE
Bring a dish!
NuNu Arts and Culture Collective in Arnaudville promotes artists, spoken word presenters, musicians, historians and so much more. It’s a community space where residents gather to speak indigenous languages, learn artistic expressions and find their people.
This fall, Nunu exhibits work by artist and illustrator Charles Chaisson and presents Phyllis Griffard’s film, “Louisiana Grass Roots” paired with her “Hidden in Plain Sight” exhibit along with Nunu artists’ interpretations of both, plus a live drawing exhibit. The center also brings back its Boo Bash Costume Party in time for Halloween.
“All this is peppered with potlucks, Cico’s singer-songwriter circles, Creole tables, French tables, drum circles, Living Room Concerts and occasional art workshops,” said Gene Paquette who runs publicity for the collective.
Learn more and sign up for their newsletter at nunu-arts-and-culture-collecti.constantcontactsites.com.
More On Stage
This fall, have a good laugh at Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne (Houma Little Theatre) with “Four Old Broads” Nov. 14-23. Next year, the community theater will offer “The Tin Woman,” Feb. 27 through March 8, “Out of Sight … Out of Murder,” April 24 through May 3 and the award-winning musical “Chicago” July 17 through Aug. 2. Tickets: houmalittletheatre.com.
Abbey Players at 200 S. State St. in Abbe-ville delights all ages with “Cat in the Hat” Oct. 3-5, followed by “The Rocky Horror Show” Oct. 23-26, “Artifice” by Anne Flanagan Dec. 12-14 and 19-21, the musical “Urinetown” Feb. 27-March 1 and March 6-8 and “Head Over Heels” May 8-10 and May 15-17. Tickets: abbeyplayers.com.
