2nd Saturday Art Walk

Last night I went to Downtown Lafayette's Art Walk and was surprised to find that there were quite a few of the smaller galleries with displaying works that I liked, and little at the Acadian Center for the Arts that I liked! The three smaller galleries featured in the slide show had lots of local art containing many motifs of Cajun life - oysters, crabs, and crayfish. Also, many of the pieces in these smaller galleries contained really vibrant reds, blues, and greens!

I also visited a new gallery, Adrian's Fine Arts and Antiques, that I had not previously been to that featured a charicature artist, which I am usually not a fan of this genre, whoever I was really impressed! This gallery also featured really great live music! By far my favorite stop last night!

As I mentioned, the Acadiana Center for the Arts (ACA) usually contains my favorite works for the evening, however this was not the case last night. The only collection that I enjoyed at the ACA yesterday was one in which the artist had painted various musical instruments (i.e. violin, cielo, bass, French horn, etc.)with different themes from the celestial to a violin made to look like it was wearing a tuxedo. The Vault at the ACA contained some local pottery from the rice patties that didn't really do anything for me, which probably had a lot to do with the drab colors that were used. In the main gallery, there was a photography and acrylic collection in which the artist had taken blurry photos from the back seat of a car and then painted an even blurrier interpretation of the photos. Personally, they were not to my taste because they reminded me of my vision when I take out my contacts: one big blur of colors.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable evening: good art and some great weather!

On a side note: My friend and I strolled through Park San Succi and found ourselves participating in a hula hoop class demo. Why Red's does not offer this class, is beyond me!

Location:

Ice Gator Game

Saturday night I went to a Lafayette Ice Gator game with some friends. As odd as ice hockey in South Louisiana sounds, so does snow in these parts and that's obviously happened three time since I've been here.

Anyways...

Despite the fact that I am not an avid hockey fan, I am always up for any spectator sport involving speed and body slamming. A friend of mine asked if I was interested in seeing Lafayette's pro or semi-pro (it's up for debate, depending on who you ask)ice hockey team play that evening, and my first response was too Google ticket prices. While at the Ice Gator's website checking out ticketing, I noticed that the March 6th game was list a "guaranteed win night," so I was definitely in!

What is a "guaranteed win night?" According to the Ice Gator website, a "guaranteed win night" is a game that the Ice Gators are so confident they'll win, that if they don't, then they will give every member of the audience a free ticket to the next home game. Since I love FREE things, I was sold on this and obviously went to the game without even knowing who the opponent was (still don't), yet hoping GUEST would win! Unforturnately, things did not work out that way and the Ice Gators won the game in over time!

However, I got into Saturday night's game for free because a girl outstide the stadium was giving away FREE tickets to people in line to buy the $10 game ticket. Therefore, things still worked out and I got my FREE ticket!!

The game was really exciting, but I was surprised by how many times the Gators fell down during game play: definitely don't recall that many face plants on the ice from the Olympics!

Despite the fact that the Ice Gators won and I did not get a free ticket to a second game, I still had a blast and would DEFINTELY go to another Ice Gator game!

The zambonie (see slideshow) was really unique because never before had I seen one designed to look like a gator!

WARNING: I'm a picky eater, so I usually eat at home or take my own snacks along in my purse. After reading that statement it should not surprise you that I ate dinner at home before the game and was really glad that I had, based on my visual appraisal of the food served at the Blackhem Colliseum concession stand. Also, a friend of mine described her hamburger from the concessions. Personally, soggy is not a word I like to associate with any food other than a French Dip. So, eat concession stand food at your own risk! YUCK!

BONUS: We did not stay for the ULL hockey game that began immediately after the Ice Gator game. However, if you attend and Ice Gator game on a night that ULL is playing after them, then you can take advantage of a two for one hockey game!

http://www.icegators.com/

Map:

2nd Saturday Art Walk

On the second Saturday of every month, the art studios and museum (ACA) in downtown Lafayette open their doors between 6-8pm for a lot of art and some wine - two of my favorite things! This past Saturday was my third Art Walk in the 16 months that I have been here. What does that say about someone who minored in art history and has only attended three out of sixteen of these since she's been here? That they are hit or miss. This Saturday was definitely a hit! Several of the art galleries had gorgeous landscapes. Also, the Acadiana Center for the Arts has an awesome photography display! My favorite photos on display at ACA this month were taken by an individual just after Katrina in 2005 of the various billboards that had been destroyed by the storm and then graffitied by people.

Unfortunately, the turnout this month was really low due to the unusually low temperatures. However, anyone that stayed home from the cold Saturday night, missed out on some great art!