Evangeline Downs, Olympians, Campanella road trip & more
And they’re off!
The summer 2016 issue of Louisiana Cultural Vistas debuts this week with stories from the race tracks, ball fields, and arenas of “Sportsman’s Paradise.” Sports continue to hold a central place in the lives of Louisianans, and our writers and photographers explored the ways sports have shaped the history of our state.
Visit KnowLouisiana.org today to read…
- Alan Broussard and Conni Castille on the rise and fall of the original Evangeline Downs race track in Carencro.
- Lacar Musgrove on the bicycle racing craze in New Orleans during the 1880s.
New columns from…
- Ben Sandmel on Herlin Riley, Loretta Lynn and Dave Bartholomew.
- Gwendolyn Knapp on the Creole tomato farmers of the French Market.
- Bradley Sumrall on the Ogden Museum’s new exhibit on New Orleans graffiti.
And the debut of the “Geographer’s Space” web series with columnist Richard Campanella.
We also have updated entries on Louisiana athletes, professional teams and sporting events including…
- Audrey Patterson-Tyler, the first African American woman to medal in the Olympics.
- Shreveport native and Louisiana Tech alum Terry Bradshaw.
- The Negro Leagues of Louisiana, home to the New Orleans Black Pelicans, the New Orleans Crescent Stars, and the Monroe Monarchs, and independent teams in Shreveport, Baton Rouge, Ferriday, Covington, Slidell, Metairie, and Ruston.
The issue serves as a companion to the Museum on Main Street “Hometown Teams” exhibition currently touring the state through a partnership between the Smithsonian Institute and the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Museums and libraries in six Louisiana communities will host the exhibition, which examines the role of sports in U.S. society. LEH-funded programs accompany tour stops in Winnsboro, Homer, Natchitoches, Ruston, Long Leaf, and Abita Springs. Click here to learn more.
Join us in Natchitoches on June 25, 2-4pm, as we celebrate new issue during the opening of “Hometown Teams” tour stop at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum. The reception is co-hosted with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser and takes place during the 2016 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction weekend festivities. Click here for more info.
The issue also includes the latest installment in our 2016 Pulitzer Prize Centennial Campfires Initiative, an essay by Whitney Plantation Director of Research Ibrahima Seck on Wynton Marsalis‘ 1997 jazz oratorio, Blood on the Fields.
Subscribe to Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine today! Subscriptions are $20/4 issues or $35/8 issues.