Immediately following the April 24 conclusion of Semaine Française d'Arnaudville, an invitation was extended for participation in the October Bogue d'Or festival in Redon, France.

A Louisiana village will showcase all that is South Louisiana - music, art, literary works, dance, food, drink and people.

The festival, which is held the last weekend of October draws 50,000 attendees to the Bretagne (Brittany) region of Pays de Vilaine.

It is during this time work will begin on "The Statue of Creative Liberty," a collaborative work of art between Redon and Arnaudville. It will be competed and unveiled during the 2014 Semaine Fran
çaise d'Arnaudville rural summit.

NUNU Arts and Culture Collective partner Casa Azul Gifts of Grand Coteau presents 7 p.m., Thursday, May 2, an oral history reading by Leona Boxie, and a spoken word performance by poet Alex Johnson.

The evening includes an open mic session during which attendees are encouraged to sing their own songs and/or read their own poems and short stories.

Leona Richard Boxie had five aunts and cousins who joined the Sisters of the Holy Family. She shares with us her observations of family members attracted to a life of religious devotion, which was not unusual within the Grand Coteau area. Boxie, who grew up in Sunset, attended Sunset Elementary and St. Peter Claver High School. She later attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (currently University of Louisiana at Lafayette) while working days as a teacher's assistant for Sunset Elementary School. She currently works at Domengeaux Lumber Depot in Sunset.

Alex Johnson
is a mainstay on the spoken word scene in Lafayette. She was Slam Champion of Lafayette and represented the city in the International World Poetry Slam in 2009 and 2010. Johnson has taught poetry writing and performance at the Lafayette Public Library, and has been a guest presenter at Opelousas Junior High and Carencro High School. She is part of the administrative team for Project Sound which plans curriculum and teaches poetry and performance to teens throughout the Acadiana area. She coached high school students and organized a performance for the students at Festival International de Louisiane
in 2011.

This free event is appropriate for all ages, and is sponsored by The Festival of Words and Imperial St. Landry Genealogical & Historical Society.

Casa Azul Gifts is located at 232 Martin Luther King Drive in Grand Coteau. For more information, contact Patrice Melnick at 337-662-1032 or [email protected]