Northwestern State University of Louisiana and the city of Natchitoches is home to a variety of summer events, programs and festivals that allow prospective students and families to see the campus and community.
David West, director of communications, explained that Natchitoches events give future Demons an idea of what the university has to offer.
“Many NSU students have said they first learned about Northwestern when they attended a summer camp or program,” West said.
He added that summer programs on campus help generate revenue for the university.
“Those who attend, stay in our residence halls and use campus dining facilities,” West said. “Parents and families may attend closing events and will spend money in local restaurants and hotels.”
West explained that popular summer events such as the NSU Folk Festival and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame induction are publicized throughout the state and bring tourists to Natchitoches.
Shane Rasmussen, director of the Louisiana Folklife Center and professor of English, explained that the 44th annual Folklife Festival will be held this summer on Saturday, July 20 in Prather Coliseum.
“It was started by Dr. Donald W. Hatley, who just recently passed this last year, but it was also started by Pete Gregory who’s been teaching anthropology at NSU for over 60 years,” Rasmussen said.
He added that the audience comes from all states throughout the southern U.S. to visit the festival.
“There are a lot of folks that come in from about four different states aside from Louisiana including Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Arkansas. They come to the festival every single year because they know it’s going to be something for everyone,” Rasmussen said. “We also have alumni that come back and support Demonland.”
This event was created over 40 years ago to celebrate Louisiana’s unique folklife to showcase its crafts, food, music and culture.
“We have a hall of crafts where we invited over 100 traditional crafts vendors, while traditional music will be playing all day long,” Rasmussen said. “We have groups such as the Gospel Group Zion Harmonizers from New Orleans, Sonny Goulage and Blues Groovers coming from Baton Rouge. There will be a lot of other great musicians and I can’t wait.”
The festival brings a lot of diverse communities to the Natchitoches area.
“You can see the diversity reflected in the number of crafts that we will have,” Rasmussen said. “People love the crafts because they are real and not just from a kit, these different groups coming to the area are sharing their traditions.”
Rasmussen explained that the Folklife Festival shares what makes Louisiana truly special.
“I see people doing things because of their love and their passion for this community,” Rasmussen said. “It is what makes us so special. If you take the folk culture out of Louisiana, what is there?”
Meshelle Morgan, office coordinator for the Natchitoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, explained that visitors are drawn to Natchitoches in the summer for several reasons.
“For one, we are the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, we had a few movies filmed here and we also have a variety of festivals,” Morgan said.
The annual Jazz R&B Festival, which will be held on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11, has a high attendance rate for Natchitoches tourist events.
“This year there will be a Fleetwood Mac Tribute, Chapel Hart, Craig Morgan and other artists as well,” Morgan said.
She also added that the area, overall, is a great family vacation spot.
“Usually, middle aged people with families who are looking for a quiet place to stay and get away,” Morgan said.
Spending a summer in Natchitoches and at NSU will allow future Demon students and their families to become familiar with the culture, traditions and new experiences of the surrounding area.
