Tea Fashions and Fancies
Saturday, February 15
2 - 4 p.m.
Featuring Raffaele Raimondi
Mr. Raimondi, owner, designer, furrier and buyer of Raffaele’s Custom Furs, Lafayette and Baton Rouge will speak about his journey from Italy’s fur powerhouse, Melloni Furs to Godchaux’s fur department in New Orleans. Included during this special afternoon: a special English-style tea and assortments of fine sandwiches and specialties. Reservations are required.
Ione E. Burden Symposium
Saturday, February 29
8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Distinguished speakers will discuss the “Burden Family Legacy” in celebration of the 50th anniversary of their generous donation of their property of the LSU Rural Life Museum. A special fee of $40 will be charged, and reservations are required. A country lunch and speaker's reception are included.
Louisiana Sew & Sow
Saturday, March 14
Experience the 18th and 19th century Louisiana come to life as the LSU Rural Life Museum presents Louisiana Sow and Sew. Join us as we celebrate the start of the spring planting season with a look back at traditional life in home and field. From sewing a quilt to sowing seeds in a field, families are invited to spend a day as an early Louisianan with unique demonstrations ranging from a black smithing to animal drawn plowing. Children and families can participate in hands on activities such as making candles, quill pens, and butter churning. Come roam the museum with family and friends and enjoy costumed interpreters sharing about life in the old days.
Zapp’s International Beerfest
Saturday, March 28
3:30 - 6 p.m.
More than 200 foreign, domestic, and home brewed beer and ales will be available for tasting. This event is for patrons 21 years of age and older. Proper photo identification required to purchase tickets and to enter event.
Non- alcoholic beverages will be available. Tickets are limited. Early Entry 2:30 pm $100.00 each, Regular Tickets $40.00 3:30 pm until 6:00 pm.
An Old-Fashioned Easter Celebration
Sunday, April 5
1-4 p.m.
Children ages 2 through 8 will have the opportunity to enjoy customs associated with Easter in Louisiana. Children will be able to participate in many activities such as egg dying, egg pacquing, and leg races and of course egg hunting.
Admission fee is $5.00 per person.
An Evening at Windrush
Friday, April 24
This elegant southern supper will capture the spirit of days gone by at Windrush Plantation. Guest will enjoy cocktails at the Burden home, a seated supper, and with desserts and coffee in the museum’s complex. Reservations are required.
LSU Rural Life Museum 50th Anniversary Open House
Sunday, May 3
Noon - 4 p.m.
The LSU Rural Life Museum invites you to celebrate our 50th anniversary with an afternoon of light refreshments, music and costumed interpreters throughout the museum. This event is free and open to the public.
Chao Ding: LSU Rural Life Museum 50th Anniversary Art Exhibition
Thursday, May 7
Chao Ding is a Beijing native, and currently lives and works in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During his childhood he sat beside his father’s easel to watch for leisure. Chao received his B.A. in Fashion Design from Beijing University of Technology in 2012. After four years of study and experience as an intern in the fashion industry, he felt limited to express himself. In 2014, he moved to Buffalo, New York to study drawing and painting at SUNY Buffalo State College, where he found the enthusiasm to return back to the painting medium. After graduating from SUNY, he went to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to pursue an MFA degree in studio art at Louisiana State University.
Chao is a perceptual painter, mostly working on representational pictures. His subjects are mainly based on his personal experiences as a foreign national in the United States. A strong sense of isolation leaves him time to explore his surroundings and pay close attention to abandoned houses and shuttered buildings that have been forgotten. Chao looks for the constructive force and beauty in nature and discovering internal orders. He is intrigued by the visual formalities and rhythms that he has encountered to concentrate on the unusual and hidden beauties from those forgotten scenes and is constantly seeking new possibilities in his painting compositions.
As part of Chao’s Plein-air studies, he has continued to explore more intense and direct expressions by discarding the redundancies and simplifying objective reality. Attempts have also been made to incorporate figurative elements. With the strong emotions and sensations that nature brought to him, his pictures capture that very brief moment of time into eternity on the canvas.
LSU Rural Life Museum Apprentice Program
June 1st – 5th
8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
In keeping with the Museum’s educational objectives of teaching the traditional arts of rural Louisianans; re-known Louisiana artisans will teach children during this weeklong summer camp the traditional folk arts and activities that took place during the 18th century. Each child will learn and participate in various activities such as; woodworking, blacksmithing, candle making, weaving, open hearth cooking, and traditional games.
Chao is a perceptual painter, mostly working on representational pictures. His subjects are mainly based on his personal experiences as a foreign national in the United States. A strong sense of isolation leaves him time to explore his surroundings and pay close attention to abandoned houses and shuttered buildings that have been forgotten. Chao looks for the constructive force and beauty in nature and discovering internal orders. He is intrigued by the visual formalities and rhythms that he has encountered to concentrate on the unusual and hidden beauties from those forgotten scenes and is constantly seeking new possibilities in his painting compositions.
Open to children entering the 4th through the 8th grades. Advanced registration is required.
Registration Fee: $100.00 per participant.
Please contact Steve Ramke; 225-765-2437 or sramke@lsu.edu.