Fridamania hits the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Photos by Ellis Anderson, The Shoofly Magazine

Frida Kahlo, a magical realist Mexican painter whose vibrant artwork defined a nation, inspired women and influenced fashion, has become a role model for artists, political activists and just those wanting to dress up and have a good time. And Fridamania has spread to the Mississippi Gulf Coast where the annual Frida Fest happens every summer in Bay St. Louis.

The fourth annual Frida Fest coincides with the city’s Second Saturday ArtWalk from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 14, 2018, in Old Town Bay St. Louis. There will be a Frida-look-alike contest, a Mariachi photo booth, gallery openings, face painting, tapas, pinatas and more! Want to see last year’s fun? Click here.

Here are some of the highlights of this year’s Frida Fest:

11 a.m.-6 p.m.: Taco Extravaganza at the Starfish Café, 211 Main St. (run by the PNEUMA-Winds of Hope organization dedicated to training adults in the culinary arts and life skills)

2 p.m.: Connie Bourgeois will help participants get “Frida-fied” with braids, brows and Frida makeup in the grassy area across from Smith & Lens at 106 S 2nd St.

3 p.m.: Piñata contest at Century Hall, 112 S. Second St.

4-8 p.m.: Free wine tasting at Bodega Spirts Liquor/Parrot Head Grill, 111 Court St.

4:30 p.m. Salsa tasting contest at Century Hall, 112 S. Second St.

Make your own little Casa Azul or decorate maracas with The Arts, Hancock County. Create a Frida Kahlo inspired self-portrait at the Main Street Methodist Church on the corner of Main and 2nd Street.

5 p.m.: Blue Magnolia will perform at the Mockingbird Cafe, 110 S. 2nd St.

5-7 p.m. Frida photos with Glitter the Goat at Social Chair, 201 Main St.

The Mexican Consulate in New Orleans will offer free Spanish books and tourism information.

5:30 p.m.: Loteria with Lugo on the patio at Smith & Lens, 106 S. 2nd St.

5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. NOHA traditional dancers with Cesar & Julio Mariachi and Skinz n Bonez and Bay Ratz Marching Battery -- roaming and entertaining Old Town.

7:30: Frida Be You and Me look-alike contest with celebrity emcees Desiree Ontiveros and Kookie Baker and celebrity judges Lathsky Gitana and The Traveler Broads, Maloney and Fender. Registration for this event will be from 5 p.m. to 7p.m.

Don’t forget that this is the monthly ArtWalk so galleries and other businesses will be open and offering discounts, new artwork, refreshments and more. There’s also the 5th annual poker run benefiting CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) beginning at 10 a.m. 

Want to read more about Bay St. Louis, one of our favorite Southern towns? Click here.

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by travel and food writer Chere Dastugue Coen, who loves a creative Southern festival.

St. Louis celebrates 'America's Biggest Birthday Party' as it unveils Museum of Westward Expansion at the Gateway Arch

On July 3, the Museum of the Westward Expansion at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis officially opens, offering interactive exhibits showcasing the city's history and the country's westward expansion. The museum includes full-scale models of traditional French colonial log cabins and a replica of the 1852 Mississippi levee, among others.

The museum grand opening and ribbon cutting begin at 10 a.m., followed by a grand opening celebration at the North Gateway.

Then, in celebration of the nation's birthday on Wednesday, there will be "America's Biggest Birthday Party" July 4, 6 and 7 with musical acts such as Martina McBride and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, a parade and nightly fireworks.

The landmark Arch has seen lots of new updates, including a greenway allowing better foot traffic from downtown St. Louis to the river's edge and six miles of trails. The cramped but exciting ride up the 630-foot Arch remains and is a must-see for any visitor to St. Louis.

Need a place to stay? The closest hotel to the Gateway Arch is the Hyatt Regency St. Louis, which also received a renovation.

Weird, Wacky and Wild South blog is written by travel and food writer Chere Dastugue Coen. Part of this blog post contained information obtained by a press release from Hyatt Regency St. Louis.

Take 5: Write on! Five Southern accommodations with a literary bent

Monteleone Hotel, New Orleans

1. Fitzgerald House

For two years F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, lived in a home in Zelda’s hometown of Montgomery, Alabama. Even though their time here was quick, they wrote portions of their novels, "Save Me The Waltz" and "Tender Is The Night." Now, the circa-1910 Craftsman house within the city’s historic Cloverdale district contains the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum and is the last home the Fitzgeralds lived in that’s open to the public. But here’s even better news – there’s a two-bedroom apartment with modern amenities and private access available for rent and guests receive a complimentary tour of the museum.

2. Authors Key West Guesthouse

There were so many authors who visited Key West and some, such as Ernest Hemingway, who lived on the southernmost island of the continental United States. The Authors Key West Guesthouse, a bed and breakfast, honors those writers in its compound of historic Conch-style houses, suites and rooms. There’s even a pool spa for those who need to relax while drawing inspiration. While in Key West, be sure to visit the Ernest Hemingway House. 

3. Monteleone Hotel

Walk into the Monteleone Hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans and you’ll immediately spot a tribute to the authors who stayed, played or wrote here. Truman Capote claims to have been born at the historic hotel, but most will say his mother went into labor here. Other writers who have walked through the marble lobby have been William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Anne Rice, John Grisham and Stephen Ambrose. Even suites have literary names so you can stay in the William Faulkner Suite if you like. Hotel Monteleone is one of only three U.S. hotels to receive the Literary Landmark designation by the Friends of Libraries, USA.

4. Alexander House
Each room pays tribute to a famous author in the Alexander House Booklovers’ Bed & Breakfast in the quaint town of Princess Anne, Maryland, along the state’s Eastern Shore. There’s the jazz-inspired Langston Hughes Room, the nautical Robert Louis Stevenson Room and the more austere Jane Austen Room. View portraits of authors on the bed and breakfast’s wall or enjoy a good read in the home’s library. There’s even afternoon tea in the Victorian’s Café Colette, which is sure to inspire.

5. The Betsy

Writers are invited to live in residence at The Betsy in South Beach, Miami. The hotel offers a New York apartment-styled “Writer's Room” complete with fast internet, its own library and a desk donated by the Hyam Plutzik Centennial Committee to commemorate the poet’s time in Florida in the 1940s (Plutzik is also the father of hotel owner Jonathan Plutzik). Since the hotel began offering the Writer’s Room, more than 400 working writers have stayed here. To see who’s staying now, click here. But for the rest of us, there’s still that wonderful literary theme to enjoy — The Betsy places a bookmark with a poem on guests' pillows every evening. 

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by food and travel writer Chere Dastugue Coen, who writes novels under the pen name of Cherie Claire. She adores a literary getaway.

Dogs leap for fun at the annual Canine Cannonball

Think only kids love to cannonball into water? This weekend it’s the 2018 Canine Cannonball at Dog Days Bar and Grill in Osage Beach in the Lake of the Ozarks, central Missouri. It’s a water Olympics for dogs, so to speak, consisting of three events that test each dog's athletic prowess. And no matter who wins, these dogs much be having the time of their lives.

Athletic events include the Big Air Wave, the canine equivalent to the long jump, where participating dogs run down the 40-foot by 8-foot competition dock and jump off into the water for distance. The Extreme Vertical is a dock dog's version of the high jump. In this leap-for-height event, a canine leaps high into the air off the "dock" to retrieve a toy suspended above the water. The third event, the Speed Retrieve, is a timed event that has the dog jump into the water and swim to fetch a toy.

Cannonball activities get underway today (Friday, June 8, 2018) with registration and practice rounds taking place at 1 p.m. The first official events begin with three heats of the Big Air Wave at 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. On Saturday, registration and practice rounds begin at 10 a.m. with three more heats of the Big Air Wave taking place at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The Extreme Vertical event rounds out the day's competition at 5:30 p.m. The events conclude on Sunday with registration and practice rounds beginning at 10 a.m. followed by the final two heats of the Big Air Wave at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Speed Retrieve takes place at 3 p.m. with the Big Air Wave finals beginning at 5 p.m.

All Canine Cannonball events are free and open to the public. All donations collected throughout the weekend benefit the Dogwood Animal Shelter, a no-kill shelter in Osage Beach. Staff members from Dogwood Animal Shelter also will have adoptable pets on-site for the duration of the three-day Canine Cannonball. All adoptable animals are up-to-date on their vaccines and have been spayed or neutered. For more information on the Dogwood Animal Shelter, or to view their adoptable pets, visit www.DASLakeOfTheOzarks.com. For more information or to register your canine olympians, visit www.dockdogs.com/eventscal/dog-days-canine-cannonball-6/.

For more information about the Lake of the Ozarks, visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitor Bureau's (CVB) website at www.FunLake.com. 

Cool off in Cave Spring, Georgia — and enjoy the history, food and shops of this quaint town

Cedar Creek in Rolater Park

There’s a reason for the name Cave Spring, Georgia. In this tiny hamlet 16 miles south of Rome lies a cave with — you guessed it — a lovely spring pouring forth. The Creek and Cherokee tribes were attracted to Cave Spring for its delicious waters, which later lured in European settlement (much to the detriment of the tribes). Today, the quaint town tempts tourists with its boutiques, antique shops, bed and breakfasts and restaurants.

If the weather’s hot, you can slip into one of the largest swimming holes in the state. Spring-fed waters pour into a stream that feeds a 1.5-acre swimming lake that's available for visitors and residents alike. And you can bring jugs to the spring-fed Cedar Creek and fill them up with that pure water or visit the cave the gave the town its name. The spring offers 2 million gallons of mineral water a day.

 

Home of Avery Vann

Historic buildings abound, including the 1838 Hearn Academy, the Hearn Inn and the 1851 Cave Springs Baptist Church, all situated in Rolater Park (where the cave is located as well). There’s also the old Georgia School for the Deaf and the two-story log cabin that belonged to Cherokee Avery Vann.

For those who love a little scare, some of these structures are reported to be haunted, including the School for the Deaf and the Cave Spring General Store, the latter of which has a very strange story. Even the cave is said to still be occupied by invisible entities. For a story about ghostly experiences in Cave Spring, plus some eerie photos, visit the Haunted Deep South blog.

This weekend (June 9-10, 2018) is the Cave Spring Arts Festival, with artwork for sale in Rolater Park. While you're there, be sure and visit Linda Marie's Steakhouse on the square, a delightful restaurant that serves up delicious food — it's popular with the locals so you know it's good — in an historic building.

Linda Marie at Linda Marie's Steakhouse

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by food and travel writer Chere Dastugue Coen who loves caves, good Southern food and a lively ghost story. Cave Spring had it all.

Lubbock dream house made of 110 tons of steel

It’s one thing to hear about the incredible Robert Richard Bruno house, a Lubbock home made out of 110 tons of scrap metal. It’s quite another to turn a corner and have the 2,200-square-foot unique architectural structure come into view.

The three-story house overlooking Ransom Canyon was the lifelong project of Bruno, a Texas Tech College of Architecture professor. He began the home in 1974 and worked on it until his death in 2008 but he never saw it completed. He lived there for only seven months.

The house still needs 30 percent more work to be complete but it's unclear if this will happen. His daughter, Christina Bruno, owns the house but it’s Henry F. Martinez — who worked with Bruno for 22 years and took over Bruno’s company, P and R Surge Systems — that opens the house for tours, much as Bruno had when he was living. Martinez loves showing off the house and does so for architecture students, travel writers like me and for photo shoots. The uniquely styled house has been on record covers and in Vogue magazine, among others.

“He (Bruno) would always allow people to come in here to look at the house, even when he was here,” Martinez said. “And I’m trying to do the same.”

We visited this week with temperatures hitting 100, and a house made of all that steel gets pretty stifling inside. Once Martinez opened the front door and a small living room window that faces the lake, a breeze brought some relief. The Steel House with its curves and round windows resembles a hobbit enclave, but above ground as if on legs. There are twists and turns inside, stairs heading up and down the three levels, and stained glass for colorful accents. Once through the front door and down the entrance hall if you will, visitors emerge into the living room that jets over the canyon and offers a gorgeous view of Lake Ransom Canyon. On one side of the hallway is a small kitchen, the other the master bedroom with full bath and some of Bruno's furniture and items. Stairs lead down to a dark level where Bruno wanted to create his office while upstairs is a lounge area, complete with a stage area ready for performances.

Most of the house is accessible. Some steps are off limits due to safety issues. Several walls and floors are unfinished and many rooms appear as if construction just began. The bones are in place but the interior begs for completion. Tours aren’t air conditioned because of the infrequency of people visiting and the cost involved, but the house does have central air and heating and a working plumbing system.

Want to learn more? Dallas Morning News did a wonderful article on the house.

Stairs and stained glass

Living Room

Living room view of Lake Ransom Canyon

Robert Bruno in the photograph

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by travel and food writer Chere Dastugue Coen. She couldn't resist sitting in the living room window and snapping a selfie.

Happy Birthday Vulcan!

When I was kid and our family headed from New Orleans to Chattanooga to “See Rock City” and Ruby Falls, plus the other attractions in the Smoky Mountains, we knew we were almost “there yet” when we spotted Vulcan towering over the landscape. Vulcan is the world’s largest cast iron statue and the 50-ton homage to the Roman god of fire has been standing sentinel over the Birmingham skyline since the 1930s. You might wonder why an Alabama city would erect a statue to the god of fire, but Birmingham was known for years for its steel production.

When my kids were little, we visited Birmingham for its awesome children’s museum and nearby DeSoto Caverns and, of course, we visited Vulcan and the surrounding park on Red Mountain, now known as Vulcan Park and Museum. The statue’s enormous and visitors are allowed access to the top where a stunning view of Birmingham and region can be seen. What my children enjoyed most of all, however, was the view from behind — literally. Vulcan wears a skirt of some sort while he works at his forge with a cute view underneath. It’s nothing sordid, mind you, but it did bring my kids to giggles.

My kids on Vulcan's foot

The statue created by Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti in 1904 and brought to the Alabama town in pieces turns 114 on June 3 and yes, there is a birthday bash for the iron man. From noon to 4 p.m. there will be “V,” Vulcan’s six-foot plush mascot, plus Birmingham City Mayor Randall Woodfin and City Council President Valerie A. Abbott making appearances. And even more importantly, ice cream from Piggly Wiggly and Bud’s Best Cookies will be handed out after V blows out his candles. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for children and free for Vulcan Park and Museum members and children 4 and under. Admission includes entrance into the Vulcan Center Museum, Vulcan’s Observation tower, and entrance into the new Linn-Henley Gallery exhibit, “Southern Thunder – The Legacy of Alabama Auto Racing.”

Want to know more about the mythology? Here’s Wikipedia’s explanation.

Weird, Wacky and Wild South is written by food and travel writer Chere Dastugue Coen.