A&E

RemINDer: Dr. Michael White's jazz at AcA Friday

by Dominick Cross

The Endowment for Humanities' Humanist of the Year Award winner and recent Treme star, Dr. Michael White and his seven-piece band will bring some New Orleans-style jazz to close out the AcA's  inaugural jazz season.

Famed jazz clarinetist Dr. Michael White Friday, 8 p.m., in the James Devin Moncus Theater. The Acadiana Center for the Arts and Lisa and Chuck Boudreaux present the show.

The Endowment for Humanities' Humanist of the Year Award winner and recent Treme star, White and his seven-piece band will bring some New Orleans-style jazz to close out the AcA's  inaugural jazz season.

Tickets are $18-$45 and can be purchased here, at The Box Office at 101 W Vermilion St, or by calling  (337) 233-7060. An AcA membership discount is available for all performances and workshops. Ticketing fees may apply.

Creole String Beans at DTA!

With the fine weather of late, don't miss Creole String Beans at Downtown Alive! Friday, at Parc Sans Souci.

The band's song selection consists of a repertoire that ranges from Fats Domino and Bobby Charles to Duke Ellington and NRBQ. Called "the best tasting band in New Orleans" by Chef John Besh, The Creole String Beans have defined a new era in 21st Century "Y'at Rock" on stages from the New Orleans Jazz Fest to back-o-town dives. Check out the band here.

DTA! begins at 5:30 p.m. with food and beverage concessions musical performances from 6-8:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted. Concession sales help keep DTA! free, so please leave your ice chests at home with your pets. For more information, visit www.downtownlafayette.org. Downtown Alive! is produced by Downtown Lafayette in cooperation with Lafayette Consolidated Government

Storytellers back at Cite

Cité des Arts, 109 Vine St., offers up Jim Phillips who will present The Spinner's Web,
Storyteller's Night, Saturday 7 p.m. with Barry Ancelet, storyteller and folklorist;
Mitchell Reed, storyteller and musician with BeauSoleil; Sally O.
Donlon, storyteller and educator; Danny Barnhill storyteller with his
own "chorus."

In celebration of The Bicentennial of Louisiana Statehood. The Spinner's Web,
Storyteller's Night will pit storyteller against storyteller to explain how the world and humanity works or to tell completely meaningless stories that are very funny or to celebrate the Louisiana Purchase and its restoration of hope for the future of our
children.

Tickets are available online at www.citedesarts.org or make reservations by calling (337) 291-1122. First come, first served.

Spinner's Web is also a dinner theatre event: Order an organic meal from Conscious Cuisine. Menu for ordering a meal is online. Pay via PayPal at www.citedesarts.org. Your nutrient rich and delicious food will be ready an hour before the storytelling begins.

**T Coon Touchet induction Saturday
**

Acadian Museum at the museum and cafe in Erath will induct T Coon Touchet of New Iberia as a Living Legend, 4 p.m. Saturday. Touchet played steel guitar on The Back Door, considered by many the most popular Cajun song written by D.L. Menard. Two others who played on the classic record 50 years ago will also be on hand: Menard and Joe Lopez of New Iberia.

SRO crowd means 2nd showing of T-Galop

Tuesday evening, Casa Azu, 232 ML King Dr. in Grand Coteau hosted a screening of the documentary T-Galop to a standing-room-only crowd. T-Galop will be shown again on Tuesday, May 22 at 7 p.m., at Casa Azul Gifts to accommodate those who were turned away. The screening will be followed by a Q & A session with director Connie Castille.

T-Galop, A Louisiana Horse Story, was written and directed by Connie Castille. The documentary explores the horse culture here in the great state of Louisiana. Creole cowboys and Cajun jockeys, Cotton Knights and Mardi Gras revelers reveal the long history and blend between Creoles and Cajuns and the horses they love. This equine love affair began more than 250 years ago on the first ranches of South Louisiana. Creoles and Cajuns are some of America's first cowboys. Not only essential to work, horses were often the focus of French Louisiana's renowned joie de vivre.

A trailer of this film can be seen here.

Sponsored by the Festival of Words, the free community event is open to all ages. More info available at (337) 662-1032 or 280-5517.

Good news for NuNu's

Louisiana's Culture Connection Celebration 2012 honored the national recognition of Arnaudville's Deux Bayous Cultural District, a participant in the prestigious Mayor's Institute on City Design Creative Placemaking study.

The Deux Bayous Cultural District is one of eight Louisiana organizations and programs to receive commendation from Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne at the 2012 celebration.

The Deux Bayous Cultural District serves to promote the arts by providing sale tax exemptions for the purchase of original art. The district also encourages restoration by making some properties eligible for state historic tax credits.

The Deux Bayous Cultural District resulted from strong public sector support and responsive government leadership. The district is a factor in the "NuNu-Arnaudville Experiment," a rural art initiative begun in 2005. That national recognition comes in the shape of example on how a small rural community is redefining itself.

Creative Placemaking is a White Paper of The Mayors' Institute on City Design, a leadership initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the United States Conference of Mayors and American Architectural Foundation. The "NuNu-Arnaudville Experiment" is one of several case studies within the Creative Placemaking report.