Holiday shopping in Acadiana

     It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and that means it’s time to go shopping! Need a few suggestions? From large malls to souvenir and antique shops, Lafayette and its surrounding area collectively known as Acadiana have something for everyone. 

     ShopLafayette by Lafayette Travel spotlights fabulous shopping, warm and welcoming overnight stays and unique events for travelers and shoppers to enjoy. Visit the ShopLafayette website and on social media to get lots of shopping ideas from hundreds of merchants and businesses. Or visit our helpful interactive map to find the right spot. On Pinterest, you can view what Lafayette shops have to offer.
     New this year is the Acadiana Mall, which unveiled a new look in early November after months of extensive renovation.
     Some of the shopping areas in Lafayette include:

     Acadiana Mall

     The Oil Center

     Downtown Lafayette

     River Ranch Town Center and the Shops at River Ranch

     Parc Lafayette

     …and so much more!

     Between now and Christmas there are several fun shopping events. For instance, the Lafayette Art Association will host its “Marche Noel” or Holiday Art Market with dozens of local artists and crafters from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, at the gallery on 1008 East St. Mary Street in Lafayette.

     Christmas at Coteau, a holiday market with special events to raise funds for the Schools of the Sacre Heart at Grand Coteau, will be Dec. 6 and 7 in Grand Coteau, about 20 minutes north of Lafayette. This year’s schedule of events includes a Holiday Market, Coteau Café, Coteau Celebration, Le Petit-Déjeuner Avec Les Saints and a gourmet luncheon featuring the cuisine of Ruffino’s On The River.

     Check back as we update this blog for more holiday shopping ideas!

Steampunk visits Lafayette

      The Steampunk and Maker's Fair, a joint adventure between Cité des Arts and the Lafayette Science Museum, will be 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, at both attractions and the Lafayette Public Library in downtown Lafayette. 

      The Steampunk movement started as a literary genre that is associated with the industrialization of the late 1800s and the futuristic writings of Jules Verne. It has expanded into music, costuming, accessories and invention. Enter the “Maker's,” who are both inventors and producers that bring their unique ideas to life. The “marriage” of these two unique groups will showcase Lafayette as an incubator for creative people and inventors, including existing businesses.  

     The Festival will feature live performance, including music, contests of all kinds (fashion, literary, beards, etc.) demonstrations, food and vendors. (The Louisiana Beard and Facial Hair Association will be organizing the Fair Beard and Mustache Competition.) Special performances for "Steampunk after Dark" will be an original musical by Travis Guillory titled “The Undertaker and His Wife” and a performance of "Boom Boom Burlesque" at Cité Des Arts.

     InventureWorks will be organizing "The Vault" pitch event for University of Louisiana-Lafayette and South Louisiana Community College students of Industrial Design, Architecture and Engineering. Up to 10 students will be invited to participate with winners receiving valuable prizes as well as mentorship from the UL College of Business Administration and incubation at Louisiana Economic Development Authority’s Opportunity Machine. Ideas should be submitted electronically by Oct. 25 to the InventureWorks website at www.inventureworks.com/submit/. Visit www.inventureworks.com/vault for more information.

Fall into great music with Acadiana Symphony Orchestra

     Join Maestro Mariusz Smolij and the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra this fall for three fun-filled and unique concerts.

     On Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, the orchestra presents “Legacy of the Atchafalaya Masterwork Concert No. 2” at 6 p.m. at the Heymann Performing Arts Center. The guest artists will be 2013 Grammy winners The Harlem Quartet performing beloved American classics and Christine Balfa will sing two ballads written by Glenn McClure honoring our Atchafalaya Basin, the country's largest river swamp. Beethoven’s bold and glorious masterpiece rounds out the program. 

     Bring the kids Saturday, Nov. 9, to watch Disney’s “Fantasia” on a large screen with the original soundtrack performed by the ASO. The fun begins with a pre-concert VIP party for children with musical games, dancing, face painting and cookies and milk with a real princess and other special guests. The movie with accompanying orchestra begins at 4 p.m., all at the Heymann Performing Arts Center.

     For the holidays, it’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at the Heymann Performing Arts Center.

     For tickets to these and other ASO events, click here.

Spooky fun in Acadiana

     Monster Energy Drinks and the Lafayette Science Museum Foundation present the Museum of Fear on select days from Friday, Oct. 11, 2013 until Halloween night. Admission is $10 at the door and all proceeds directly benefit the Lafayette Science Museum. The haunted house is built on the third floor of the museum located on Jefferson Street in the heart of downtown Lafayette and is not suitable for very young children. Prepare to be scared! Information: (337) 291-5544, visit their Facebook page.

     Throughout October (and after Halloween) are ghostly walks given by Haunted Lafayette Tours. Tours include ghost tours, secret society tours and haunted pub crawls on Oct. 26 and 31.

     On Oct. 12-13 and 19-20, re-enactors will share stories of past citizens of the Opelousas area among cemetery tombs in “Voices from our Past: St. Landry Catholic Church Cemetery Tours.” Tours are 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $10 per person. Information: (337) 942-6552.

     On Saturday, Oct. 26, there will be several spooky activities, beginning with the Boo Bayou Fall Carnival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Vermilionville. 

     Lafayette author Cheré Coen signs copies of “Haunted Lafayette” from noon to 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, then joins mediums Vicky Cormier and Allyson Glynn Schram and Cajun Traiteur Becca Begnaud for a “Coffee, Tea and Spirit” discussion from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Little Big Cup in nearby Arnaudville. Coen will also tell spooky tales at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, at Carpe Diem Espresso Bar downtown, part of the “Otherworldly Voices” literary series.

     Downtown Lafayette’s Movies in the Parc presents “Night of the Living Dead” (1968) screening at dusk Oct 26 in the Downtown Drive-In Parking Lot, 725 Jefferson St. Gates open at 6 p.m. and admission is $2, children ages 5 and under admitted free. 

     Let out your inner zombie at the Lafayette Zombie Walk, which begins at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at Parc San Souci in downtown Lafayette. The event is free for the walking dead and all ages welcome. After the walk, all zombies arrive back at Parc San Souci for music, activities, drinks and food.
     The University of Louisiana-Lafayette Symphony presents its annual all-ages Halloween Concert on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in Angelle Hall Auditorium on the UL campus. Orchestra members will wear costumes and perform spooky music, such as "Phantom of the Opera," "March to the Scaffold" and "Die Fledermaus (The Bat)." There will be guest appearances by Shawn Roy, Garth Alper, Jeff George, the UL Dance Department, UL Chorus and Lafayette Ballet Theatre. Admission is $8 for adults, free to ages 17 and younger and UL and staff members with ID. All proceeds benefit the UL Lafayette Orchestra Program.
     Finally, on the big night of Halloween, trick or treating hours will be between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. within the City of Lafayette. The First Baptist Church of Lafayette will host its annual free Fall Fest from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., rain or shine, at the church at 1100 Lee Ave. downtown. Activities include a fun jump, games and "Trunk or Treat." Several food trucks will be available.
     Also on Halloween, as a fundraiser for Cite des Arts cultural arts center, there will be a special 7:30 p.m. screening of "Birth of the Living Dead," a documentary on the making of "Night of the Living Dead," plus a burlesque performance by Boom Boom Review at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. The Boom Boom Review will also perform at 9:30 p.m. Halloween night at Cite des Arts, 109 Vine St. in downtown Lafayette.

Un tour, s’il vous plait? Acadian Village to offer French tours

     LARC’s Acadian Village, a historic recreation of a Cajun-Creole village with authentic historic homes and buildings, is offering guided tours in English and French during Festivals Acadien et Creole (Oct. 11-13) this year.  

     Allen Simon, Acadian Village resident tour guide, will discuss Acadian culture, history and heritage and the history of LARC’s Acadian Village during the tours.  

     These special bilingual tours will be given at the following times and dates:

     Friday, Oct. 11 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.;

     Saturday, Oct. 12 at noon and 2 p.m.;

     Sunday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m.; and 

     Monday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m.

     For more information, visit www.acadianvillage.org

Caffeinating Lafayette

            We love our coffee in South Louisiana, whether it’s straight black, with cream and sugar or full of those fancy new flavors. Because of our Creole and Cajun heritage, our coffee packs a punch — just like our flavorful cuisine!

            Like most cities, Lafayette has its share of Starbucks, plus Community Coffee restaurants, a Louisiana coffee producer with headquarters in Baton Rouge. But there are several locally owned coffee shops throughout Acadiana, plus Reve coffee roasters servicing the greater Acadiana area.

            Here are a few Lafayette coffee shops:

            America’s Coffee House downtown offers changing art exhibits, art events and comfy couches, plus free Wifi.

            Carpe Diem Gelato-Espresso Bar is another downtown spot where diners can purchase espressos, cappuccinos, lattes and café Americana, in addition to delectable gelato.

            Johnston Street Java offers coffee and locally produced baked goods, plus space for company, conversation and companionship in front of The Grand movie theater. Free Wi-Fi is available here and the restaurant includes a drive-through.

            In River Ranch, The Lab Handcrafted Coffees & Comforts provides coffees and teas but also cold sweet creams (a hybrid of ice cream and gelatos), artisan chocolate bars and pastries.

            Black Café in downtown Lafayette offers specialty coffees plus breakfast, lunch and dinner offerings. Their specialty are the Scottish Eggs, hard-boiled eggs wrapped in delicious items such as potatoes, pork sausage or chicken and fried.  

            Bibi’s Patisserie and Tea House is a dedicated gluten-free, low-glycemic, allergen friendly establishment that also serves up freshly made coffees.
           In neighboring Scott, there’s the Coffee Depot (be sure and sample the beignets) and in nearby Breaux Bridge, there’s Café Joie de Vivre.

What’s new at the Lafayette Science Museum

     During the fall, the Lafayette Science Museum and Planetarium goes all out. 

     First, the museum hosts a “Bach Lunch” free music series beginning at 11:15 a.m. most Fridays in Parc San Souci, corner of Polk, Congress and Vermilion streets in downtown Lafayette. Restaurants serve up great food (by purchase) and bands perform free. 

     In October, the Museum of Fear opens nightly, a haunted house that’s so much more, and the month culminates with the Zombie Walk on Oct. 26. Folks in costumes (or perhaps escaping from “The Walking Dead”) begin their zombie trek from Parc San Souci and travel throughout the downtown Lafayette streets.

     “It’s so much fun to see people get scared,” said Kevin Krantz, director of the Lafayette Science Museum and Planetarium. “The Zombie Walk is more performance art than anything else.”

     Finally, on Nov. 9, the museum teams up with Cité des Arts for the annual Steampunk and Makers Fair. 

     In the works are more partnerships, one with the University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) Center, where the museum will highlight all of the impressive things happening at LITE.

     Another new feature to debut soon at the museum is the virtual aquarium.

     “We don’t have to clean it,” Krantz joked about the massive aquarium with hundreds of salt water fish people can view through 3-D glasses. “We don’t have to feed them either.”

     The following is the Bach Lunch schedule for fall, 2013:

     October 4: Les Freres Michot with food by Chris’ Po-Boys, Ema’s Café.

     October 11: The Mercy Brothers with food by Creole Lunch House, Hub City Diner, Joey’s Specialty Foods and Roly Poly.

     October 18: Sassafras Jubilee with food by Agave Cantina, O’Charley’s Restaurant and Joey’s Specialty Foods.

     October 25: The Yvette Landry Band with Chick Fil A, Deano’s, iMonelli and Poupart’s Bakery.

     November 1: Pine Leaf Trio with food by The French Press, Jefferson Street Pub and Zea’s Rotisserie & Grill.

     November 8: Les Bassettes with food by Cena to Go and Bailey’s Seafood & Grill.