On Monday, March 18th at 11:30am, LA Orphan Train Museum board President Martha Aubert and board member James Douget share the story of the orphan train movement and stories of riders who came to Louisiana. This event is in Griffin Hall room 415 and is sponsored by ULL and Guilbeau Center for Public History. Lunch will be provided. For more information, click here.

Balfa Week offers immersive classes, multi-day lessons and workshops that have you studying face-to-face with master musicians, cooks, and craftspeople in a nature-based setting. Spontaneous jams, lakeside campfires, new friends from around the world are waiting for you at Lakeview Park in Eunice, LA. Balfa Week rolls from March 19th-24th. Whether you come for the whole week, a few days or even just the nightly dances, there is something for everyone to enjoy. For more information, visit https://lafolkroots.org/balfa-week.

The Lafayette Parish Master Gardeners Association is hosting their 2nd annual Dans le Jardin. This symposium on the challenges in gardening will be held on March 22nd from 8am-3pm at the LITE Center. In addition to the four one-hour main presentations, tabletop exhibits will be displayed on additional topics, such as Setting up a Home Irrigation System and Plant Propagation and Cottage Gardens. Door prizes will be given out throughout the event and a silent auction will be held. Attendees will each receive a plant as a thank you for attending this symposium. To register or get more information, visit https://www.lpmga.org/dans-le-jardin-2024.html.

This year is the 38th annual Festival International de Louisiane and it will be here before we know it. This 5-day music and arts celebration is packed with cultures and tastes from around the world. Staff and volunteers are working endlessly to make this one-of-a-kind festival happen. With an outstanding music lineup, art scene, and food, you will not want to miss out on this 5-day party, beginning on April 24th and closing out on April 28th. For all the FIL information you may need, visit https://www.festivalinternational.org/.

The UL Lafayette History Department is hosting a community history workshop and guest lecture by MA history student Logan Fontenot on the history of the desegregation at UL Lafayette (formerly SLI/USL). You can use this event to share your memories and help fill in the absences in the official archival record. This will take place March 9th from 2pm-4pm in the Gaines Center, on the third floor of Dupre Library. For more information, click here.

Opportunities to take part in the local art scene are popping up left and right at the ACA. Artwalk, which takes place on the second Saturday of each month, will be on March 9th. The "In Medias Res" series has a new exhibit, "How One Story Becomes Another". This is a group exhibition featuring artworks from local and regional artists in dialogue with the poetry of former Louisiana poet laureate Darrell Bourque. For information on these events and more, click here.

This year’s speakers are experts from the private, public and non-profit sectors who work tirelessly to obtain native and/or disturbed land, advocate for development with nature in mind and/or innovate to restore those landscapes to their native, resilient origins with input and aid from the communities in which the restored landscapes are located. Seth Blitch, the Louisiana Coastal Director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) will serve as this year’s honorary chair, opening the symposium with the important work TNC has done not only in Louisiana but across the nation. Conversations regarding land acquisition, funding mechanisms, engineering and landscape design, ecological, financial, and anthropogenic benefits, community engagement and examples of creative nature-based projects will be explored during the remainder of the day with presentations as well a 1-hour panel discussion moderated by journalist and news anchor, Scott Brazda.This one-day educational event will be held from 8 a.m. — 2 p.m. at the LITE Center Check-in

On Sunday, March 17th, 2024, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper will host its 8th Annual Save The Basin event at Artmosphere in Downtown Lafayette! Come enjoy the unique Cajun-inspired artists, silent auction, raffles and stick around for live music from Michael Doucet et Chad Viator, Forest Huval Band, The Babineaux Sisters and Drew Landry. Every attendee receives a raffle ticket for a swamp tour for up to 6 people with Basinkeeper Dean Wilson. Guest speakers will be discussing our organizations’ most critical achievements in the Basin and some of the most troublesome hurdles to date facing our progress in conservation. All proceeds from the event – including 10 percent of all food – will go directly towards protecting and restoring the Basin. For tickets, information and more, go to https://www.basinkeeper.org/events/2024/3/17/8th-annual-save-the-basin-event.

Come out to Cité des Arts Sunday on March 10 for a fundraiser for David Cheramie and Family. By celebrating and supporting our dear friend and supporter of our Louisiana French culture and our local community, you can help defray the costs of his medical bills. Come enjoy performances by Acadiana’s finest musicians like Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys, Bonsoir Catin, The Magnolia Sisters, Les Frères Michot, The Savoy Family and so many more, readings by Louisiana French poets, theatre and songs by French Immersion students, along with jambalaya and a variety of food and drinks for purchase and a silent auction! For more information, click here.

Kindergarten registration is ramping up for Lafayette Parish schools and Amanda Blanco is here to walk us through that process. For more information, click here. Dr. Holly Boffy is the principal of the W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center and is here to tell us more about what this school offers. The Career Center serves as an extension of the high schools in the Lafayette Parish School System. This innovative school offers students a wide array of resources and many different courses to choose from. To receive more information about the Career Center, visit https://www.lpssonline.com/schools/careercenter.