Louisiana Heritage

Louisiana designated Cajun / Creole as the official state heritage in 1992, stating that hoop nets, castnets, and shrimp trawls are part of the cajun and creole heritage of Louisiana and should be preserved to help maintain the cajun and creole culture.

Louisiana Sate Repile

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was designated the state reptile of Louisiana in 1983. The word Alligator comes from the Spanish "el lagarto" (the lizard). Native to the Southeastern United States, alligators construct burrows, or "alligator holes" for shelter and hibernation. They are also known to find shelter in swimming pools during the dry months. Alligators are an important part of their ecosystem - they control the population of prey species, create peat through their nesting activities, and benefit several other species with 'alligator holes' and nests (including the Florida Red-bellied turtle which incubates its own eggs there).

Louisiana State Drink

Milk was designated the official state drink of Louisiana in 1983. Milk has been called a nearly perfect food - a source of protein, calcium, and several other important nutrients.

Louisiana State Vegetable

Louisiana designated the sweet potato as the official state vegetable in 2003. Sweet potatoes come in many varieties and are a highly nutritious, versatile food that tastes great.

The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum). Sweet potatos are often called yams in parts of North America, although they are only very distantly related to the other plant that is widely known as yams (in the Dioscoreaceae family) which is native to Africa and Asia

Louisiana State Animal

The Louisiana black bear was designated the official state mammal of Louisiana in 1992. The US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Louisiana black bear as threatned in 1992. Once common, biologists estimate the current population to be only 3-400 animals. There are 16 recognized subspecies of black bears in North America - black bears living in Louisiana, lower Mississippi, and eastern Texas are designated Ursus americanus luteolus - the Louisiana black bear.

Louisiana Insect

Louisiana designated the honeybee as official state insect in 1977. Bee pollination is critical to plant and human survival - beeswax and honey are just surplus gifts from this tiny wonder of nature. The plant world expends a lot of energy attracting bees and other insects with brilliantly colored flowers and sweet nectar (nectar is produced solely to attract pollinating insects). The honeybee is recognized as an official state symbol in seventeen states, primarily because honeybees play such an important role in agriculture.

Hurricane Katrina

Early in the morning on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the people affected by the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage.

Hunting

With an abundance of waterfowl migrating down every year it is easy to see why Louisiana Hunting Adventures located in Southwestern Louisiana has become known as one of the premier outfitters in the south. Deer hunting is also a great also.  

Louisiana Flag

The flag of Louisiana consists of a heraldic charge called a "pelican in her piety," representing a mother pelican wounding her breast to feed her young from the blood. The mother pelican's head and outspread wings covering the three pelican chicks nested below her form a stylized fleur-de-lis, another emblem of similar significance often depicted in Louisiana. This symbol, emblematic of Christian charity, is also found on the state seal. On the flag it is depicted above a ribbon with the state motto: "Union, Justice, and Confidence". The current flag was adopted in 2006, revising the original pelican design of 1912.

New Orleans

New Orleans is one of the world's most fascinating cities. Steeped in a history of influences from Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and beyond, it’s home to a truly unique melting pot of culture, food and music.

You'll find bowls filled to the rim with gumbo, late nights in dark jazz clubs, strolls through historic neighborhoods, and tantalizing festivals throughout the year.

Come hear some of New Orleans' top bands at Jazz in the Park, a free outdoor concert series starting up again this fall in Louis Armstrong Park. In addition to the music, Jazz in the Park also offers great food, drink, and child-friendly activities.

New Orleans is full of festivals year round, but from March until October, the festival schedule ramps up with celebrations of everything from food to music, culture, literature, the arts and so much more. There's something for everything this Festival Season in NOLA!

Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras, also Fat Tuesday in English, refers to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after the Epiphany or King's Day and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday", reflecting the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. The date of Fat Tuesday coincides with that of celebrations of Shrove Tuesday, from the word shrive, meaning "confess".

Music

New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz. Jazz is a kind of music with strong rhythms and much syncopation, often improvised. Brass bands and piano players helped create this new sound. Jazz has spread across the planet, an ambassador for Louisiana culture.

The blues is also a link to the past. This music style is based on black folk music, especially on the chants of the black workers on the plantations. Those rhythms were memories of their African culture and made the slaves' lives and the work more bearable. The instruments most associated with blues music are the guitar and the harmonica. Later, when horns were added and the tempo changed, the new style was known as rhythm and blues.

The early Cajuns often held dance parties at their rural homes. Entire families came, and the young children were put on blanket pallets in the bedroom. They were told to go to sleep, which in French is fais-do-do. This became the name of these dance parties, and today the term fais-do-do refers to a Cajun dance.

Zydeco is the special type of music of French-speaking African Americans of South Louisiana. It is much like Cajun music; the song is sung in French and played on an accordion. An added instrument, the rub-board is used for rhythm.

Country music is part of the heritage of North Louisiana. In the days before television, when people gathered for entertainment, musicians brought their instruments. Their string bands usually usually included a guitar, a fiddle, and a mandolin. This traditional southern country music developed into bluegrass music and then into modern country music. This heritage continues with a state fiddling championship held each year at Marthaville in Natchitoches Parish.

Sports

Sports are very popular in Louisiana. The northern part of the state is often called "Sportsman's Paradise" locally. American football is probably the most popular sport throughout the state. Other popular athletic sports include basketball and baseball. Also, recreational sports such as hunting and fishing are also popular, especially in North Louisiana. Louisiana has possibly the biggest in state college rivalry, the Bayou Classic between Southern University and its North Louisiana counterpart, Grambling State University, which is played annually in New Orleans. Louisiana also has a sports Hall of Fame. Since 1958, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame has honored the elite figures in state sports history. Only 248 men and women have been chosen for induction into the Hall of Fame.

The state has many sports teams for high school, college and professional athletes

Food

Seasonings such as Cheyenne pepper, Tony Chachere’s, Zatarains are prevalent in the cuisine of Louisiana. While the state is predominantly known for its Cajun and Creole Cuisine, Native American cuisine preceded their contributions. Creole cuisine is influenced by traditional French cooking with Spanish, African, and Indian influences.

Although the food most identified with the state is the Cajun and Creole food of South Louisiana, North Louisiana also has its own unique cuisine. Traditionally, southern style Soul food such as smothered pork chops, chicken and dumplings, candied yams, hot water cornbread, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and black-eyed peas are commonly eaten in North Louisiana. For many years, Crawfish were not eaten outside of Cajun people. People north of Alexandria were more likely to eat fried chicken or barbecue. Fish fries featuring catfish took the place of crayfish boils. Today, boiled crayfish is served throughout the state.

Other foods popular in Louisiana include Gumbo, Etouffee, Jambalaya, Muffalouta, Po’boy, and Red Beans and Rice. Seafood is especially popular in Louisiana either as an ingredient or as a main dish such as Shrimp, Crawfish, Crabs, Oysters and Catfish. Swamp denizens such as Gator or Alligator, Frog Legs, and Turtle Soup is popular around the bayous of south Louisiana

                                                            

State Dog

The Catahoula leopard dog was designated the official state dog of Louisiana in 1979. Catahoula leopard dogs are bred to find livestock in any terrain - swamps, canyons, forests, or mountains - largest and most aggressive of the cattle dogs, they can handle wild cattle and hogs in the roughest country. Leopard dogs are the only native domesticated North American breed of dog - developed by Indians and early settlers.

State Tree

Louisiana designated the bald cypress official state tree in 1963. Unlike most conifers (which are evergreens), the bald cypress is deciduous (loses its needles in the fall - giving the tree a "bald" appearance). A majestic tree that grows in many parts of Louisiana, particularly in swampy areas.

State Bird

The brown pelican was designated the state bird of Louisiana in 1966. Early European settlers were impressed with the pelican's generous and nurturing attitude toward their young, and the brown pelican has been a symbol of Louisiana since that time.

State Flower

 The magnolia blossom was designated the state flower of Louisiana in 1900. The southern magnolia is a medium size hardwood tree that grows in the southeast USA. The large, fragrant white flowers and leathery evergreen leaves make the magnolia tree popular around the world as an ornamental.       

                                                  

Capitol City

Baton Rouge is French for "RedStick", is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana and its second-largest city. The seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, the city is located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River.

As the "Capital City," Baton Rouge is the political hub for Louisiana, and is the second-largest metropolitan city in the state, with a growing population of 229,426 people as of 2013. The metropolitan area surrounding the city, known as Greater Baton Rouge, has a population of 820,159 people as of 2013. The urban area has around 594,309 inhabitants.

Louisiana History

The territory of Louisiana was first populated by hunter-gatherers roughly 10,000 years ago; first traces of permanent settlement, ushering in the Archaic period, appear at about 5,500 years ago.

The area formed part of the Eastern Agricultural Complex. The Marksville culture emerges about 2,000 years ago out of the earlier Tchefuncte culture. It is considered ancestral to the Natchez and Taensa peoples. About 1,000 years ago, the Mississippian culture emerged from the Woodland period. The emergence of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex coincides with the adoption of maize agriculture and chiefdom-level complex social organization beginning in c. 1200 CE. The Mississippian culture mostly disappeared before the 16th century, with the exception of some Natchez communities that maintained Mississippian cultural practices into the 18th century.