Quilting is an art form still honored and celebrated in St. Landry Parish. Every year, on the second Saturday in July, The Krotz Springs Quilters Guild presents the Annual Quilt Show & Sale in Krotz Springs, Louisiana. This is a special event for anyone interested in quilting, needle-craft, or folk art. View a beautiful display of quilts, needlework demonstrations, or shop at the silent auction and boutique.
On Saturday, October 25, support local firemen and celebrate Louisiana’s unofficial state bird, the mosquito, at the Louisiana Mosquito Festival. This inaugural event takes place at Landon Pitre Memorial Park in Cankton and will feature live music from talented local musicians, a delicious cook-off, blood drive, silent auction, vendors and children’s activities.
Headlining the event will be Richard LeBeouf, but you can also catch performances by Rory Suire & Closing Time, Caramel Cowboy Raikwon Green, Honky Tonk Mike Broussard, Dylan Aucoin, and Hunter Courville & Cajun Fever.
Children’s activities include buzz competitions, coloring pages, mosquito wrangling as well as fun jumps, and arts & crafts.
Come on out and have a good time!
In partnership with the Louisiana Historic Preservation Fund, Levity, and Art Transit Authority, NUNU’s is excited to announce a new series of community residencies and afternoon discussion tables with historic preservation experts to inform the public on their fields.
NUNU Art and Culture Collective (NUNUs) is a repository for conversation, and a gathering point for citizens within the tri-community area of Sunset, Grand Coteau, and Arnaudville to discuss cultural topics. In their 2024 report, the National Academies of Sciences has outlined the realities of community-driven relocation in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region due to the changes in the insurance policy landscape. The tri-community area can expect a population influx within the next decade. Within this migration there is a need to prepare to present, share, and change existing architecture, lifeways, and culture. Development will increase the interest and need for preservation projects within the area, and pressure local citizens to quickly engage with and understand cultural change and historic preservation.
Aware of these changes, NUNU’s is developing programming to establish relational connections to the Historical preservation process.
Building with is a series of four free public discussion tables designed to increase community knowledge of programs that enhance a broader collective understanding of historic preservation strategies and resources.
The monthly events will take place on Saturdays from May to August 2025. The series aims to foster dialogue in the Sunset, Grand Coteau, and Arnaudville area, which are inherently linked through shared history, communities, businesses, and built architectural culture. The tables are designed to invite local architecture firms, historic homeowners, and historians community-wide for discussions on dreaming of future projects in the area, and provide interaction and dialogue with experts to catalyze future projects. It is an opportunity to network and understand the local field in order to create, support, and advocate for historic preservation within the community.
Through this series NUNU’s shall invite leading architects, historians, anthropologists, and policy makers to discuss preliminary topics in historic preservation through a 1-2 day stay within the existing NUNU residency program. Each residency shall include a tour of local area and a public program on their professional expertise. The knowledge shared within these residencies directly addresses needs of historic preservation, cultural resources, and conservation.
The goal of this program is to increase agency, engagement, and collaboration in the future of the community. The public’s understanding and relational ties are vital components to the region’s next phase of growth to ensure the communities are prepared to take on projects to celebrate while welcoming the future of their changing composition. These relational connections are a critical foundation for designing connected projects, and create the preliminary environment for developing informed historic preservation and community development.
The series takes place on the third Saturdays of the month from May through August from 2 to 4 at NUNU Arts and Culture Collective.
May 17, 2025 – Karen W. McKinney
June 21, 2025 – W. Geoff Gjertson
July 17, 2025 – Dr. Diane Jones-Allen
August 19, 2025 – Page Comeaux
Join monthly crafting classes at the Old Schoolhouse Antique Mall in Washington, Louisiana every 2nd Saturday (except April, October, and December). Unleash your creativity with Dixie Belle Paint, Pentart, and Decoupage papers as you explore unique techniques to create stunning, personalized projects. Perfect for all skill levels, these classes inspire imagination and hands-on fun in a welcoming, creative environment. Sign up today to craft something beautiful. Learn more here.
The National Park Service and Louisiana Folk Roots, with support in part by St. Martin Parish Tourism, will host a day of French language learning activities on March 24th to kick off the 2025 Dewey Balfa Cajun and Creole Week at the Prairie Acadian Culture Center in Eunice. This event is open and FREE to the public and will be accessible to all French speaking levels.
It will be an immersive experience incorporating the French language with activities such as making traditional Creole dishes with Rebecca Henry, a well-known Creole culture bearer and native French speaker. Participants will also have the opportunity to play, sing, and learn songs in French from the talented Renée Reed.
We are excited to partner with the Prairie Acadian Culture Center and NPS for this event as they re-open their facilities in Eunice after a few years of being shuttered for improvements. What better way to kick off a week of Cajun and Creole culture, music, and language sharing at Balfa Camp than right down the road at Lakeview Park in Eunice!
Registration is required, limited spots available.
On Wednesday, March 5th at 7:30pm, NUNU Art & Culture Collective in Arnaudville, you can enjoy a night of music with Dana Cooper, Dustin Dale Gaspard, and Reece Sullivan.
Over his 50+ year career, Dana Cooper has recorded over 30 albums and continues to tour actively. His last release, “The Ghost of Tucumcari” featured guest artists Lyle Lovett, Hayes Carll, Susan Gibson,and others. Dustin Dale Gaspard’s songwriting speaks to the soul of rural roots listeners and alternative folk lovers alike, while delivering an intimate insight into the Cajun native’s groove felt mysticism.
Originally from Arkansas, Reece Sullivan now lives in Lafayette and plays the surrounding states regularly. Over the course of the years, Sullivan has reinvented himself musically many times: piano to guitar, classical to art rock, art rock to folk, flat picking to finger-picking, solely songwriting to performing.
Admission is $25. You can purchase tickets here.
Learn about interesting artifacts from deep inside the vaults of the Opelousas Museum. With a focus on local history and culture, the Opelousas Museum has kept exhibits and artifacts in its current location since the 90s, but the stories it tells stretch all across time. From pre-history to early settlers and the impact of slavery, to free people of color and the Civil War, and even local legends like Rodney Milburn, there is plenty to learn about here.
Refreshments will be provided.
Natchitoches native Caleb Elliott spent many years creating and performing around Lafayette before moving on to the Muscle Shoals music scene. Most recently Elliott performed at the Acadiana Center for the Arts with Nashville recording artists the Secret Sisters. He returns to the area on Wednesday September 25 to open the fall season at the intimate listening room at NUNU Art & Culture Collective in Arnaudville. With him will be Muscle Shoals performing artist Jordan Allen Dean.
Tickets are $20: events.humanitix.com/nunu92524
On Saturday, October 26 from 7pm-11pm help the NUNU Arts and Culture Collective in Arnaudville cool off with their “Cool the Culture Campaign.” NUNU, a vibrant, all-volunteer-powered non-profit organization celebrating a banner year of rich experiences, aims to raise $50,000 by June 1, 2025, to install long needed air-conditioning and insulation to preserve art, artists, and patrons in these sultry climes.
At the Boo! Bash Fundraiser, Bonsoir Catin with Christine Balfa & Friends (followed by DJ Shane Guidry) will be performing. You can also enjoy food, drinks, costume contest, auctions, and dancing for a worthy cause
Arts and culture supporters: you are invited to join NUNU in this effort anytime by visiting our online donation page: https://givebutter.com/ZiIenp.
Thanks to the unwavering support of its community and volunteers, NUNU has hosted a remarkable range of events in the last year: French / Kreyol, Film Screenings, Musical Delights, Art Exhibitions, Cultural Gatherings, Art Education, Artists-in-Residence, Visiting Artists, Campus Enhancements.
For an interview regarding the Boo! Bash or the history of NUNU, please contact Gene Paquette at gene@powellschicago.com.
On October 19th from 9am-4pm, Black Pot Bookshop in downtown Opelousas hosts their market on the corner of Vine and S. Market Street in the St Landry Bank Lot. This free market will have handmade crafts, tasty treats, and even some kid-friendly fun with face painting and ice cream. Play Halloween games and win even more candy and prizes!
