Tickets are still available for some events planned for this year's Books Along the Teche literary festival.
This is the eighth year the festival has happened in Iberia Parish; it honors the Dave Robicheaux character created by author James Lee Burke. There are readings, a book swap, presentations, author talks, cooking demonstrations, a fais-do-do that offers dance lessons, tours, music and food.
This year's "Great Souther Writer," or featured author, is Natalie Baszile, who wrote Queen Sugar.
Baszile has a M.A. in Afro-American Studies from UCLA, and is a graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers. Queen Sugar was named one of the San Francisco Chronicles’ Best Books of 2014, and nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Natalie has had residencies at the Ragdale Foundation, Virginia Center for the Arts, Hedgebrook, and the Djerassi Resident Arts Program where she received the SFFILM and the Bonnie Rattner Fellowships. Her non-fiction work has appeared in Lenny Letter, The Bitter Southerner, O, The Oprah Magazine, The Rumpus.net and a number of anthologies. For two years, she was Writer in Residence at Saint Mary’s College where she taught a fiction workshop in the MFA Program. Natalie is a member of the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto and lives in the Bay Area.
If you want to attend the festival events, you can get an all-inclusive pass, or buy tickets to individual events, but many of the events planned for the festival are free, too.
Here's a video made about last year's event, so you can see what kind of activities are planned:
Here's the schedule, with links to more information about each of these events or to buy a ticket:
Friday, April 5, 2024
- L’Acadian Art Guild Exhibit-Friday and Saturday – April 5th and 6th, 8:30-5:30, Sunday – April 7th, 1:30-5:30
- Everything You Wanted to Know About Sugar Cane Farming by Edwin Lewis – April 5, 2024 9:30 – 10:15
- Presentation on Creole History- April 5, 2024 10:30-11:15
- Dave’s Haunts and Jaunts Mystery Bus Tour – April 5, 2024 11:30 – 3:15 Ticket Required
- The Path to Sainthood: The Candidacies of three Cajun Catholics – April 5, 2024 11:30 – 12:30
- Telling Your Own Story – April 5, 2024 12:45-1:30
- Publishing Book Panel – Friday, April 5, 2024 1:45 – 2:30
- “Author Like a Boss” – Friday, April 5, 2024 2:45 – 3:30
- Poet Laurete: Alison Pelegrin – Friday, April 5, 2024 3:45 – 4:30
- Bayou Teche Writing Workshop: “Setting as Character: Leveraging Place in Your Writing” – Friday, April 5, 2024 3:45 – 4:45
- Tour the Bunk Johnson Room – Friday, April 5, 2024 4:45 – 5:30
- Jazz It Up Opening Reception – Friday, April 5, 2024 6:00 – 8:00
Ticket Required
Saturday, April 6, 2024
- Children’s Activities and Book Fair – Saturday, April 6th, 2024, 9:00-3:00 (Rodrigue Park)
- Authors Book Fair Sat., April 6, 2024 9:00-3:00
- Publishing Poetry with Former Poet Laureates -Saturday, April 6th 9:00-9:45
- Raisin’ Cane: Exploring the Sugarcane Lifecycle – Saturday, April 6, 2024 9:00 – 9:45
- The Best Book You’ve Never Heard of (Book Swap)- Saturday, April 6, 2024 10:00 – 10:45
- Sculptor Presentation: Creating the James Lee Burke Statue – Saturday, April 6, 2024 10:00 – 10:45
- Dave Robicheaux’s Walking Tour – Saturday, April 6, 2024 9:00-11:00 Ticket Required
- Great Southern Chef: Seafood Cooking Demonstration – Sat., April 6, 2024 10:00-11:30 (Steamboat Pavilion) Ticket Required
- Zoom Call with James Lee Burke – April 6, 2024 11:00 – Noon
- VIP Book Club Lunch with “Queen Sugar” Author Natalie Baszile- Saturday, April 6, 2024 12:00-12:45 Ticket Required
- Dedication of James Lee Burke Statue – Saturday, April 6, 2024 12:15 – 12:45
- Great Southern Writer Symposium and Book Signing – Saturday, April 6, 2024 1:00-2:45 Ticket Required
- Kayak Tour – Saturday, April 6, 2024 2:00 – TBA Ticket Required
- Reader’s Theater – Saturday, April 6, 2024 2:45 – 3:30
- Fleur De Lis Speaks (Affirmation Workshop) – Saturday, April 6, 2024 3:45 – 4:30
- James Lee Burke Book Club – Saturday, April 6, 2024 3:45 – 4:30
- Bookclubs and Bubbles – Saturday, April 6, 2024 4:45 – 5:30
- Cajun Fais Do Do and Dinner- Sat., April 6, 2024 6:00-8:00 Ticket Required
Sunday, April, 7 2024
