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Zydeco accordionist records with three sons for the ﬁrst time

Corey Arceneaux approaches Father’s Day this year with memories of his three sons playing music at home. Arceneaux, a zydeco accordionist since he was 11, had to referee ﬁghts, even wipe away tears, over instruments. But his sons returned the care in unexpected ways.

“Times when I wanted to give up, they still wanted me to play,” said Arceneaux, 50, a Lafayette native now living in Fairfax, Virginia. “They were like, ‘Oh no, Dad, book some jobs. We want to play.’ Like most musicians, we get discouraged at times ‘I don’t want to play any more’ — but they inspired me to keep on going. Most of them learned to play on stage.” Arceneaux and sons make family history with “Accordion Man,” a new, 10-song album released on MoMojo Records. The recording marks the ﬁrst time Arceneaux has recorded with his three sons: bass player Desmond Joseph, 32, drummer and rubboard player Tyler 24, and co-producer Corey Jr., 26.

PROVIDED PHOTO Lafayette native and zydeco accordionist Corey Arceneaux

Denni Cravins, Corey Arceneaux’s wife, co-wrote two songs, “Oh Mon Dieu” and “Louisiana Woman.” The latter song has vocal help from a cousin, Erica Fox. “Taught Me How to Dance” is inspired by his late mother Debra. “When it Comes to You” comes from original poetry done with his wife in mind. This collaboration strengthens the Arceneauxs’ rightful place beside the Cheniers, Ardoins, Chavises, Franks and other southwest Louisiana families that were the ﬁrst to record zydeco and Creole music. Corey Arceneaux’s accordion lineage goes back to his greatgrandfather Ferdinand, who entertained at house dances in the early 1900s.

Fernest Arceneaux, Ferdinand’s son and Corey’s greatuncle, led Fernest and the Thunders, a highly inﬂuential band that mixed blues and early R&B with Creole accordion. The sound, which included the ﬁrst recording of “Zydeco Boogaloo,” ä See ARCENEAUX, page 2G

SAVE DATE

FStaff report

irst dates are a strange contract.

Two people agree to spend a few hours together, hoping the gamble pays off. The stakes can feel enormous.

The logistics can feel tricky, but the default option of dinner across a table from a near-stranger may be asking for too much too soon, with no easy way out.

The better strategy for the occasion is to make a plan and do something. An activity gives a ﬁrst date a built-in rhythm — moments to talk and moments to return a serve, study a giraffe or hunt for the color blue.

Plus, the time and effort to make a plan shows thoughtfulness, which is a big green ﬂag. Baton Rouge has a variety of places built for that combination of elements.

So we asked our staff a mix of ages, eras and dating histories — to make the case for their favorite ﬁrst date in the area. Their answers range from free to splurge, from sweaty to serene. Every one of them beats sitting in a dark theater saying nothing.

— Jan Risher

Campus walk

When I was in college at LSU, one of my favorite ﬁrst dates was a walk around campus, very simple

On my date all those years ago, I showed him my favorite tree on campus, a ginkgo outside Pleasant Hall that turns bright yellow in the fall. Another place I’ve ventured is Foster Hall, which hosts the Museum of Natural Science, an impressive exhibition of taxidermy that’s fascinating, even eerie at times and worth the trip. Other landmarks located relatively close together are the LSU Dairy Store (a must in the summer heat), Skip the dinner table with ﬁrst-date ideas around Baton Rouge that go beyond awkward small talk ä See DATES, page 2G

in concept, with ways to dress it up. Campus makes that easy because of how beautiful it is — giant, sprawling oak trees, a live tiger and blooming azaleas at every corner come springtime. There are some oddities, too, that provide fantastic talking points in ﬁrst-date conversations. The goal here is to stumble on something new, something you didn’t know campus had. Trust me, there’s plenty of opportunity A date that turns into an adventure is very romantic, in my opinion.

Herman Fuselier

BY HILARY SCHEINUK

Students navigate the LSU Quad last year on campus in Baton Rouge.

STAFF PHOTO BY JAN RISHER

Louisiana Culture Editor Jan Risher took many photos of red objects and scenes during the one-hour color hunt in downtown Baton Rouge.

Cousin’s puppy causes chaos at family party

DEAR HARRIETTE: I hosted my extended family at my house for a celebration after my daughter’s baptism. My cousin recently got a new puppy and she didn’t want to leave him at home for multiple hours, so I said that as long as he could behave, her dog was welcome. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Her dog ended up peeing in the living room multiple times as well as chewing up a couple of pillows. What upset me the most was that several family members seemed to think the behavior was cute or funny while I was stressing about the condition of my home. I had spent days cleaning,

decorating and preparing food for this gathering because my daughter’s baptism was an important milestone for our family

The next day I brought the issue up to my cousin privately because I thought it was fair for her to know how frustrated I was. I expected at least an apology or an offer to replace the damaged pillows, but instead she became defensive and said, “He’s just a puppy,” and insisted that I was overreacting.

Am I wrong for being upset about this situation? How can I set boundaries with family members without causing unnecessary conﬂict? — Undone

DEAR UNDONE: Your mistake was believing a puppy could behave. You should have said no to bringing the puppy or insisted the dog stay in the yard, if you have one. In the future, don’t allow family to cross lines that are important to you. Stand your ground.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve been away at college for the past couple of years, and I am in my ﬁrst serious relationship. I really like the guy I’m with, and part of me wonders if it’s time to take things to the next level of intimacy I feel comfortable with him, but I also wonder if I’m curious only because everyone is so active in college. I wish I had someone older or wiser I could conﬁde in about this, but my mom is extremely strict

and religious. That said, she’s not really open to talking about the birds and the bees with me — or anyone, for that matter Do you think there’s a way I could get her to be more open to the conversation? I don’t need her to encourage me to do it, but even hearing her opinion about why she thinks I shouldn’t would be insightful. Is this all just wishful thinking? — First Time

DEAR FIRST TIME: If you think you can handle your mother’s potential judgment, ask her to tell you her thoughts about sex. Ask her about her own life. See if she will open up about when she ﬁrst had sex. If she clams up or starts chastising you about the topic, stop

trying to get her to do anything. Look for another person, like an aunt or family friend, with whom you have a close relationship who might be willing to have a conﬁdential conversation with you about what you’re going through right now

Take your time. Make sure you feel loved and honored before you consider being intimate with someone. Consider your body to be sacred, and do not allow anyone inside who doesn’t deserve to enter

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

the sculpture garden (student-made art, plus there’s a swing set) and the Howe Russell dinosaur (this building also has lots of mini geology display cases in the hallways, giving a museum feel).

Court to Table

When planning a first date, the most important thing to consider is the conversation-to-activity ratio. You want enough opportunity to get to know your date but also have breathing room if conversation doesn’t flow naturally at first. Movies, for example, are a terrible idea. Unless you’re both inconsiderate jerks, it’s hours of close, awkward silence. But staring across the table at a near-stranger for dinner or drinks can be almost as uncomfortable and intimidating. Enter pickleball. It’s fun, easier than pingpong and above all, a perfect one-to-one conversation/activity ratio. It’s not so absorbing that it crowds out flirty banter — but it doesn’t constantly demand conversation, either.

With six indoor and five outdoor pickleball courts, a restaurant and two bars Court to Table gives Baton Rouge singles the greatest chance for success. Located at 7477 Burbank Drive, the date here should start at the bar with a margarita or two, depending on the level of jitters. Then hit the courts to get the blood flowing. Unless one side is keen on dominance (likely a red flag), asymmetric skill levels shouldn’t be a significant

To tee up some ﬁrst-date fun, reserve a suite and purchase an hour of golf. While there, order some country club grill fare like nachos, burgers, wings or pizza and a couple of drinks. The atmosphere is relaxed — a good place to learn how to swing a club or practice the long drive.

Joy Holden

Baton Rouge Zoo

hurdle, because the goal shouldn’t be to win

Just rally Break a minor sweat — and have a good time. If it’s going well head inside for lunch or dinner (critical point: eat after pickleball to avoid gastric disaster on the court).

Court to Table’s food is quality, but be prepared for lots of children running around. The only other drawback is cost. At $40 an hour for a court, plus optional drinks and food, this sureﬁre spot should be reserved for someone special.

— Aidan McCahill

GolfSuites BR

Interactive ﬁrst dates relieve some of the awkwardness that comes with the territory because learning or playing a sport for fun creates laughter and conversation. GolfSuites on Siegen Lane offers shaded outdoor activities, food and a festive atmosphere.

The “sports bar with a golf problem” includes a 250yard driving range, simulated green sites and hazards, professional-quality golf balls and equipment, coaching, a restaurant, bar and live music.

Ah, romance. The bald eagles know about it. They’re among the estimated 90% of bird species that mate for life, and part of the creatures great and small on exhibit at BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo.

The zoo, accessible through Greenwood Community Park in Baker is a great ﬁrst-date option for at least two reasons.

First, the abundance and variety of animals to watch within their habitats across the sprawling zoo property offer multiple conversation starters, alleviating those awkward lapses that can creep in when talking to someone new

Secondly, a leisurely loop through the entire zoo is fun exercise and a chance to see if this possible future companion can keep up with you. The outdoorsy activity also lends itself to casual attire, diminishing that pressure to “dress to impress.”

Check out the cheetahs, peer at the Plains zebra and gawk at the Galapagos tortoises.

Take a break and refresh yourself at the Flamingo Cafe before returning to the animals. And don’t forget to take a trip on the zoo’s train. It makes for an easy, breezy afternoon.

If an evening zoo experience is more your speed, consider the facility’s events like twilight tours, The Wild Pour or Zoo Lights.

The zoo is open daily, with gates open from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the grounds closing at 5 p.m. Admission is $10, adults/teens; $8.50, seniors 65 and older; $7, kids 2-12, and free for children 1 and younger — Judy Bergeron Downtown color walk

To spark some creativity and adventure, go on a color walk downtown. A color walk is a mindfulness activity in which people ﬁnd objects of a certain color A color walk in 2026 also means taking cellphone pictures of those objects.

For this unique ﬁrst date, the couple meets at the Old State Capitol on a weekend with great weather One person writes a few colors on slips of paper Each participant draws one color from a hat — that’s their color for the duration of the hunt. Pick a place to reconvene and set a timer for an hour Or, the ﬁrst daters can walk together to certain buildings and then split up once inside. Then, the couple goes for a walk, hunting for their assigned colors and taking pictures of the colored items to share.

A color walk works as a first date because it’s located downtown among pic-

turesque landmarks. A few places to put on the color walk list: Old State Capitol, the Shaw Center the River Center Branch Library, Galvez Plaza, LSU Museum of Art, Tsunami’s terrace and the Louisiana Arts and Science Museum.

The magic of a color walk is that each person will have their own personal experience to discuss.

The creative inspiration serves as excellent conversation material. After the color walk, the options for coffee, lunch or dinner downtown are a’plenty — from simple and cheap to fancy and expensive. Joy Holden

A

cooking class

A great judge of character is witnessing how someone reacts in the kitchen. You get to see how the other person handles time constraints and, sometimes, high-pressure situations. But a cooking class, where someone else is guiding instruction, is an easy way to test the waters of teamwork. Working side by side in the kitchen naturally encourages conversation and a little creativity, so it takes the pressure off constant conversation. If there’s a future with this person, it also creates a memory Plus, you both get to learn something new and share a meal. If all else fails, you’ll have a new recipe in your repertoire.

In Baton Rouge, there are options for cooking classes, including those at Louisiana Culinary Institute and Red Stick Spice Co. In June, the Louisiana Culinary Institute is hosting a “Classic New Orleans Elegance” leisure class from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 18, and a Chinese take-out leisure class 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 25. Visit www.lci.edu/ store#leisureclasscalendar for more information. At Red Stick Spice, try the “Better Than Takeout” class at noon on June 18 or the “Host with the Most” class at noon on June 19. Classes here tend to sell out fast, so look at the summer schedule for more information at www.redstickspice.com/collections/cooking-classes. Lauren Cheramie

now a genre standard, brought tours of Europe More than 35 years ago, Corey Arceneaux And The Zydeco Hot Peppers have carried the family legacy into a new millennium.

Zydeco Fusion, the current band project with his sons, continues that tradition.

In Virginia, Corey Arce-

neaux has recruited blues musicians into a band that plays zydeco throughout the Northeast. He said the work of his ancestors and other ﬁrst families have fueled his passion for native state and culture. “This is why we have the big festivals back home. They were in Europe playing their music. They were the ambassadors that made the people fall in love with zydeco. It’s a fun music — music that makes you want

to dance,” he said. “Wherever I play, I like talking about the culture and what I love about Louisiana.”

Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS 88.7 FM.

Pesto

BY LINDA GASSENHEMIER Tribune News Service (TNS)

I decided to give my usual Maryland-style crabcakes a fresh twist by incorporating a vibrant new ﬂavor

A touch of pesto blended into the mayonnaise adds a bright note that complements the sweetness of the crab without overpowering it. Finished with a sprinkle of fresh basil, the cakes feel light, fragrant and

crab-

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS

The Funky Pickle area features an indoor pickleball court, bar and seating for the restaurant at Court to Table in Baton Rouge.

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM GOLFSUITES

GolfSuites is located at 8181 Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL JOHNSON

Author Marcelle Bienvenu conducts a cooking class with help from Joshua Hebert at the 2025 Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge.

STAFF FILE PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK

A bald eagle is seen in its enclosure at the Baton Rouge Zoo.

— Maddie Scott

the good stuff

Travelogue discusses the rise of boudin and its Continental French roots

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Louisiana native, author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ken Wells journeys his way through the boudin belt, stopping at the state’s oldest existing boudin producer, the boudin capital of the world, boudin processing plants and more. Through visiting mom-andpop stores to boudin business empires like Best Stop and Bourgeois Meat Market, he explores how family recipes from rural kitchens grew into a national food sensation. Wells writes about the history of boudin and its Continental French roots in “boudin” from LSU Press, and readers learn that historical ﬁgures Lewis and Clark feasted on buffalo boudin in their 1804 expedition The book holds boudin recipes dating back to 1824, as well as modern recipes to make boudin at home

This interview was edited for length and clarity

What are some questions you had before starting the research process for the book?

I had grown up eating boudin and had taken a trip. When one of my novels came out, I was on a book tour in Lafayette, and a friend took me to Best Stop. That was my ﬁrst experience with boudin west of the Atchafalaya River I grew up near Bourgeois, in Houma, and I ate that stuff often

One of the questions I had was, “Where did the boudin ﬁrmament stand?”

And the question of how it was traveling suddenly and getting to other places outside of Louisiana, because I’d heard that all these places were suddenly exporting and shipping everywhere. What was behind that — whether anything had changed in terms of the economics of boudin?

How does this book compare to your other publications on culinary dives?

This book grew out of the gumbo book, “Gumbo Life.” Part of the reason LSU Press came to me is that they had seen my gumbo book and knew that I was interested in food and Louisiana, food waves and culture.

There’s no place like it in all of America. It’s not just that we have dishes too, but we have a way and style of cooking. The food is so intertwined

with the culture. It’s almost like the culture is inseparable from the way that we view food. That was part of the fun of going out and talking to people about that very process. What are the characteristics of your ideal boudin link or form of boudin?

One of the things that clearly had changed is that early boudin was almost entirely pork, rice, veggies and liver, and now boudin is chicken, beef, alligator and duck. Even cauliflower There are places that make vegetarian boudin. There are now crawfish boudin sushi rolls. One of the great surprises was stopping in Opelousas at DezMeaux’s — one of the few boudin makers operated by an African American family and they have boudin-stuffed chicken wings. Bone-in. I’m not sure I’ve ever put anything better in my mouth. The other revelation is how contemporary boudin has traveled to the smokehouse. In the old days, most people did not smoke boudin, but now a lot of people, especially places like Best Stop, have smoked boudin. To me, the Best Stop smoked boudin is still at the top of my five favorite boudin list

The other thing that’s happened that’s new is jalapeño in boudin and spicing it up. It’s amazing how widely experimental it’s become and how people are testing the envelope. They also take boudin and smash it into a burger-like patty and deep-fry it and serve it as a hamburger How could that not be good?

Do you ever plan on making boudin from

and Danny

discussed summer reading while he visited her at her

home in 1994. She was enjoying murder mysteries that summer and rereading the works of Chekhov and Elizabeth Bowen.

scratch?

I have a plan to make boudin from scratch, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I’ve spent a lot of time reading recipes and ﬁguring out people who do it using a blender I don’t necessarily want to buy a sausage grinder if I can help it. Part of the issue with me is my wife doesn’t eat meat or pork. I would have to make chicken boudin, unless I wanted to eat it for myself, and that’s no fun. If you’re going to go through the trouble, you want to be able to serve it to other people.

There are a lot of people who are athome boudin enthusiasts. The tradition of this boudin comes out of the boucherie, which is, in the old days, the communal slaughtering of hog, because it was too difﬁcult and expensive for one family to take that on. Of course, it’s before the days of mechanical refrigeration. You had to do this in one day, and those recipes came down, and the whole modern boudin thing is founded upon this tradition.

The other notable thing that really struck me is the family tradition. The entire boudin industry is family-driven. This all starts in the 1920s with a mawmaw or a pawpaw, cooking boudin at home for their families after the boucherie, and people saying, “That’s so good, Mawmaw, you should open a restaurant.”

Of course, she doesn’t have the money to open a restaurant, but she knows Joe, who has the gas station down the road, so she ends up with a counter and a rice cooker selling boudin. Out of that tradition has come these astonishing boudin dynasties. It’s just an effort to create something beautiful for your family, suddenly turning into these enormous businesses, but I still get the impression what they’re really trying to do is make people happy

Now that you live in Chicago, where are you getting boudin?

I either have it shipped to me or surprisingly, I found a place in Chicago, Paulina Market, that makes Louisianastyle boudin. It was shocking when I ﬁrst found it on the web. It’s an old-line meat market here in Chicago.

The recipe was pretty close to traditional Louisiana boudin. They might have had something in there, a spice that I would not normally recognize, but it was tasty It wasn’t Best Stopgrade or Billy’s grade or Bourgeoisgrade, but it was good. So that’s one of the places I get my boudin.

When I visited novelist and short story writer Eudora Welty in the summer of 1994 for a newspaper interview, the ﬁrst challenge was ﬁnding a place to sit. The Tudor Revival home where she’d grown up in Jackson, Mississippi, though spacious, was bursting with books. Some of Welty’s personal library had colonized the couch. I squeezed in beside a stack on one of the cushions, where a copy of newsman Jim Lehrer’s memoir “A Bus of My Own,” rested at the summit.

“Isn’t this terrible, this mess?” Welty, who was then 85, asked by way of apology But like most bookworms, she didn’t seem inclined to reform. We broke the ice by talking about summer reading plans. She mentioned keeping at least one detective mystery nearby — “you can read one a night”— and that she’d been rereading the ﬁction of Chekhov and Elizabeth Bowen. Welty, who was revered as the matriarch of Southern literature, died in 2001, and her house is now open as a museum. When I returned there earlier this year after that ﬁrst visit some three decades ago, I wondered about all the books. Curators of great writers’ houses tend to clean things up a bit after the famous author is no longer around.

Had Welty’s ﬂood of reading material been tidied away?

I needn’t have worried. The couch where I had sat to interview Welty held even more volumes and magazines. Among the treasures was a vintage copy of The Southern Review, the LSU-based literary quarterly that had helped boost Welty’s early career Steve Kelly our volunteer tour guide, smiled when I mentioned how many books were around. He pointed to another sofa in a nearby room, which had also been put to use as an impromptu bookshelf. Vintage volumes by Muriel Spark, Colette and William Wordsworth seemed at home there. There was no other place for them to go. Wall to wall shelves in many of the rooms were already full.

In a long and celebrated career, Welty won the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the French Legion of Honor Her short stories, such as “Why I Live at the P.O.,” and her novels, such as “Delta Wedding” and “The Optimist’s Daughter,” still draw praise. But Kelly said that there was really only one prize Welty made a point of displaying. In 1985, the Mystery Writers of America presented Welty with a Raven Award recognizing her as Reader of the Year The trophy, a striking ceramic image of Edgar Allan Poe’s iconic black bird, has a place of honor on a bedroom shelf.

The Mystery Writers of America’s Raven Award is on display atop a bedroom shelf in Eudora Welty’s former home.

As another summer reading season unfolds, it’s worth noting that Eudora Welty, a revered writer, took pride in being a champion reader of books.

“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them,” she famously wrote.

To honor Welty’s legacy, I stopped at a bookstore on the drive home.

Email Danny Heitman at danny@dannyheitman. com.