Preserve Louisiana’s second Cultural & Architectural Tour will travel to the heart of Cajun Country with host, creator and author of Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… Life Stories about Food, Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, on February 16 – February 18, 2018.

Sweeney-McDonald, in partnership with Preserve Louisiana, will explore the culture and history in the heart of Cajun Country.

                                                                    Peggy and Jimmy McDonald Cajun dancing at Landry's

“After a successful tour in January to Natchez, we are excited to be travelling to New Iberia, Avery Island, Jefferson Island and St. Martinville.  We will savor the difference in this part of Cajun Country where Spanish, French, Acadian, African-American and Native American roots mingle to provide a weekend to remember. These trips are more than a cultural and architectural tour as we will be mingling and dining with local New Iberia personalities and hearing their personal and touching stories around their culture and food,” Sweeney McDonald said. “It will truly be a tasty journey of ‘Meanwhile, Back in Cajun Land.”

                                                                                   Checking out the Hot Sauce at Tabasco!

The tour will visit the newly renovated Tabasco Factory and Jungle Gardens, Shadows On the Teche Plantation, The Bayou TecheMuseum, The Joseph Jefferson House, Rip Van Winkle Gardens, the Evangeline Tree and Monument and the Museum of the Acadian Memorial. Attendees will also enjoy delicious cuisine at the Little River Inn, the Original Landry’s (not the chain) with Cajun Dancing to the Cajun Express Band, the Jefferson Café and a wonderful dinner on Saturday evening at the lovely Antique Roseville with the Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… show. Sweeney- McDonald will emcee the popular show with local foodies sharing their life stories about food including Bonnie Breaux - 2017 Seafood Queen and Executive Chef of Café Sydnie Mae, Tuesday Sunshine - Pastry Chef of Indulge Bakery, Author Stanley Dry - the Louisiana Life Kitchen Gourmet columnist, former senior editor of Food & Wine magazine and accomplished cookbook author of The Essential Louisiana Cookbook and Linda Freyou - chef/owner of Antique Roseville. We will also have Happy Hour with Architect Paul J.Allain and tour his award winning historic office building on the Bayou Teche.

Preserve Louisiana’s Cultural & Historical Tour includes transportation, a two-night stay at the Hampton Inn & Suites, all meals, tours and the Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… show. Single Rate is $675 and Doubles rate is $575/each,

For more information and booking, please call Peggy Sweeney-McDonald at (310) 709-2851 or peggy@superstareventsla.com or register at www.preserve-louisiana.org/preserve-louisiana-tours/

Preserve Louisiana is Baton Rouge’s premiere historic preservation organization committed to the safeguarding of our state’s cultural and architectural heritage for generations to come. The Foundation, a member-based group, also provides technical preservation assistance on a fee for service basis.

We are excited to be partnering with the Community Action Partnership of Orange County for a fundraiser. All proceeds will go towards the Hope for the Holidays Campaign benefitting low-income families in Orange County, California during the holidays. The festive event will be held on Sunday, October 1, 2017, and take place at the Old Ranch Country Club located at 3901 Lampson in Seal Beach, California 90740. A cocktail party will begin at 5:00PM with music, appetizers, cash bar and a silent auction. The first ever "Hope for the Holidays" themed Meanwhile Back at Cafe Du Monde... Life Stories About Food monologue show will begin at 6:15PM.  

What better way to celebrate the Baton Rouge Bicentennial then to share Baton Rouge food stories!  We are excited to partner with the East Baton Rouge Library located at 7711 Goodwood Boulevard to produce the Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde... show with Baton Rouge foodies sharing their life stories around food on Sunday, August 13, 2017 at 6:00PM.  Doors open at 5:30PM.  This is a free community event with refreshments to follow including gourmet donuts and the signature "Peggy-Meanwhile" beignet/donut created by Kara Castille of Thee Heavenly Donuts.

Before moving back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana from Los Angeles last year, Peggy Sweeney-McDonald partnered with drama teacher Hank Amigo at Hale Charter School for a 6th Grade Introduction to Drama/Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde... workshop. The 42 sixth graders wrote their food stories and performed them in a fabulous show for their parents, families and friends. It was a huge success, a sold out crowd of 200 people and the ticket sales went to the drama department to help support their future productions.

Meanwhile, Back at Cafe Du Monde... celebrated its 7th Anniversary with a fun filled show of Baton Rouge foodies at the LSU Museum of Art on May 13, 2017 at The Shaw Center for the Arts in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The event was a fundraiser for the LSU Museum of Art and funds raised will be used for art education.  Renee Bourgeois, the Event Manager, of the museum produced the event along with Peggy Sweeney-McDonald of Superstar Events-LA.  A champagne reception was held in the Museum following the show with fabulous seafood enchiladas by Chef Jim Urdiales of Mestizo's Cajun Mexican Restaurant, delicious Sundried Tomato Orzo Salad by Heirloom Cuisine with beignets, of course, and gourmet donuts by Thee Heavenly Donuts including a signature "Peggy" Meanwhile... donut created by Kara Castille!

Creator/Author, Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, is leading a Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde... one week teen writing/performance workshop at the East Baton Rouge Library from July 24-28 from 10:00AM – Noon (Monday-Friday).

Taking the inspiration from the live Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… live shows and book by Pelican Publishing, the teens will create their food stories starting with the popular, “If I were a food, I would be ______ and why?” then move on to write and perform their own food stories from their memories of life around food. The workshop ends with a live show for family and friends on Saturday, July 29^th at 6:00PM. 

The workshop is free and open to teens from 6th - 12th grade. Call 225-231-2770 to register. The workshop will take place at the East Baton Rouge Library located at 7711 Goodwood Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Lousiana. 

We are excited to annouce that the LSU Museum of Art will host the seventh anniversary show of Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… Life Stories About Food on Wednesday, May 10, at 6:30 p.m. This unique food story show will be held in the museum’s Bert and Sue Turner Gallery on the third floor of the Shaw Center for the Arts, followed by a champagne reception in the fifth floor museum. Proceeds from this event will benefit the LSU Museum of Art.

Storytellers will include Pam Bordelon, The Advocate, Pam’s Party Line; Missy Crews, former Miss Louisiana; Kara Castille, owner of Thee Heavenly Donuts; Jim Engster, president of Louisiana Radio Network; James Fox-Smith, publisher of CountryRoads  Magazine; Bill Profita, talk show host at 107.3; Jim Urdiales, owner/chef of Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Restaurant and Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, creator/producer of the show and president of Superstar Events-LA. Additional storytellers will be announced at a later date. Paul Arrigo, president of Visit Baton Rouge, will be returning as emcee.

Additional support has been provided by Glazer’s Distributor’s, Heirloom Cuisine, The Heavenly Donut and Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Restaurant.

Tickets are $40 for LSU MOA members and $50 for the general public and includes show and the champagne reception. Limited seating will be available. Tickets must be purchased in advance by calling 225-389-7210.

For more information about this event, please contact Renee’ Bourgeois at renee@lsu.edu or by calling 225-389-7206.

                                                                                              

The first cultural and culinary tour with Preserve Louisiana in Natchez, Mississippi January 27-29^th was a memorable weekend filled with history, architecture, culinary, spirits, food stories and most of all friendship. The Natchez community rolled out the red carpet for our group of 25 people from the Baton Rouge Area. Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, creator of Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… hosted and planned the trip along with Fairleigh Jackson, Executive Director and Maleyia Porter, Marketing Coordinator of Preserve Louisiana (formerly the Foundation for Historical Louisiana). It was a great partnership and we hope the first of many to come. The goal of the trip was to explore the neighboring community of Natchez that is a treasure of architecture, culture, food and southern hospitality.

                    This tour was one of the best I have ever experienced. Best food experience ever! – Dorothy Novak

The tour travelled by bus to Natchez on Friday, January 27^th with the first stop at the Carriage House Restaurant for a lovely lunch by Chef Bingo Starr. We enjoyed delicious Southern Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, salad and their amazing melt in your mouth biscuits.  After lunch we toured Stanton Hall Plantation with an amazing tour guide before checking into the lovely Natchez Grand Hotel located on the mighty Mississippi.  As we settled into our rooms, we were able to watch the sun go down as all of our rooms had river views before leaving at 5:30 PM for the Charboneau Rum Distilleryy. A tasting tour was led by Doug Charboneau and his son, Jean Luc.

The tour was very informative, entertaining and ended with a Rum Cocktail at their historic restaurant, King’sTavernn, next door before heading over to Twin Oaks Plantation. Chef Regina Charboneau, an award winning cookbook author and Mississippi Maven, welcomed us into her beautiful historic home with an over the top dinner and hospitality straight out of Southern Living Magazine.  We feasted on Shrimp and Grits, melt in your mouth brisket, salads, roasted vegetables, poached pears and cheese, Regina’s famous biscuits and incredible desserts of Blackberry Crème Brulee Trifle, Pecan Pie and wine.  It was hard not to go back for seconds and many of us did!  During dinner Regina entertained us with stories of her journey back to her hometown after having several award winning restaurants in San Francisco and cooking for celebrities including Mick Jagger. Darby Short of the famous Darby’s Fudge and Darby’s Store in downtown Natchez, stopped by to bring us a delicious platter of fudge to sample and tell us her journey to Natchez and her food story.

                                                             Peggy, Darby, Regina, Fairleigh & Maleyia - Twin Oaks Plantation                  

This trip was perfect. Dining at Regina Charboneau’s was an incredible experience! I felt like we were in a Southern Living Magazine – Debra Minkus

                                                                                            Twin Oaks Plantation

Preserve Louisiana’s first Cultural & Architectural Tour will travel to Natchez, MS with host, creator and author of Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… Life Stories about Food, Peggy Sweeney-McDonald, on January 27 - January 29, 2017.

Sweeney-McDonald, in partnership with Preserve Louisiana, will explore the culture and history of Natchez and neighboring cities.

“These trips are more than a cultural and architectural tour as we will be mingling and dining with local Natchez personalities and hearing their personal and touching stories around their culture and food,” Sweeney McDonald said. “It will truly be a tasty journey of ‘Meanwhile, back in’ Natchez.”

The tour will visit the Rosalie Plantation, Stanton Hall Plantation and downtown Natchez, which includes the Court House and the Thomas H. and John W. Gandy Photograph Collection. Attendees will also enjoy delicious cuisine at the Carriage House by Mississippi Celebrity Chef Bingo Starr; a barbeque lunch at the Pig Out Inn; a tasting tour of the award winning Charboneau Rum Distillery; and dinner at Dunleith Plantation with the Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… show. The tour also includes dinner and wine at the Twin Oaks Plantation, the private home of best-selling cookbook author, Chef Regina Charboneau.

Sweeney- McDonald will emcee the show with notable local foodies, including Chef Charboneau; owner of Darby’s Famous Fudge, Darby Ward Short; editor of Country Roads Magazine, James Fox-Smith; and Dunleith’s popular mixologist Mark Brockway.

 Director of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, Lynn Beach Smith, will also be in attendance.

“Natchez hosts groups from all over the world, but we are so excited to host Preserve Louisiana,” Smith exclaimed. “We will make this trip a culinary, historical, and cultural experience not to be missed.”

Preserve Louisiana’s Cultural & Historical Tour includes transportation, a two-night stay at the Grand Hotel set on the bluffs of the Mississippi River, meals, tours, and the Meanwhile, Back at Café Du Monde… show.

For more information and booking, please call Peggy Sweeney-McDonald at (310) 709-2851 or peggy@superstareventsla.com

Preserve Louisiana is Baton Rouge’s premiere historic preservation organization committed to the safeguarding of our state’s cultural and architectural heritage for generations to come. The Foundation, a member-based group, also provides technical preservation assistance on a fee for service basis.  For more information: www.fhl.org