Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities

11/05/2026

The deadline to subscribe is today! Sign up by midnight tonight at 64parishes.org/subscribe to get the winter issue of 64 Parishes delivered to your door.

Your subscription gets you a full year—four issues—of 64 Parishes and helps us bring Louisiana's stories to the world and preserve them for future generations.

11/04/2026

Cross Currents returns to the Hilliard this November with “Improvised Truths — Curtis Patterson and the Jazz of Form,” bringing visual art, music, and conversation together in the galleries.

Each Cross Currents dialogue begins with a work of art. This one draws inspiration from Patterson’s fall 2026 exhibition and asks: What does improvisation make possible when structure remains?

On November 18, a live panel explores this question through sound, material, and history. The conversation brings together a scholar of African diasporic tradition, a jazz musician, and a scholar of visual culture. On November 19, a student master class continues the conversation.

5:00 p.m. Doors Open
5:30 p.m. Panel Discussion
6:30 p.m. Jazz Performance

Panelists
• Dr. Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir, Professor of History and Chair of African American and African Diaspora Studies, Xavier University of Louisiana
• Donald Harrison Jr., saxophonist, composer, and Big Chief of the Congo Square Nation Afro-New Orleans Cultural Group
• Dr. Allison Young, Associate Professor of Contemporary Art History, LSU

Moderated by
Dr. Joel Rhone, Assistant Professor of Literature, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Free for museum members and UL Lafayette students, faculty, and staff. Included with museum admission for the public.

“Curtis Patterson — Persistent Vision, Sculptures from 2011–2026”
September 19, 2026 – February 20, 2027

Presented by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
Funding for the 2026 Rebirth Grant has been provided by the State of Louisiana and administered by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by this organization do not necessarily represent those of either the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities or the State of Louisiana.

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11/04/2026

Louisiana's archives, museums, and historical sites offer a wealth of historical documents and artifacts that teachers can use to bring history alive for their students. At our Institute for Louisiana Culture and History regional workshop in Shreveport, teachers got to explore the Noel Collection, one of the largest private collections of antiquarian books, prints, and maps in the United States on permanent loan to LSU Shreveport.

Learn more about how the Institute helped teachers in North Louisiana explore French Colonial Louisiana history and learn new strategies to bring this content alive for their middle school students at

Teachers from across North Louisiana gathered to explore French Colonial Louisiana history and learn new strategies to bring this content alive for their middle school students.

11/03/2026

Where in Louisiana are LEH staff? On Saturday, we were out at the Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge spreading the word aout 64 Parishes magazine. Published four times a year, 64 Parishes includes stories and photographs that are all about—and only about—the state we love.

The deadline to subscribe to get our winter issue is this Thursday, November 5. You can get Louisiana delivered to your door by signing up at 64parishes.org/subscribe.

11/02/2026

We are so excited to support the Prime Time Family Reading program at Dr. Raphael A. Baranco Elementary School!

Through engaging stories, meaningful conversations and time spent learning together, Prime Time creates wonderful opportunities for families to connect through literacy. We love seeing programs that bring caregivers and children together while building a love of reading and learning.

Thank you to everyone who makes these special evenings possible! ❤️

11/02/2026

2023 Institute for Louisiana Culture and History summer scholar and the recipient of the 2024 Bright Lights Book of the Year award, Dr. Elizabeth Ellis has been awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, known more popularly as the MacArthur genius grant. Ellis’s 2022 book, "The Great Power of Small Nations: Indigenous Diplomacy in the Gulf South," details the Native American Nations that shaped the development of colonial Louisiana into the present-day Gulf South. Ellis brought her knowledge of the Native Nations of Louisiana that helped shape our state to our 2023 summer workshop, preparing Louisiana’s social studies teachers for teaching that material in their classrooms.

Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Ellis!

10/29/2026

The winter cover is here!

Grab or renew your subscription by November 5th to have the winter issue sent directly to your door.

Our winter cover feature by Benjamin Morris introduces Louisiana’s community of home citrus growers, who keep satsumas, kumquats, and lemons thriving in backyards across the state this time of year. Inside, Phelps Gay examines the creation of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825, and Gianmichele Taormina profiles Italian-New Orleans early jazz drummer Tony Sbarbaro, including new research on his birthplace. We also explore the recently rewritten history behind the sugar kettle on LSU’s campus, visit Louisiana’s only tea farm in Tangipahoa Parish, and much more.

The cover photograph by Rinne Allen showcases satsumas from Plaquemines Parish, in celebration of Morris’s feature on the people who grow them.

Subscribe at https://64parishes.org/subscribe

About the image: Plaquemines Parish satsumas grown by Fred Schwarz. Photo by Rinne Allen

10/28/2026

Hey Baton Rouge, there's no excuse not to get out and enjoy a humanities program this week! Check out some of the events supported by LEH grants or presented by our partners!

You can find an LEH-supported event near you on our calendar at leh.org/news-events/events/

10/27/2026

October is Louisiana Folklife Month, which honors people or groups as Louisiana Tradition Bearers. Spearheaded by the Louisiana Folklife Commission and the Louisiana Folklore Society, and supported by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanties, you can learn more about this year's honorees at 64parishes.org/honoring-culture-bearers-3

2026 Folklife Month Honorees:
• Fred Johnson Jr., community activist and a steward of New Orleans social aid and pleasure club and second line traditions

• Rose Fisher, a long-time resident of LaSalle Parish and Tribal Elder of the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians

• Carl Parfait, a native of Dulac whose lifelong practice ensures that the art of trawl net making will continue to thrive for generations to come

• Ivy Billiot, a self-taught woodcarver who creates colorful, meticulously rendered fish, birds, reptiles, and other wildlife out of native Louisiana woods

• Dale Bordelon, who has preserved the skills and knowledge tied to Louisiana’s waterfowl traditions, crafting cane duck calls, cypress wood decoys, and cypress dugout pirogues

• Becky Thomas-Meziere, a traditional pine needle basket maker of Choctaw descent currently living in Natchitoches Parish

Each October, the Louisiana Folklife Program honors culture bearers keeping traditions alive.

10/26/2026

The Louisiana Book Festival is Saturday in Baton Rouge! Supported by an LEH Strategic Partnership Grant, the Louisiana Book Festival is a free, annual literary event that celebrates readers, writers, and books. The fest offers varied genres with a little bit of everything for folks of all reading tastes and levels. Check out the full schedule at louisianabookfestival.org.

While you're there, stop by the sponsor tent and say hello to our 64 Parishes team and snag a free copy of the magazine!