The Southeast Advocate 02-05-2015

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CASA honored with award for social justice ä2G

THE SOUTHEAST

ADVOCATE

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THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2015 H

COURSEY • HARRELLS FERRY • MILLERVILLE • OLD JEFFERSON • PARKVIEW • SHENANDOAH • TIGER BEND • WHITE OAK THEADVOCATE.COM

Darlene Denstorff AROUND THE SOUTHEAST

DDENSTORFF@ THEADVOCATE.COM

Preschool gets into Carnival spirit St. Andrew’s Preschool, 17510 Monitor Ave., invites residents to celebrate Mardi Gras on Feb. 13 at their children’s parade. The school’s 3- and 4-yearold students will parade around the school’s parking lot starting at 11:30 a.m.

Library celebrates Mardi Gras

The Jones Creek Regional Branch Library, 6222 Jones Creek Road, will host its “Throw Me Something, Mister Bingo� from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Participants should wear Mardi Gras colors, and prizes will be awarded. Call (225) 756-1150 to register. The Mardi Gras fun continues from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday as children ages 3 to 7 can make and decorate a Mardi Gras mask in the Children’s Room. The book “Chef Creole,� by Johnette Downing, will be read during this story time program. Call (225) 756-1160. On Monday, adults can get in the Mardi Gras mood by learning to make colorful crafts and foods. All materials will be furnished. The Adults Crafts 2Go @ the Library program is from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday. Registration is required; call (225) 756-1150.

Red Stick’s prancing ambassadors

Babycakes bring funk to parades BY C.J. FUTCH

cfutch@theadvocate.com On most days, Erin Rolfs is a smart, responsible and effective marketing professional who talks, acts and dresses the part. But on a few precious days every year during Mardi Gras season, she puts on the costume of her alter ego, Baby Ruthless Rolfs, and makes bringing the funk to the Spanish Town parade her No. 1 priority. Rolfs and Aimee “Famous Amos� Spangenberg founded the Prancing Babycakes dance troupe in 2008 with a core group of good friends, Rolfs said. Spangenberg moved to New Orleans and is no longer an ac-

tive member, Rolfs said, but is always with them in spirit. Troupe members gathered Sunday morning for their annual dress rehearsal. The women put together their own costumes based on their Babycakes ä See a nicknames, unified only by the colors video — red and black — at the advocate. and their white majorette boots. com. There are a couple of troupe members with dance experience, and they do the choreography for the marching dance numbers, which all the Babycakes spend a few weeks learning before parade season starts.

“It’s a way for us to go back to high school, dress up and dance in a way that would otherwise be totally inappropriate for adult professionals,â€? Rolfs said, but without the drama that comes with high school. “I don’t think we’ve ever had any serious disagreements,â€? Chelsea “Charleston Chewâ€? Harris said. “What are we going to do, go home and have hurt feelings because the girls didn’t pick your song?â€? They add members very slowly and organically. Usually, someone from within the group brings a friend in. But anyone with a little commitment to fun can start their Advocate staff photo by HILARY SCHEINUK own troupe, and that’s what Led by, from left, Holly ‘Rancher’ Maynard, Kris ‘Hershey’s Rolfs encourages other women Kris’ Webb, Chelsea ‘Charleston Chew’ Harris and Peggy ‘Ole to do. Snicka Moose’ Russell, the Prancing Babycakes, an all-female äSee BABYCAKES, page 4G dance troupe, practice Sunday by the State Capitol.

All aboard for Train Day

Advocate staff photo

A female Rufous hummingbird perches in the back yard of Chandan and Naresh Sharma.

An ‘N’ scale model train exits a tunnel.

Louisiana winters draw birds, watchers

Xoxo Art

Teens can bring their creativity and design art using painter’s tape and a variety of paint during the Xoxo Art program, from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Jones Creek Library. Call (225) 756-1170.

Experts give advice on habitats BY C.J. FUTCH

cfutch@theadvocate.com Advocate staff photos by JOHN OUBRE

Your Pace or Mine walking club meets

Kai Grip, 3, watches closely with Jeanette Grip as a pair of trains pass each other.

Brock Kirby, 2, and his grandfather, Mike Amoroso, watch closely as a locomotive passes on the tracks Saturday during Train Day at the Jones Creek Regional Branch Library.

Contact Southeast Advocate Editor Darlene Denstorff by phone, (225) 336-6952 or (225) 603-1998; or email southeast@theadvocate.com. Deadline: noon Monday.

Reece Delaune, 3, and his mom, Claire, are excited as a train rolls by them.

Visitors pack the room to view train displays.

The Your Pace or Mine walking group will meet at the Jones Creek Regional Branch Library at 6 p.m. Wednesday and walk mapped routes surrounding the library. In the event of rain, the Pacers will walk inside the library. All levels of fitness are represented, so everyone is welcome to join. Call (225) 756-1150.

Along with the camellia blooms, winter in south Louisiana brings a few species of hummingbird, and Dennis Demcheck, an amateur bird watcher who has developed expertise over the years, and Jane Patterson, president of the Baton Rouge Audubon Society, shared their knowledge with Audubon members and the general public. Demcheck spoke Jan. 30 to a group of Baton Rouge Audubon Society members about the birds that are increasingly spending winters in the Baton Rouge area at the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center in advance of the 2015 Hummingbird Tour Saturday of four area backyards with reliable hummingbird sightings. äSee BIRDS, page 4G

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