Spooks to the symphony offered this weekend

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 28, 2008

If you’re looking for a little fun this Friday night, on Halloween, you couldn’t pick anything better than the “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which is being produced at St. John Theater in Reserve.

The show will take place at midnight and tickets are available in advance at Allied Express in LaPlace (right next to the Sears store behind the McDonalds on Airline Highway.) Call 651-9322 for more information, or visit the web site at stjohntheatre.com.

Visitors to the show are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes that night, with tickets priced at $25 per person.

Remember that the show content is for adults only.

Speaking of getting ready for a bit of fun, you won’t do any better than being at San Francisco Plantation this Sunday afternoon for the return of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Philharmonic has played the last two years on the grounds of the plantation, as a major fundraiser to help the plantation during these still-difficult times.

Many folks might be surprised to know that all the plantations in this region are still struggling ever since Hurricane Katrina hit. No kidding. Even though it has been three years since Katrina, I think the plantations in the River Region may be some of the places which have had the toughest, longest lasting effect from that killer storm.

The last numbers I heard are that most of the plantations are still not even back to 50 percent of the tourist business they had before Katrina. The problem is that tourism in New Orleans is still slowly rebounding, and we were always a direct connection to the N.O. business.

So fundraisers such as this event are vital to keep the plantation up and running.

I went to the show last year and I’m not kidding when I tell you that you probably won’t find a more enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, than sitting on the grounds outside the plantation, and listening to the Philharmonic perform in the open air. And don’t worry, I’ve already checked the long range weather forecast, which looks perfect.

They have added a number of other events to the day’s activities to make it a fun day overall, with a 10 a.m. car show, 11:30 a.m. Gumbo cookoff, and then the concert at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available for $10, but organizers are trying to encourage a lot of young people to come, so any adult who buys a ticket and brings someone under the age of 17 will get the teen, or child, in for free. What a great deal!

You can purchase tickets at the door, but if you need more information, call 1-888-322-1756.

And if you don’t have enough fun to fill your calendar this weekend, you can also make a stop over in Garyville during the day this Sunday, where the annual Wheelbarrow Parade and Festival will be held.

Many of you are familiar with this longtime tradition between LSU and Tulane fans. Since the two teams play each other Saturday night, the loser of the game has to push a fan from the other team in a wheelbarrow for the length of the parade. Organizer Tomy Acosta tells me that the winner is based on beating the point spread.

Of course organizers of the annual Wheelbarrow parade have also turned it into—what else in Louisiana?—a party! So once the parade is held at 11 a.m., everyone will end at the Garyville Youth Organization field, where there will be a day-long party.

Anyone is invited to be a part of the parade, which starts at the Garyville Firehouse and goes down Historic West Street, ending at the field. Just show up by 10:30 with a decorated wheelbarrow, and somebody to push in it.

At the field will be a cabbage ball tournament all day long, with plenty of food and drinks to purchase, and live music with two bands during the day.

Q: How can you tell if a blond’s been using the computer?

A: There’s white-out on the screen.

Q: How can you tell if another blond’s been using the computer?

A: There’s writing on the white-out.

Kevin Chiri is Publisher of L’Observateur and can be reached at (985) 652-9545 or at kchiri@bellsouth.net