Big Blend Radio
K. Nicole Connell - Natchitoches is Fun for Everyone!
Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer, Parks & Rec Month, Picnic Month, Family Reunion Month, and more on this episode of Big Blend Radio’s “Go to Natchitoches” Podcast.
From Zydeco and Meat Pie Festivals to cruising Cane River Lake and exploring Cane River Creole National Historical Park, K. Nicole Connell of the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau talks about the various multigenerational experiences this beautiful and historic destination offers.
Founded in 1714, Natchitoches is the original French Colony and oldest settlement in Louisiana. Celebrating a vibrant blend of French, Spanish, African, Native American, and Creole cultures, this charming city is part of the Cane River National Heritage Area and Louisiana’s No Man’s Land. Plan Your Visit to Natchitoches and check out the event calendar at https://natchitoches.com/
Follow Big Blend Radio's "Go to Natchitoches" show and check out the past episodes here: https://natchitoches-louisiana.podbean.com/
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- Duration:
- 28m
- Broadcast on:
- 17 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
Welcome to Big Blend Radio's third Tuesday Go to Natural Show, where we explore what you can experience in the state of Louisiana's oldest city. Welcome, everyone. Today's episode of Big Blend Radio's Go to Natural Podcast is all about summer, when that dog days, summer, it is warm, it's hot, let's be honest, but there's things to do. And there's Caine River Lake, there's water, sports, there's all kinds of things you can do in Nakadish, the oldest city in Louisiana. So we're going to talk about that, and we're also going to talk about fall, early fall, so you can start scheduling now because fall gets busy, y'all. It does. And of course, we have Nicole Connell on the show from the Nakadish Tourism or Nakadish Convention and Visitor Bureau back on the show, and you can go to Nakadish.com for all these events we're talking about. And that is NA-T-C-H-I-T-O-C-H-S dot com. And it's linked in the episode notes. So welcome back, Nicole. How are you? Hey, I'm good. Low warm down here, but we're doing good. Yeah, I'm glad you guys are all there. I mean, we've had some crazy weather with hurricanes and tornadoes flying across the country. Yeah. It may be warm, but I was looking that there's still a lot to do in Nakadish, and I think, you know, I want people to know with you guys being the oldest city in Louisiana. You definitely have such a diverse blend of cultures that people can experience at these different events and the history, right? When we look at the history of your area, because you were founded in 1714 before America became a United States. We've been here for a little while, yep. Yeah, yeah. So definitely history. This month, July, with Parks and Rec Month, it's also Picnic Month, National Picnic Month. And they also say July is Family Reunion Month, and so is August. And August, as we ease into that, is American Adventures Month. And I think with all the history in the parks, it's actually National Forest. It's a good time to touch on those experiences people can have. Because you've got a lot of parks, including King River Creole National Historical Park. That's a big one. We're looking forward to that. We're excited to have a new National Park in town. The King River Creole National Historical Park will be opening their own visitor center and have their headquarters in an old train depot here. So they have been working diligently. The physical aspects of the headquarters is done. They're working on the interpretive pieces that go on the inside, and we cannot wait to show off that phenomenal building. Do you know when they're going to actually open? Is it fall? The key words that we have been given are the end of the year before the end of the year. Okay, cool. Yeah, just stay in touch. And King River Creole National Historical Park is divided between, you've got two plantations, Magnolia Plantation and Oakland Plantation. And I was looking that in fall, September 21st, it will be fall, y'all. They have a field day, and I was looking it up, and it sounds like a blast. You know, it's kind of like field sports. So like Corn Hall, I know you all like Corn Hall. It's fun to play. I can go ahead and live. Yes. It is. Sacraces. I mean, do you remember doing those as kids like sacraces? I do. I grew up here. Went to junior high here. And so I remember the days of sacraces at NSU Middle Lab School. Ah, see, but you like to do all these marathons, maybe not in summer, right? So are you going to go marathon in the sack? Yeah, I'm going to give it a try. I knew it. I knew it. That's awesome. That's awesome. So a lot happening. And then we should also say that Melrose Plantation is another awesome destination and historic site to experience. It's that to go and do that and find out more about Clementine Hunter. And it was like an artist retreat and like, you know, writers were there, artists were there, right? So if you're into the arts, I'd say that would be a good place to go. And you can stay inside in there, too, in the Plantation House and stay cool. Yes, that was beautiful. Mrs. Cami Henry had just the perfect spot for people to hone in on their art skills. It's absolutely beautiful and so serene out there. Oh, it is gorgeous. Those big oak trees, you know, man, that's a thing, too. When you get those summer showers, then the resurrection ferns on the oak trees. Yeah, aren't they pretty? Yeah. Yeah, gorgeous. They're gorgeous. So I hear the farmer's market is rocking and rolling. It is. It seems to be getting bigger every weekend. I had a huge crowd Saturday. You know, if you can imagine, you've been on the Riverbank before. So if you can imagine the Riverbank is the backdrop for a farmer's market. I mean, what better place to be on a Saturday morning than strolling along the Cane River. Yeah, nice. And so it's every Saturday? It is. Every Saturday. Oh, I speak on the ongoing events. So are they, do they still do the downtown walking tours, the Cane River National Heritage area? Are they still doing those guided walking tours of the historic Nakadish district? They do every, every Wednesday through Saturday. They don't do them Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, but Wednesday through Saturday. They start right here in our office, which is 780 front street. You can stop in here, get your day going with a tour of the historic district. And we like to tell people that that's a good starting point for your Nakadish visit. It gives you an overview of the historic district. And you may learn or hear about something that you want to investigate a little bit further on your own. So it's a good starting point. It gives you a great overview of Nakadish, how Cane River came to be. A lot of the historical points that we have around town. And you may, you may learn something and you want to revisit a particular area. So it's a great spot to get your visit kicked off from. I love it. I love it. And you do the walking tour and then you've got the state park, the old fort right down the street, which really ties into the history too. Yes. Yes. Everything you ever wanted to know about how Nakadish came to be. The soldiers and the Indians, being friends and how they settled in this area. Everything you get, you get right there at the fort. You're also part of the El Camino Real De Los Tejas National Historic Trail, which is a trail that goes from Mexico up through San Antonio, Texas. And pretty much it stops in Nakadish, right? You're like the final destination. We are the end of the line. Right. Right. It's cool. It's super cool that history, Nancy and I've actually done parts of it now, like in Texas. Especially, you know, going from Nakadish, Louisiana to Nakadoches, Texas, which was the oldest city. So you could go do two oldest cities, the oldest city in Texas, the oldest city in Louisiana. And the history is really quite profound. And those two, the two cities are not these massive skyscraper cities whatsoever. Right. You guys share some history. So do a lot of guests go back and forth between the two cities? Yes, especially. So one of our big events for the El Camino is our continuous, I think it's up to 150 miles now sale on the trail, which is the first weekend of every May. So that's a fun way to do the trail too. It's continuous garage sales and some cities have really built up at Nakadish is working on building up the area that's in the historic district. Mandy, which is in neighboring Sabine Parish does a really good job of forest food trucks, live music. And so it's just a fun time plus you get to do a lot of shopping. Oh, yeah. See, I think this is great for people to start planning. So that's every spring in May, right? May is the time to go for that. Get in May. Yeah, you know, and speaking of Parks and Rec, like it was just Forest Week, National Forest Week. And I always want to tell people about Kissachi National Forest. It's the only national forest in the state of Louisiana. But Carolyn Dorman spearheaded the protection of the forest and you can go to the forest, think of her in her history, but also go to Briarwood. I love Briarwood. It's a good time to go. It is beautiful out there. All the wild, wildflowers. You've got that pond, the grand pappy tree, but that's where Carolyn Dorman is from. She was a writer. She was an educator. She was an artist. It's a special property and they seem to be doing a ton. I'm always seeing them post stuff on, on Facebook. They're, there's, it's like, it's busy over there. Yes, they have a, I don't want to say, she's not new, but they have a new curator, Miss Bailey Brose, and she does a lot of events out there, a lot of educational program. She hosts various organizations, whether it be garden clubs for age, FFA, and really teaches them about the area that Carolyn Dorman started out there and the Louisiana Iris is out there that are just absolutely beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful when they're in bloom. And so it's a great learning, hands-on learning experience out there as well. It's good if you've got kids too. Yes, go to the events and the other thing, you know, we're talking about parks in Rekman, you know, you've got a lot of city parks, community parks, and what about getting in the water with it, you know, with it being warm? Are people boating and, and, you know, the King River Queen, is that rolling out on, you know, out on the river for people to go? It is. Captain Paul has, he's got a, he's got some specials going on right now as well. He has, he's doing private parties in addition to his tours. He just had his first boots and booze. It was BYOB, of course, but he takes you out and he lets you crank the music up and just have a good time for your special guest. Awesome, awesome. Now, you know, when I look at, you know, moving forward in, in, you know, parties, right? So special parties. So this month being family reunion month and so apparently next month to, I don't know, everybody's arguing over it. So I just say summer is a good time to get with your family, right? Yeah. But, and reconnect, you know, and I think it's so important that you do it, and if you go to a destination, it's really cool. So you can experience new things together. So what would you, would you say, Nakadish is a good place for family reunions? I'm thinking like, get the kids, get the families. I mean, everyone can enjoy going on the Kane River Queen. I mean, it's like, it's almost like a paddle boat, right? Right. You know, so all ages can experience that. There's, but I would say like even for our families to go to your film trail. I would, you know, just when you think about multi generational adventures, you need something that everyone in, maybe if they want to split up and come back together, but adventures that are, you know, something that all ages and abilities can do. Yeah, we see a lot of different family groups come in. They love the sports Hall of Fame, not only because of all the sports there, but the history there, and it's the kids enjoy looking at all the memorabilia. And so that's a really cool spot to have, you know, all different age groups. And then, of course, we've always done our still magnolias, self guided walking tour. And, you know, that's a lot of, that's a common denominator with a lot of, you know, if you get the girls on the girls trip of all ages, who doesn't love still magnolias. I think I'll talk to one person who said she didn't like the movie. And I'm going to ask her why because she cried at the end. Well, that's part of it. But yeah, but we love to see families come in. And, you know, everybody from grandmas to granddaughters can bond over still magnolias and the scenes in it. Yeah, exactly. And I think that's funny and that she didn't like it because I was crying because I'm thinking, Nicole's going to be like, you know, I might push you over into the cane river lake. There's some haters out there for you. You know, so where would you say a good spot with it being parks and rec month and picnic month? And, you know, I love, you know, there's nothing like a good picnic and obviously you want to do, you want shade right at this time of year and you may want to go at the end of the day. You might even want an evening picnic, you know, who knows. Where would you say is a good spot in Nackettish for a picnic? Well, I tell you, the first spot I would start with would be the Nackettish picnic company. We have a local picnic company who has a storefront downtown, who specifically does picnic boxes. Oh, I would, I would let them do all the kitchen work, get my boxes from the Nackettish picnic company and then probably head down to the riverbank because, as you know, how beautiful it is, and you can set up the scene there as someone who hasn't seen it their entire life. How pretty it is down there, you know, and there's there's shady spots down there. There's waterfront spots down there. So get right there. Yeah. Are you just trying to get me to say Bo Jar Dan? Right. I did. Did I do it? Did I do it? You did. That's it. Oh, I had to think too. I was like, don't say Bo Jar Dean, but Bo Jar Dan is beautiful. I mean, I know that a lot of weddings happen there, but you've got the waterfalls and, and then they do some restoration. It's got the oak trees right on the riverbank and you see herons and ducks and all kinds of things down there. That's a beautiful place for a picnic down there. Yeah. So my little quick story when my oldest son was young and we were trying to get rid of the pacifier. I took him down on the riverbank and there were ducklings, baby ducks down there. And the baby duck needed a pacifier. So he threw his pacifier to the baby ducks in the water and never asked for it again. So there's always educational opportunities on the riverbank as well. So there's a there's a there's a duckling with the pacifier from many, many years ago somewhere there. Yeah, I love it. I love it. So it's like quack, quack. That's where you got rubber deckies. Yeah. What's a pacifier? You need a rubber deckie that has a pacifier. I think that's exactly, exactly. You know, the other thing, you know, definitely the farmers market, but I want to talk to the cemetery walking tours. You know, always bring this up on every episode because it's so fascinating, you know, and, and it's a beautiful garden park setting kind of, you know, I look at the cemetery. It's very historic. The oldest in the Louisiana purchase and Scotty takes you out on walks. How it's every month, right? The first Friday of every month. Start at 1130. Mm. Yeah. And it's free. It's something. There's a lot of free things you can do. That's the other thing for families. You know, didn't you just say it was how many people did you have this past weekend for a family reunion? We had a group for a family reunion that was over 500 family members that came from all across the United States. Wow. That's a big family. That is a big family. So where they from, like originally they were from the Clucherville area around St. Augustine, that area, the south end of the river. And they have, they have over the years have spread their wings. The families have. And so they came from all over the United States to gather back up and knackettish where they're where their beginnings. Yeah. Down around St. Augustine. Yep. 500 people that are all related. That's pretty epic. Like I'm thinking hotels and some of the bed and breakers, but you've got vacation rentals. So they must, they must have booked up the town. They did. Wow. And the other part, you know, speaking of families and family reunions, one of the coolest things is that you have multiple places for folks to go and research their family history. You have genealogy libraries. You've got the Folklife Center right at the university where people can go. That's a huge part, right? And even the historic sites and cemeteries too. The cemeteries are cool. You got more than one. You got the one out in St. Augustine area. That, I mean, it's just, there's a lot of ways to, you know, follow your family history. Do you, do you ever meet people come into the visitor center that are there just to trace their family history? Oh, yes. We have that. Yeah, we have that quite a bit. We usually refer them to the library on campus, Watson Library, Northwestern campus, or the Creole Center. We've referred some to the genealogy center that's housed in the old courthouse. So they have lots of avenues that they can trace their families back. Some will even go to the churches that they identify as their families being members of to gather information. So lots of trails that you can go down to find relatives here. I love it. I love it. All right. So the other thing that you can do is there's a monthly, is it monthly zydeco breakfast at Kane River Commissary? And that's, if you're going to Melrose Plantation or Oakland Plantation or Magnolia Plantation, you might want to start here. So how often are these zydeco breakfast? So they're once a month of the second Saturday of every month. The crew, how they came River Commissary does a great job. So much so that it doesn't start until nine, but you might want to get there around seven to start saving your spot in line. So it has grown tremendously in the last year since they started it last few years since they started doing it. The live music is so entertaining. A couple different groups in and out of there that you'll see. So it's just a great time and everybody looks forward to it. And of course anybody that comes to town, we highly recommend going there. It's fun and the food is fabulous. It's a nice shaded setting. It's fantastic. And speaking of zydeco, your next big festival for August is over my birthday weekend. So this is important. So everyone needs to go and celebrate my birthday. It's a big birthday too. So August 30th 31st is the Kane River Zydeco Festival. Oh my gosh. And so, oh, we should just say this too. The Folk Festival is happening this weekend, July 20th, the Nakadish NSU 44th Annual Folk Festival and also the Louisiana State Fiddle Championship. I'm going to link to last month's episode with Dr. Shane Rasmussen telling everything about the festival. It is one of those must do things if you ever can. If you can't make it this year, plan for next year. It's always in July. Isn't it always a third weekend, I think, in July? It is a must, must. You must. You just, you have to. Yes, I demand everyone goes. You gotta go. It's so cool. But then the Kane River Zydeco Festival. So if you missed this month's Folk Festival, this would be your next opportunity, right, is the Kane River Zydeco Festival. Right. Right. And this year is the 25th Annual Zydeco Festival. It is put on in the fundraiser for the Magnolia State Peace Officers Association. So they have done this for many, many years. It grows every year. They have a great lineup this year. It starts the gates open Friday, August the 30th at six. And there's music until nine that night. And then Saturday, there's a poker run and some different activities going on until four o'clock. And then the live music starts at four o'clock and goes until almost eleven. So it's going to be a big time. It's going to be down on the riverbank. Lots of live music. So, you know, we love live music here. So we've got plenty of it that we can do. Now, I know that next month on the show, we'll talk about what's going on in fall, but I want to touch on it so people can start planning. It's never too early to talk about what's going on as far as I'm concerned because people have to take time off work and all kinds of things to do it. Right. So I am very excited about this festival and I really wish we were going. September 7th. So we'll just give a quick overview for everyone is the first annual Nackenish Louisiana Bigfoot Festival. Like, come on. Yeah. So is everyone dressing up as Bigfoot? What is going on? I guess you just have to come check it out to see. Oh, my gosh. Who doesn't want to do that? And then you've got September 13th through 14th is the Nackenish Meat Pie Festival. Now, if you can't make the festival, you can get a meat pie anytime in Nackenish. Isn't that right? And it's a must. It's another must. It is. It is. It's the staple food item here that everyone needs to try out for sure. I actually was talking about it on a different podcast. I was recording yesterday about you have the food trail. I was like, there's a gas station, food trail, and the guest is a five star chef Ivan Flowers. And he's like, really? I said, yes, the best food comes out of gas stations. You wouldn't believe it, but it's true. And I said, whenever you want fried, they do it and more. There's things you didn't know could be so delicious when they're fried, but they are. That's the thing. I would put some of our gas station food up against five star any day for sure. I love it. I love it. So meat pies is part of the history of the area. And it's kind of evolved through time because all the different cultures just kept changing it up and changing it up over the years. You can find it. You can find a variation of meat pie just about any gas station and every restaurant here in Nackadish. They're all different and they're all great. So September 13th through 14th. So it used to be one day now. It's two days on the meat pie festival party around here. Yeah, we know. We know September 20th through 21st is a Nackadish parish rodeo. I don't remember there being one. So is this something new or is just now hitting my own radar? No, we've had a rodeo here. I won't give away my age, but we've had a rodeo here since I was very young. So it's it's around the same time late September every year comes to the fairgrounds. They have a livestock show for the kiddos, lots of school trips that you'll see. Of course, the carnival rides and then the rodeo on the weekend. Okay. Yeah. So you got the Nackadish parish rodeo. The Nackadish parish fair. Then September 21. I'm bringing this up just for Nicole is the NSU football game. Is that a big deal? It is. We're so excited. We have a new coach in town this year. Coach McCorkle has regrouped NSU football. Everybody in town is excited to see them get back on the field. So we're really looking forward to a great season for them as well. And then you've got, as mentioned, field day Oakland Plantation was on September 21st and then a kid's fishing clinic and there's fishing that happens. There's all kinds of fishing fishing events throughout the year on that September 28th. So that's just a little, you know, a taste of what's to come for a fall and falls a fabulous time. And in Nackadish and everyone Nackadish.com is a website to go to. And of course, we hear every third Tuesday chatting with Nicole and sometimes special guests. So listen, enjoy the dog days of summer and get in that lake, but don't get your toes, you know, chomped on by a gator. Well, we swim with them. We don't bother them. They don't bother us. So we like it that way. Yeah, that's a good thing. And it's so cool. We love Louisiana and we love Nackadish. So everyone also just saying, you know, it's July. So if you want to get Christmas in July, get in the spirit for the holiday season. It's a good time to go shopping downtown. There's a lot of great boutiques, a lot of shops and the art. I love the art co-op that you have that gallery with all the local artists in there. That is a cool place to go shopping and the Kathy Frederick Mercata. We can't leave them out. That's special. Isn't it the oldest general store in the state? Yes, it is. It's all this general store in the Louisiana purchase. They were just featured last week in an Associated Press article. So that was really cool, you know, to read about little old Nackadish on the, put in the Associated Press. So you guys are always getting awards and the best small town in this magazine and that newspaper. It's like, there's always the best of and Nackadish is like, yes, we are. Thank you very much. We are. We are a great place to visit. We have a lot of people that come in. Not so. We try to limit our activities during the summer just because it gets so hot here, but we were already started working. This year will be our 98th annual Christmas festival. Plans have already begun for that. We're also looking for, you know, just two, two short years away. We'll have our 100th Christmas festival. So super exciting. Everything kicks off the holiday season, the weekend before Thanksgiving. So if anybody's looking to start planning a holiday trip. Yes, we've got six weeks of it. So, yeah, 100,000 lights will light up downtown. So, you know, there's, there's always something to see and do and Nackadish. But if you've never seen the lights or the fireworks, it's beautiful sight. Oh, it's epic. Nancy and I finally got to do that last year and we got to meet Nicole in person. Yeah. And, and some of the, yeah, you know, it's a bunch of new people, right? It was so much fun and to see the lights. I mean, it is truly epic, the lights and then the fireworks and then the drone. Oh my gosh. The drums are coming back this year. Oh, yeah. It's it. Like I said, then it was like an emotional experience. Yeah. I don't, I can't explain it. You have to see it. Yeah. That's another title we get to add to our growing list is we were the first place in Louisiana to have a drone show. So you got to see the first one. Oh, see. And that's what you feel special when you get to Nackadish and the hospitality is fantastic. That's the thing too. Everyone's friendly. It's like everybody just has a good time living in Nackadish. And so when guests come into town, they're like, Hey, y'all, you know, come on in the shop. I'll show you around. You know, everyone's so friendly. It really is a friendly community. So great place to visit. Thank you so much, Nicole. As I was saying earlier, everyone enjoy the rest of the dog days of summer. So woof. Thank you for joining us on our big blend radio. Go to Nackadish show. Keep up with us at big blend radio.com and plan your adventure in Nackadish. Go to Nackadish.com. That is N-A-T-C-H-I-T-O-C-H-E-S dot com Nackadish.com.