After a long, cold, quite dreary winter, spring has FINALLY sprung here on the northshore. Azaleas are blooming, the sun is shining and it’s time to get out of the house and enjoy this beautiful weather! There’s a long list of outdoor festivals and activities planned for the month of April. Here are a few of my favorite picks.
The City of Covington is bringing back the popular live music series “Rockin’ the Rails”. I enjoyed these free outdoor concerts so much back in the fall; I’m glad to see them return. Held at the Covington Trailhead, the intent is to lure people into downtown Covington on a weeknight for a fabulous free show of live music, and then hopefully entice them to stay for a nice dinner at one of Covington’s great restaurants. Nice concept. And it works! That’s exactly what I did during the fall and I’m looking forward to repeating that every Thursday in April. The music is exceptionally good. There are a few northshore favorites included in the line-up, but also some southshore musicians that don’t make quite as many appearances over here, so it’s a real treat. First up on April 1 is Soul Revival, followed on April 8 by Ingrid Lucia, April 15 is Paul Sanchez (this show is not to be missed-Paul is an incredible singer-songwriter!), April 22 The Blackened Blues Band, and closing things out on April 29 is Paula and the Pontiacs. All concerts are from 5:30-7:30. You can bring food and drink if you like, however, local non-profits will be on hand selling an assortment of refreshments. If you need more details check out www.cityofcovingtonla.com
This next event is special to me because it’s in Abita Springs, my hometown, but also because it is being held by the non-profit Friends of the Park. A small group of Abita Springs citizens, myself included, started this non-profit a few years ago with the goal of building a playground in our park. Well, we did it – with the help of over a 1000 volunteers, our community playground was constructed. But Friends of the Park hasn’t stopped working, and they continue to identify and address the needs in our town. Earth Fest 2010 is one of their projects. Regan Contois, Friends of the Park board member and Earth fest organizer, says that the objective with Earth Fest is to simply use their talents locally to improve our place on Earth. “Earth Fest provides new ideas, inspiration and encouragement to our citizens to do their part…joyfully to make Abita Springs a better place to live and play” This is the second year in a row Abita will celebrate this event. Everyone is invited. Along with great food, Abita Beer and live music all day, Earth Fest will be giving away free trees. There are lots of activities planned for children including recycle relays and scavenger hunts with fun prizes, too. There will be plenty of booths to check out with green crafts and informative booths from folks like the Nature Conservancy and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation. Also, they’ll have artisans on hand with crafts and even jewelry made from recycled materials. It’s all for fun – and to raise awareness and appreciation for the beautiful planet we call home. National Earth Day is celebrating its 40th anniversary and is actually on April 22. Abita Springs is proud to join in the celebration nationwide by having our own Earth Festival. Join everyone at Earth Fest on Sunday, April 18, NOON- 5:00 at the Abita Springs Trailhead and Park. The admission is free.
This next event is new to the northshore. The Greater New Orleans International Dragon Boat Festival is huge and I’m so pleased that they have chosen Madisonville to host their inaugural event! For those of you wondering (as I was…) What in the world is a Dragon Boat? Well, Dragon Boat racing includes teams of at least 20 people. They paddle, in unison, competing for the best time. Although speed is a necessity, it is the teamwork of paddling in perfect synchronicity that makes a winning team. The banks of the Tchefuncte River in downtown Madisonville are perfect for viewing the race. This event is expected to be one of the premiere events of its kind worldwide and is happening right here in our own backyard! The sport (yes, although new to me!) is evidently one of the fastest growing sports around, particularly in the southern part of the United States. The Dragon Boat Festival will be Saturday, April 17. Admission for spectators is free. The races start around 8:30 in the morning and should wrap up around 5:00. More information is available on the website www.gwndragonboat.com
I plan on enjoying every little bit of this beautiful, cool spring weather before the hot, sultry days of summer set in. I hope you have every opportunity to do so as well!
If you have a northshore event that would be of interest to my readers here in On The Seen, please let me know about it! Email me any information about fabulous northshore events at: scampbell@northshoreconifer.com.