No foaling around: Horses deserve a holiday as much as we do. New Orleans’ Human Horse Races leave the horses in the stalls to chillax while the humans are saddled with racing duties. Yes, it’s a real event. Every Thanksgiving. Via NOLA Vie offers this history of the event. The story is from 2021, and some details within may pertain to just that year, so be sure to check the event listing. Bottom line: if you seek a spur-of-the-moment holiday trip, trot on down to this mane event.   – Editor

Have you ever dreamed of waking up and instantly falling under the spell of a man wearing a horse’s head, as did the Fairy Queen Titania in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Or, like a child, dreamily circling a carousel in the saddle of a steed, grasping its reins? Even perhaps galloping ’round a golden meadow with a colorfully painted horse’s head atop a pogo stick?

Well, then, Human Horse Races may rouse your vivid imagination. Human Horse Races is a community event intended to support injured or retired horses while having a jolly good time.

Makeup artist Ingrid Anderson came up with the novel concept for an alternative Thanksgiving outing so participants can still have an opportunity to show off their finery and fabulous chapeaux while leaving the horses to relax in their stalls.

The post ⚜️ Stirrup Some Fun This Thanksgiving at NOLA’s Human Horse Races appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Scott Gold’s modest King Cake proposal had us not only guffawing, but also in serious crave mode. Dang it, as if the countdown after Christmas isn’t tough enough – the tantalizing tick-tock that there are 12 more days to countdown before King Cake is available. He makes a good argument, but still manages to taunt tastebuds. For those of us in non-Mardi Gras cities (can you believe there are such things?), not only do we have to wait for January 6, but we also have to endure the indignity of shipping.   – Editor

Gather round, my children, and let the gnarled old sage tell you of a time long ago in New Orleans, in that paleolithic era known as “the early 1980’s.” It was a simple time, back when Emeril had a last name and was known only as a local restaurant chef, when Maison Blanche still operated out of a storefront on Canal Street, and the idea of the Saints ever making it to the Super Bowl was considered a fantasy as far fetched and unlikely as the development of cold fusion or interstellar travel. Also, people who took pictures of their food at this time were considered to be “touched in the head.” Oh, how the world has changed, my young friends.

Back then in New Orleans, too, even king cake was different. It was a simple carnival treat, and not the platform for unabashed decadence and excess it has become today. Back then, they were massive circular loaves of dense, doughy, vaguely cinnamon-inflected bread topped with granular sugar colored purple, green and gold.

For many years, this is what “king cake” meant to me as a child, and as you can imagine, I wasn’t much of a fan. Why gnaw on what seemed to be six baguettes worth of bread when you can have doberge cake or buttermilk drops? It was, to my mind, the red-headed stepchild of New Orleans baked goods. Then, one glorious day, I tasted a cream cheese stuffed Haydel’s king cake, and my entire king cake worldview encountered an intense paradigm shift.

Since that time, king cakes have been getting steadily more elaborate and creative, with bakers insisting each Carnival season on a kind of good natured one-upsmanship that, for the most part, has resulted in king cakes with ingenious new flavor combinations, frostings and fillings. (This is consistent, of course, with the New Orleans bushido of excess.)

The post ⚜️ Peak King Cake Season Means Serious Carnival Craving appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Our Gulf Coast is a canary in the coalmine of climate change, and there’s no better harbinger to sound the alarm than New Orleans. We’ve been intrigued and encouraged by the the city’s various Mardi Gras bead recycling initiatives, to rescue and reuse what would otherwise slide into a drain. Upcycling and recycling movements have also been adopted by many other Mardi Gras communities across the Gulf. ‘Via NOLA Vie’ student Hannah Hogan explores a few NOLA fashion retailers that are taking the commitment one step further.   – Editor

The post How to Preserve New Orleans Natural Wonder and Wear It Well appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Beryl makes landfall on Jul 8, 2024 –  Sandwich RGB image Via NOAA in the Public Domain

It’s the second named storm of 2024 and the earliest-forming Cat 5 hurricane on record within a calendar year!

While Hurricane Beryl hit Matagorda County, Texas as a Cat 1,  it fortunately weakened to a Tropical Storm as it headed up Texas and beyond. Even at this strength, however, damage will be considerable. Relief efforts are underway. Over 2 million folks in the Houston area alone are without power, rubble needs clearing, supplies need distributing, and structures will need repairs. Click through the links provided to learn how you can help.

THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ARE CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN PROVIDING ASSISTANCE
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THESE RESCUE AND RELIEF EFFORTS

Team Rubicon USA

Team Rubicon is a veteran-led, boots-on-the-ground, hands-on humanitarian operation that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. TR focuses on three areas of impact: Disaster Response, from mitigation to immediate response and recovery; Rebuild, to maintain the fabric of communities through resilient building methods; and International, providing emergent and surge medical services, WASH, and disaster risk reduction. 

Team Rubicon Updates

Cajun Navy

The Cajun Navy is a network of volunteers that provides assistance to vulnerable populations impacted by natural disaster. Their Facebook page (linked below) will be the best place to find current information regarding supplies needed (diapers, canned goods, etc.) and real-time urgent needs, for whatever is required to complete their search and rescue efforts.

Cajun Navy Updates

Gulf Coast Rescue Squad

This organization provides search and rescue services for Brazoria County boaters in distress and other water-related occurrences such as recovering drowning victims. GCRS is an all-volunteer organization on call 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, providing free service to persons in Brazoria County, Texas.

GCRS Updates

East Harris County Empowerment Council

The East Harris County Disaster Needs Assessment is now open. This organization serves as a channel, networking with direct assistance and disaster relief organizations in the Houston area.  They assist folks in crisis by evaluating the level of need, determining the most efficient path to resources, and connecting people with these assets.

EHCTX Updates

Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston

Catholic Charities is providing limited, short-term financial assistance to Texas families who experienced loss from the storm. Disaster food boxes, cleaning supplies, and water are available while supplies last at locations listed on their website (use above link).

CCGHTX is distributing relief resources at their headquarters, Sat., July 13. Click to learn more.

Their previous efforts during recent year’s Gulf storms have effectively lit up their extensive collaborative networks across many faith communities in the region. Learn more and donate.

CCGHTX Updates

Brazoria County Off-Road Recovery

This volunteer off-road recovery concern is the official community automotive rescue group of Brazoria County. Member supported, BCOR is a Texas Nonprofit, a 501c(3) exempt organization, and does not charge the public for the services it provides. From rescuing vehicles stuck in the sand, mud, water, to helping with dead batteries or transport, BCOR is known across Brazoria County as the good guys that are there to help those in need.

BCOR Updates

Fleet of Angels

Fleet of Angels is an award-winning nonprofit that helps equines in crisis due to natural disasters and other major emergencies. They are currently offering temporary assistance for equines directly affected by Beryl. They help with funds for emergency hay, critical supplies, and vet care.

Fleet of Angels Updates

Crisis Cleanup

Check out this small group of volunteers, only open for large disasters. Crisis Cleanup is a coordination website for relief agencies whose goal is to connect survivors who need help to volunteer groups who can help with basic cleanup such as small tree removal, tarping, muck-out (removing mud, drywall, and debris from a home), hauling debris to the curb, etc.

Crisis Cleanup Updates

Thanks so much for helping in the wake of this record-breaking Gulf storm. Remember, every little bit helps! Do you have a favorite governmental, faith-based, or local and independent relief organization? Please let us know, and send us a note on our Contact Form.               🌊

The post 🆘 🤲 Give ’Til It Helps: The Gulf Begins to Recover from Hurricane Beryl appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Wendy Rodrigue (L), widow of Louisiana painter George Rodrigue, shares some insight with Karen LeBlanc (R) at the West Baton Rouge Museum     ©2023 The Design Tourist

Why is the Blue Dog Blue?

This question, not just a title of George Rodrigue’s famous book, but also a gateway into the world of his Blue Dog paintings, has intrigued art enthusiasts and cultural historians alike. These paintings, a blend of haunting beauty and hypnotic charm, have become a symbol of Louisiana’s rich heritage and Rodrigue’s artistic genius.

As a child growing up in South Louisiana, I was mesmerized by the Blue Dog paintings of George Rodrigue. Haunting and hypnotic, the Blue Dog appeared in various Louisiana landscapes as if bearing witness to our heritage, history, and culture. Yellow eyes and a cobalt blue fur coat, the Blue Dog sat perched in the same position, at eye level, not to be looked down upon but instead faced front on.

Unraveling the Mystery of the Blue Dog’s Origin

Over the years, I followed Rodrigue’s work as his Blue Dog paintings gained international fame, and the Blue Dog became a Louisiana icon. I never met the beloved Louisiana painter, and I’ve never owned a Blue Dog painting, although I’ve wanted one for years. He died in 2013 of cancer.

I was excited to have the opportunity to tour George’s art with his widow, Wendy Rodrigue, who travels the nation, bringing his Blue Dog paintings to school children to inspire future artists and foster art literacy.

Wendy shared that George painted his first Blue Dog in 1984 after years of painting Cajun folklore and Louisiana landscapes. I asked her if George had an “aha” moment when he decided to start painting the Blue Dog, which, surprisingly, didn’t start blue…. .

The post Musings, Clues, and the Rougarou: Why Is the Blue Dog Blue? appeared first on Go Gulf States.

With a moniker reflecting the honor of sharing a name with an Allen Toussaint classic, DJ Soul Sister is a New Orleans icon, known for her deep crate digging and disc spinning artistry. Be sure to keep up with her website: It carries listings of all her upcoming events. In April – 4/20 in fact – she spins the 20th Anniversary of HUSTLE! dance party at Hi-Ho Lounge and on April 28, she’s Interviewing Patrice Rushen at New Orleans Jazz Fest!   – Editor

It’s no surprise Soul Sister has anchored her life in the craft of mixing and blending music. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine any other way it could have gone.  Music called her powerfully from an early age. Throughout her childhood, music moved her and animated her imagination. She began collecting records at six years old. She recalls, fondly, a doll she owned with a radio inside. She clung to the doll every night, listening to the radio all night long.

“A lot of people assume that I inherited music from my parents […] that my parents passed down their love of music to me. And that actually is not so.” Her father’s small vinyl collection may have gotten her started, but her enthusiasm for music far exceeded what she found in her early environment. It seemed to tug on her throughout her life, drawing her more and more closely in.

Despite this early call to music, Soul Sister insists that she never set out to be a DJ. Throughout her story, DJing just kept calling out to her.

The post She’s the Baddest in the World: New Orleans’ DJ Soul Sister Doesn’t Need to Spin the Hits appeared first on Go Gulf States.

This article sure brought back some vivid memories. We can clearly “see” ourselves and our pals bopping down our grade school hallways, singing along to Jim Croce’s catchy hits. The songs were so ingrained in our formative era, their influence contributed to our own musical learning and loving the guitar. Later in adulthood, we had the pleasure of seeing A.J. in concert at SXSW. The man is a master. For fans of father Jim, this son’s tribute tour will not only strum the heartstrings, it will – if you’ll forgive the 70s parlance – blow your mind.  – Editor

Is your road trip soundtrack full of your favorite Adult Contemporary hits from the early 70s? Is Jim Croce’s “Time in a Bottle” near the top of your playlist? Then mark your calendar for March 24 and start planning your next Gulf Coast road trip to New Orleans, Louisiana. It’s there at the Joy Theater that A.J. Croce takes the stage for Croce Plays Croce. The tour is a 50th-anniversary celebration of the music and legacy of Jim Croce, A.J.’s father.

I Got a Name

After years of being a jack-of-all-trades, Jim Croce dreamed of finally becoming a full-time singer-songwriter. The dream started coming true in 1972. That was the year things turned around for the struggling musician who had worked several jobs to pay the bills. Now, however, all of that was changing.

In 1972, Croce released his third album, You Don’t Mess Around with Jim. Two tracks received significant airplay – the title track and the hit, “Operator (That’s Not the Way It Feels).” He quickly followed up with another album, Life and Times, in January 1973 featuring the #1 hit “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown.”

To support Life and Times, Jim went on a 45-date U.S. tour, chartering a Beechcraft E18S to fly him from venue to venue. On the night of Thursday, September 20, 1973, Croce performed a concert at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Once he finished, he hopped on the plane headed for Sherman, Texas, and a concert at Austin College. Sadly, the plane crashed into a tree on takeoff from Natchitoches killing everyone on board. Croce was just 30 years old. Along with a string of hits, he also left behind his wife, Ingrid, and son Adrian James.

Photographs and Memories

Adrian James “A.J.” Croce was just eight days shy of his second birthday the day his father died. As one can imagine, except for a few photographs and his mother’s memories he doesn’t remember much about his dad. What he does remember, however, there always being music around. And its music that helped him not only cope with his father’s death but also with other tragedies in his life. Physical abuse by his mother’s boyfriend caused him to go blind at four years old. (At the age of 10, he did regain his eyesight in one eye.) However, he turned to music to get him through, becoming a piano prodigy and a songwriter, like his father.

Still, for most of his life, he was hesitant to play his father’s songs. Besides not wanting to hear the same old “like father, like son” clichés, A.J. wanted to carve his own path. As a result, barely in his 20s, he began his music career. Eventually, A.J. would find himself touring with the likes of B.B. King, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and New Orleans’ own Allen Toussaint.

Ooh Child

The young Croce began to make a name for himself, touring across the country and gathering his own fan base. A mix of his father’s admirers and new and curious fans began to fall in love with his charm, piano virtuosity, and special treatment of classic cover tunes, like Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and the Five Stairsteps’ “Ooh Child.”

So what made A.J. finally want to cover some of his father’s songs? Well, a few years ago, he found an old tape his father had made. On it were old blues, country, and folk songs Jim had recorded. They were songs by Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and Pink Anderson. Though A.J. had been playing the same songs since he was a child, he never before heard his father play them. As a result of discovering this tape, he felt a deeper spiritual connection and realized that there was more than just DNA he and his dad shared.

On the Croce Plays Croce tour, you’ll hear A.J. sing some of these songs as part of his setlist. And of course, he’ll be singing some of his dad’s songs too. However, don’t think it’s a night celebrating only the legacy of the elder Croce. The concert is actually a celebration of two generations of musicians, and A.J. will be playing his own songs, too.

Indeed, Croce plays Croce is than a catalog of songs of father and son. Audiences will be treated to little vignettes of the two musicians’ lives that share more than just the kindred of blood but also their love of music.

Croce Plays Croce makes one last Gulf Coast appearance at New Orleans’s Joy Theater. Tickets are available online or at the Joy Theater.                                                                                                                   🌊

Wherever you’re traveling along the Gulf Coast, be sure to bring plenty of Stuckey’s along with you.

After all, is it really a road trip without a Stuckey’s Pecan Log Roll? Order yours and all of your favorite Stuckey’s souvenirs, snacks, and treats from Stuckey’s online today.

The post Time Out of a Bottle: Croce Plays Croce in New Orleans appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Bourbon milk punch is a holiday staple in New Orleans.

Inspired by Compere Lapin Chef Nina Compton’s father’s recipe served at family gatherings, this spin on a New Orleans original cocktail is one you won’t want to miss out on this holiday season. Compton’s version uses dark rum instead.

This refreshing cocktail would be perfect for Christmas or New Year’s Eve and could easily satisfy a crowd.

Click through for the full recipe, and kick your holidays up a notch!

The post It’s the Most Wonderful Time… for Daddy’s Milk Punch Recipe appeared first on Go Gulf States.

As we careen into the holiday season with visions of pecan pie dancing in our heads, its a good time to reflect on the true origins of our many quintessentially American blessings. This is the story of an enslaved man, Antoine, the de facto grandfather of the American pecan industry. His story makes clear that our gratitude for innovations – the spoils of which we still enjoy today – must go to the man and not to the institutions that bound him and tried to bind his spirit. This breezy telling of “Antoine & the Pecan” was published prior to, but in the same year as a biography on the innovative gardener. Historian Katy Morlas Shannon‘s insightful 2021 biography, ‘Antoine of Oak Alley’ is a book we intend to feature on our pages again in the future.  – Editor

All of those Stuckey’s pecan log rolls we devoured as a kid (and, admittedly, still devour as an adult) may not have been possible without the work of one man – a 19^th century gardener slave from Louisiana named Antoine.

Back in the 1800s, pecans weren’t really new to the American diet. Native Americans up and down the Mississippi River from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico were eating them for hundreds of years before Europeans first set foot on the continent. When the Europeans did come, fur traders carried pecans to help sustain them on their journeys from the wild frontier to the East Coast. In the 18th century, founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson planted pecans at Mount Vernon and Monticello, respectively, and it’s even said that George Washington always kept pecans as a snack in his coat pocket.

Over in Louisiana, there was a market for pecans and seeing this opportunity was plantation owner Dr. A.E. Columb who attempted to graft twigs from his luxuriant pecan tree that produced large, thin-shelled nuts in copious amounts onto other pecan trees. Like those who had tried in the past, Dr. Columb’s efforts were unsuccessful. Growing frustrated, he heard that there was a talented gardener right across the way at the Oak Alley Plantation. Columb went to pay Jacques Telesphore Roman, the owner of the plantation, a visit. Roman guided the doctor to his talented gardener, an enslaved man named Antoine. After meeting with Antoine and discussing his ordeal, Columb gave Mr. Roman a twig off of his best pecan tree, and, in turn, Mr. Roman gave the graftwood to Antoine. Thus, the ‘Centennial’ became the first variety of pecan that was successfully propagated by grafting.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Antoine other than he was a slave and a gardener and a very adept gardener at that. We know this because Antoine was the first person in history who learned how to propagate pecan trees. That is, Antoine knew how to make near exact copies of successfully producing pecan trees, thereby turning the pecan into a cash crop – not an easy task at the time. Then the American Civil War came along and nearly changed everything.

The post As American as Pecan Pie: The Incredibly True Story of Antoine & the Pecan appeared first on Go Gulf States.

We at Go! Gulf States choose to cover NASA in this decade and do the other things not just because they are cool, but because so much of what they do happens in Gulf states. Because that goal will show how much work toward our race for space occurs right here along the Gulf Coast. And because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept. – Editor

Four astronauts are busy training for Artemis II, the first mission to carry humans on NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. They’ve been testing systems to support life in deep space on future Moon missions and expanding the space frontier beyond Earth orbit.

In August, the crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – finished the first part of their training known as fundamentals, establishing a foundational knowledge of all SLS and Orion systems.

Home Sweet Space

The quartet began the process of learning every inch of their Orion crew module’s interior, which will serve as their home for the approximately 10-day flight test. They reviewed the building blocks for navigating the spacecraft’s displays and executing the procedures they will use to fly and monitor Orion. While some training activities included all four crew members together, other activities involved one-on-one sessions with trainers.

“The crew is making incredible progress. They’re getting ready for their flight as the first people to fly inside NASA’s newest spacecraft built for deep space,” said Jacki Mahaffey, chief training officer for Artemis II, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Their training is preparing them to do everything from planned mission tasks and daily operations, to how to recognize and deal with unexpected situations.”

The post Artemis Crew Trains for Moon Mission Across 3 Gulf States… and Beyond appeared first on Go Gulf States.