Southwest Louisiana Enjoys Banner Performances
The Southwest Louisiana arts scene is a vibrant one, thanks to the Banners series at McNeese State University in Lake Charles.
This nonprofit branch of the McNeese Foundation is a program that has passionately nurtured the arts in the region for over 30 years. The series is multifaceted, with its head of operations residing in Bulber Auditorium on the McNeese campus, but its reach stretches across five parishes in Southwest Louisiana.
“We don’t have the infrastructure of a lot of big cities, which is why it’s important to bring world music and world performers in while also providing a platform for local artists,” says Brook Hanemann, the director of Banners at McNeese.
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Diverse Entertainment in Lake Charles
Thanks to the program, the Southwest Louisiana arts scene has year-round entertainment, from small and large musical ensembles to dramatic productions, dance companies, experienced artists as guest speakers, comedians and more. Their most recent season consisted of acts such as Leo Pellegrino, Sons of MyStro, Maaliyah Papillion, the ethnodrama troupe YAGODY, and the acclaimed dance show Cocktail Hour by Ballets with a Twist.
This year’s Banners performance season kicked off in March with performances by the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy band. Still, no matter how big the name is on the stage, the focus is always on the community’s needs.
“Banners collaborates with the mayor and local artists to fill the holes of need and create platforms for members of their communities who often lack representation,” Hanemann says.
Affordable Prices for Performances
Ticket prices for the Banners series events are set at $20 or less, with free admission to every performance for past and present military, first responders, educators and education staff, seniors over 80, and children under 8, ensuring the best performing arts are available to as many people as possible.
Hanemann jokingly calls this pricing “irresponsibly affordable,” knowing just how much investment it requires to bring top talent to any stage, but she says keeping prices low is necessary so community members and aspiring local talent can “gamble” on seeing something new and unfamiliar and expand their understanding and affinity for the performing arts.
“We are an incredible hub of talent,” Hanemann says. “Many local performers are triple threats, so we are trying to build an infrastructure that entices local talent to stay.”
Much of this local talent can be found playing in the Lake Charles Symphony or dancing on the stage with the Lake Area Ballet Theatre.
Performing Arts Legacy
Alongside the Banners series, the Ballet Theatre collaborates with various performing arts groups and organizations to keep their calendar filled with performances year-round that engage every age and level of art appreciation in the community.
Founder and Director Colleen Benoit first danced across the stage of McNeese’s Bulber Auditorium at 4 years old as a Lake Charles Ballet Society member in 1960. By 1963, she says the Lake Charles Ballet Society performed the third Nutcracker in the U.S., a tradition that inspired a life dedicated to dance and a community’s appreciation for the art form.
Though Benoit went on to study, travel and perform in professional dance companies in Texas and abroad, her heart remained in Lake Charles and the Ballet Society.
After 2005’s Hurricane Rita and 2008’s Hurricane Ike left the area devastated, the Lake Charles Ballet Society couldn’t recover, and a hometown ballet company disappeared until Benoit founded Lake Area Ballet Theatre in 2011.
“I just couldn’t let that much rich history die for my daughter and the community,” Benoit says.
Today, the ballet is thriving alongside the Lake Charles Symphony and the Banners series to bring all of Southwest Louisiana a sense of “wholeness in the arts,” Benoit says. “You can’t just have one part; you have to have the whole thing.”
Casinos Deliver Great Entertainment, Too
The slot machines and tables at casinos in Southwest Louisiana aren’t the only things worth gambling on – the performances that grace the stages of the area’s top casinos promise big wins, and they are happening year-round.
L’Auberge Casino: Some of the ’70s stalwart bands, like Kansas and KC and the Sunshine Band, have been known to rock the stage at L’Auberge, along with popular comedians such as Larry the Cable Guy.
Coushatta Casino: Coushatta knows how to attract talent from around the world, providing appearances from many Southwest Asian musical artists from the Philippines to Vietnam and more. Most recently, Diva and the Vibe performed along with a concert featuring a great lineup of popular Vietnamese musical artists, such as Minh Tuyết, Khắc Việt, Quách Tuấn Du, Nguyệt Cầm, Đăng Vinh, Johnny Thái and Đan Uyên.
Delta Downs: More than the racehorses move fast at Delta. With its modern-style performance venue, you can expect several different daily performances, from comedians and live music to concerts and other forms of live entertainment.
Golden Nugget: This casino hits the jackpot with a nonstop diverse lineup of big-name musicians and comedians year-round, with three to five different performances a month. Gladys Knight, Babyface, the La Nueva Generación Tour, and Collective Soul are just a few of the names that have performed most recently.