On the night when the world is supposed to end, what better place to be than with fellow foodies and oenophiles dancing by the river? And, that's exactly what guests did at Monrovia, the palatial pad of party animal Monroe Stephenson, for a sultry summer night of dining and socializing. Leonard Louviere warmed up the crowd with Zea's famous Thai ribs and margaritas. For the main event, Great Dishes of the American South, Chef John Panaro cooked up fried chicken, fried oysters, pork roast, collard greens with sweet potatoes, Hoppin' John salad, three kinds of cornbread, sweet potato bread pudding and berry cobbler (served with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, of course!). After dinner, partiers shot tequila and boogied down along the banks of the Vermilion until well after midnight. Now, that's my kind of party!
Allison and Allen Womble
Bryan and Angie Spallino, Denise Arceneaux
and Stacy Lee
Chef John Panaro
Chef John Panaro, and Pokey and Nell Aucoin
Denise Arceneaux and Leonard Louviere
Michelle Vallot, Russell Whiting and Angela Becnel
China came to Lafayette for a festive reception held at the Lafayette Art Association for special guests of former Acadiana Symphony Orchestra conductor Xiao-Lu Li and his wife, Yang Yang. Guests sipped wine and enjoyed music from guitarist Gino Giles (playing a custom-made six-string guitar) while perusing artworks from 18 talented Acadiana artists. Jin Liu, one of the in-demand artists in China, described his exquisite and intricate limited designs painted on a ceramic rice bowl. For the bi-cultural occasion, LAA provided a generous spread of Chinese cuisine from ChopSticks.
Artist Darlene Marr and Ellen Caillouet
Artist/retired Judge Judy Fuller with her paintings
Artists Sara Parker and Vaughan Burdin Simpson
Artists Judy Fuller, Phyllis Malczyk and
Vaughan Burdin Simpson
Xiao-Lu Li, Paul Leu, artist Jin Liu, Anna Chen,
Gang Ren and Kai Wang