Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together we power life.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum, located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana.

And the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.

An oasis in the heart of the city transforms into a Christmas wonderland.

We're taking you to Baton Rouge.

Just birding gardens for Louisiana lights and a dazzling display in DeSoto parish.

Lumiere lights up the night with glowing displays and sparkling Christmas scenes.

We'll take you there.

And the holiday spirit is alive with festive events showcasing Cajun culture, music and food.

We'll show you why Abbeville is the place to be this holiday season, and New Orleans pulls out all of the stops for the holidays.

We'll tour the glimmering hotel lobbies, taste the delightful dishes, and check out Teddy Bear tea and the Crescent City.

Let's get started.

Let's do this.

Thing.

Happy holidays everyone.

I'm Karen Lichtblau, and I'm Dorothea Wilson.

Welcome to our holiday edition of Louisiana, the state we're in now.

Karen.

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Check out those snowflakes.

So apparently, we have created our own little snow globe here in the studio.

That's right.

Live action characters in it.

Anyway, so this holiday show is a beloved one for us.

It's become an annual tradition, and we are taking you across Louisiana to experience all of the sights, the sounds and the flavors of the holiday season.

We are going to start here in Baton Rouge at the inaugural Holiday Lights show, Louisiana Lights.

It's an immersive experience that transforms historic gardens into a modern day multimedia holiday wonderland.

I'm taking you on a tour of what organizers hope will become an annual holiday tradition for all of South Louisiana.

More than 300,000 lights twinkle on trees, flowers, plants and pathways at the Burton Museum and Gardens in Baton Rouge.

All aglow for the inaugural Louisiana Lights experience.

The idea came from I've attended a lot of different light shows around the country, and I always loved Christmas.

I love lights, and so when I moved out here about 13 years ago from campus, one of the things I was challenged with was how to implement and support the botanic Gardens and the gardens at here, Windrush gardens specifically.

And the light show was just one of those things that was perfect for us to implement, and something that this region has never experienced before.

This is going to be unlike any other light show.

You're not going to see this in any residential neighborhoods.

This is very unique and especially to the gardens.

So each garden room is a different activation that highlights that garden.

So part prismatic parterre, radiant Rangel, oscillating orchard.

They're all different for the garden.

And to highlight that part of the garden very melodic sounding names.

Yes.

Yes.

We had a wonderful landscape architect who is actually a native of Tiverton.

So he designs live shows all over the country.

And we hired him and Patrick Larkin to come and design the show for us.

You know, I ask a lot of people, have you been to Atlanta Botanic Gardens light show, have you been to Fort Worth?

And they're like, no, we haven't been.

And so this is going to be something that I believe most people in Baton Rouge just never have never experienced anywhere.

And so this is going to be something that is going to be a unique experience in Baton Rouge that they could get if they travel four hours away.

But it's right here in their hometown.

I took a behind the scenes tour of this immersive light show in the weeks leading up to its debut, as workers were prepping the gardens, improving pathways and installing electricity.

It's really rehabilitating this 100 year old garden that's unique to the region.

That's also a big part of what we were trying to accomplish out here.

Oak trees wrapped in color, changing lights welcome visitors as illuminated paths lead through Windrush Gardens on an hour long walk, still burn and design the 25 acre garden in the early 1900s, modeled after European landscapes and the grounds of historic southern homes.

We wanted this to honor the gardens we wanted it to be not your typical sort of holiday light experience, so it's much more garden focused here.

This might be the most Christmasy aspect of it that we have.

This colorfully lit Christmas tree serves as a guiding beacon along the garden's interconnected path.

Through ten immersive experiences, visitors cross a scintillating stream through the crape Myrtle Alley light tunnel and stroll around the Enchanted Forest and the oscillating orchard with glowing doves above.

This is the first one it's going to be Baton Rouge and Beyond's newest holiday tradition.

People are going to want to come back year after year and see it grow and develop.

But right now, you know, we've got so many people who appreciate the bird Museum and Gardens property, 440 acres left in perpetuity, right in the middle of Baton Rouge.

I like to say we are in the middle of Baton Rouge, but we're 100 miles away from anywhere.

When you get back here.

The multimillion dollar light show took more than a year to plan and aims to be an annual South Louisiana holiday tradition.

This also is not just a wonderful, unique holiday event that people will cherish for years to come, but it's also a big way that we're raising funds to help maintain this garden.

Five acres of formal gardens takes a lot to maintain, as well as 440 acres in the middle of Baton Rouge.

So between the rural Life Museum, the Titanic Gardens, this is a way for the community to come to this light show, to help support this wonderful gift that the bird can give us.

Louisiana Lights runs Thursday through Sunday until December 29th.

For more information, head to discover bird and.com/la lights.

I love this because it brings the community out.

It's also a fundraiser for the Windrush Bird and Gardens, so just a great event all around and beautiful.

I love that it's here right in the capital city.

Immersive too.

Well, a little farther south in Vermilion Parish, the town of Abbeville is putting a Cajun spin on the holidays.

Santa arrives on an airboat to hand out toys as a parade rolls through town.

I'm taking you all aboard the anti Belle train for a voyage that illuminates the true meaning of the season.

It's all aboard the anti belle for Abbeville Cajun Christmas as conductor Stacey Landry takes people of all ages on a train ride through town with a police escort.

Stacey built the train as a labor of love and a tribute to his wife, who is battling cancer.

She's a fighter, so we're trying.

But that's her name is Andy, it's Angie, Angie Aber is her maiden name, and the family adopted to calling her Auntie.

So Andy Belle, Belle is beautiful southern lady.

So the name fit, you know?

And, yeah, that's her legacy.

And we can keep it going.

She had to put up with all the weakness, and, re not now working on this train in the shop, but, we had a blast building it, a lot of fun.

Not a work.

The Rotary Club takes the lead, hosting Abbeville Cajun Christmas along with help from other civic organizations.

Live Cajun music.

The community's version of Christmas carols turned streets into dance floors as people congregated in the town square, twinkling with lights and populated with vendors selling treats and handmade crafts.

This is the most Cajun place on Earth, so it's easy to to be Cajun when you're in the most Cajun place on Earth.

So we show up, with the Cajun music and all these folks know how to be Cajun.

We don't have to.

We don't have to put on any airs.

We know what to do.

It's a good time for everybody.

We pass a good time, as they say.

You pass a good time and you also pass out toys.

And there's other altruistic things that you do.

Yes.

Part of the project is, we do a toy drive, that's, by the Rotary Club, and, we what we do is, we we we gather toys year round.

We sorted them all out yesterday.

We were filthy, in the shop doing that.

We got all that done, and then we bring half of them are on the float for tonight.

We throw off the float and the rest are right here under our tent for our 7 to 8:00 giveaway.

Santa's posed for pictures with children along with a roaming cast of Christmas characters.

Even the Grinch couldn't steal Abbeville Cajun Christmas spirit.

Mr. Grant, wish everybody Merry Christmas.

I know it's it's going against your nature, but you can do it.

Yeah that's right, Merry Christmas here.

Christmas.

I live here in Abbeville.

Actually, I live in downtown.

I consider this my neighborhood.

And these are three of my six grandchildren.

This is Emma and this is Jude.

And this is Ellie.

It's just a good community, feeling.

There's lots of people and, a Christmas spirit feels like a hallmark movie.

From classic cars on display to Christmas trees, the festival builds up to the main event, a Christmas parade that rolls through Abbeville, led by grand marshals and world champion high school powerlifters Brylee Batista and Candy Shubert.

This is a great honor.

It's a good opportunity.

We had to show Abbeville on the spot.

Very proud of myself and of Candy, because we know we could do it.

And we did it is it's a really big, experience for us.

It's the first time anything big like this has happened.

Like we're something positive about Abbeville.

True to Abbeville, genuine hospitality.

I was invited to march in the parade with this group of glowing ladies wearing lighted shirts crafted of crawfish nets, the Cajun Christmas spirit, and Abbeville with Mayor White.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

It's the one time of year that we can give a little bit of magic to the kids of Abbeville and hopefully the surrounding areas also.

And, as we continue to grow it, I think it's become it's really become kind of our signature event at the end of the year for the city.

Well, I want to thank you for inviting me to be a part of the parade.

So any tips for me?

Well, just get ready because as we go out a little further along the road, the kids want prizes and they expect, so we have hand painted oyster shells, we have glow in the dark rings, lots of goodies for the kids.

Those who couldn't attend the event could watch it live streamed on the city's web cams.

Those folks who can't make it or like my my daughter and my children all live in South Carolina.

They're all tuned in.

So it's great.

And we have a bunch of French partners in France because we're sending some students to France in 2026, so they're all watching, too.

The parade ended with Santa arriving on an airboat as kids lined up for free toys.

The Anti Belle made its final stop of the season, leaving lasting memories of holiday cheer for countless families and a loving legacy.

Born and raised here.

Love the city.

It looks like it's coming back a little bit.

So for a few years we were run down.

I love to see the kids.

I love to see everybody coming over to celebrate.

It is a special little town.

Around town, homes and businesses were decked out for the holidays.

Many competed in Abbeville annual Christmas decorating contest.

And this is such a creative spin on the holidays.

I mean, they even had people marching in the parade handing out hand-painted oyster ornaments.

How cute is that?

It's so cute and so Louisiana, I love it.

Good for you, Abbeville.

Now next up, we're taking you to DeSoto Parish in northwest Louisiana for the premiere of another new holiday experience.

Lumiere features thousands of lights and several unique themes, alongside fun activities and your favorite holiday flavored treats.

Take a look at all of the fun for the whole family.

What started as a lousy hot chocolate experience has blossomed into a winter wonderland.

Sounds silly, but really, we stood in line for a long time and it was just a bad product, bad experience all together.

And we joked around about having a side hustle and, and just opening up, you know, our own hot chocolate, venue.

Like most people in North Louisiana, Perry Thompson and his family had to travel out of state to experience Christmas themed parks.

About two Christmas seasons ago, he and his family traveled to a park, and after several hours of being in line, all they were given was overpriced, watered down hot chocolate and an underwhelming light display.

It was at that moment, and when Thompson decided that the people of North Louisiana deserved better.

But about eight months later, I called my now partner and said, hey, do what about what if we go on and open our own Christmas park that in our backyard?

And so that's how it began.

Almost nine months later, Lumiere Christmas Experience was born, the first holiday themed park of its kind in north Louisiana.

30 to 32 acres.

Wow.

32 acres.

A half mile long walking trail.

And there seven different themes that transition about every 350, 400ft.

And take you on a journey.

We try to create some magic in there and some wonder, and some wow factor with some larger than life displays that most people haven't seen of this kind.

And the slide, a 250ft artificial snow slide located in the center of the park at just the right amount of thrill to the experience, Perry's wife, Kenneth Thompson, was responsible for most of the decorations and theme ideas for the park.

She wanted to take people on a Christmas journey they'd never forget.

We love Christmas.

And so we have gone to so many different places to see what they have and we just kind of brainstormed and, put together what we wanted to see.

And we actually wanted to have ten different things this year.

Okay.

Decided to make each theme a little bigger.

Can of walked me through all 32 acres of the park to share the magic of Christmas and to showcase their version of a winter wonderland.

So the first thing you come on to the trail is a really large, so you get the 24ft willow tree.

And so it's a big statement piece as soon as you walk right onto the trail.

It is one of my favorites in this thing.

I could see why it's beautiful.

At the end of the Enchanted Forest, we walked into a candy cane land filled with candy pieces and sweet, blissed with customized treats for all to enjoy.

We have the Queen of Sweets Bakery truck here for you to purchase cookies.

She does homemade Little Debbie treats they are to die for.

They have oatmeal, cream pies, Christmas tree cakes which I highly recommend.

Next up, Santas workshop.

Now we are entering into our third theme which is Santa's Workshop.

Oh, it's real fun for the kids, right?

What we're walking through right now is a big teddy bear, which is really fine.

We have Santas thrown right here, which is another really cool photo opportunity from Santas workshop on to a magic tunnel that can tell if you're naughty or nice.

So you better watch out.

Then on to the Ice Princess is quarters right here in our frozen, theme, we have the Italian ice shop.

Okay, so they are out here Thursday through Sunday serving up Italian ice for our our guests and customers.

Nice.

Because you.

It's delicious.

What would you recommend?

Well, depends on do you want.

There's water ice and there's dairy ice.

So what do you like?

Like there's vanilla.

There is.

I do the vanilla bean snow.

I'm a vanilla bean is my favorite.

Thank you.

Try that.

I think you'll like it if you like little.

This is good.

Got gotta try it.

Okay.

So now we are leaving our frozen thing and we are going to enter into a kid favorite thing which is our safari and zoo area.

Yeah.

The first big piece that you walk up on is the elephant.

And the kids just love it.

Chase what's your favorite animal on the trail?

You.

Know the tiger.

Why LSU Tigers woo!

Go, Tigers!

Yes!

And last but certainly not least, the Lumiere immersion of lights.

True meaning of Christmas.

This is the end of our half mile trail.

We ended with Baby Jesus, a reflection of what the season is all about.

That's what we want you to remember when you leave here.

The night ended with a Christmas tree light show where there is 72ft Christmas tree was on display.

The tree, which is said to be the largest in the state, was sent with the most popular Christmas songs and was the perfect way to end the night.

Along the way, I asked some guests to share with me their thoughts on their experience.

It's just wonderful.

Yeah, it's not quick and over.

You get to really enjoy it.

With that, the Thompsons pulled it off and gave North Louisiana the theme park they needed.

That now Lumiere is open every day through December 31st, with multiple time slots available each day.

For more information, head to christmas@lumiere.com.

Now.

Karen, it was so beautiful there in the frozen theme, I loved it.

What blows my mind is that this was one family who did this and it all started with a bad couple of hot chocolate bars, right?

Talk about making sure you take care of your people because they may become your competition.

Oh well.

All right, now we're headed to the Big Easy, where tourism leaders say the holiday experience is like no other.

From enchanting hotel lobbies lit with numerous Christmas trees to traditional holiday dinners dating back decades, the city is built to host.

I took a tour to see all of the fun enjoyed by generations of families.

From holiday lights that illuminate the night sky, carriage rides touring through the city, Rivian dinners and spirits exclusive holiday boutiques and hotel halls decked with holly, the Magic of Christmas is in full swing in the city of New Orleans, and it's regarded as one of the top destinations to visit during the holiday season.

We just love people.

We love to entertain everyone's.

Welcome to New Orleans.

We are truly a city that's built to host Mark Rome, a native New Orleanian and chief marketing executive officer at New Orleans and Company, beams with joy as he reflects on the many things that make holidays and New Orleans special.

New Orleans has so many things that you can do during the holidays and I say New Orleans, but really the region.

Yeah, if you think about the lights, people decorating their own homes or you come into a beautiful hotel lobby like the Roosevelt and the hotel lobbies come alive in New Orleans, whether it's the Roosevelt, the Westin, the Windsor Court, the Ritz Carlton, it's a grand way to just enjoy the lights of the of the season.

While touring the city, we visited three hotels that capture the spirit of the Crescent City and the essence of Christmas the Hotel Monte Leon flaunted their dazzling lights throughout their halls and lobby area, while the Ritz Carlton held their customized canopy dangling from the ceiling.

Their in-house baked gingerbread street car paying tribute to local New Orleans legends and their wide array of Christmas decor in every corner of the hotel.

Both were ready for the season and spared no expense in their preparation for a jolly old Christmas.

But the last stop, the Roosevelt Hotel, with over 140,000 Christmas lights, 46 Christmas trees and customized meals and drinks for the season.

Like some of their staff say, nobody does Christmas like the Roosevelt.

We took our time to make sure to soak it all in.

Dorothea, we are in the lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel.

I will call this the Grand Lobby because it just comes alive during the holidays, and there are so many families that walk through on any given day, at any given hour.

And it's just the experience of being part of the magic of New Orleans for the holidays.

Well, walking down the halls of the Roosevelt, it's similar to walking down Santa Claus Lane.

It's filled with so much wonder sparkling lights that would bring joy to any Scrooge.

Then the shopping area, the place where the magic is made.

Look at the magnificent items.

I mean the candles, the ornaments, the clothing.

And.

And here we have an ornament that represents the lobby of the Roosevelt.

You can actually have it in your home on your tree.

Like many hotels in the area, the Roosevelt participates in the Rivian, a holiday tradition that originated in the 1800s.

Chef Daniel Mills, executive chef at the Roosevelt, has been participating in this tradition for the past ten years.

He prepares three course meals every year to commemorate the season.

It's an amazing tradition.

You know, the Rivian starting in 18th century, just people coming back from midnight mass.

And that's, you know, Rivian means awakening.

So they would get together with their entire family and they would have this meal starting after midnight mass.

You know, dinner at 2 a.m. might sound a little strange these days, but they ate all the way through the night.

And then that was really the awakening and the start of their Christmas this year.

He whipped up a few dishes he's especially proud of.

That gave us both a taste of the season and New Orleans.

So we have a pan seared venison, that's going with some herbs, basil and some foraged mushrooms.

We've made a cranberry demi glass that goes, you know, ties it all together with the kind of the Christmas flavors.

And then this dish is duck again, Louisiana kind of game food.

We have some sweet potato puree, which we've kind of holiday spiced.

So some familiar flavors there.

Yeah.

And it's served with a savory bread pudding that has foie gras, black currants, walnuts.

And that's going to tie in together with our Sazerac, rye demi glass, seeing that's how we're the Roosevelt Sazerac is tied to us, and the flavor really goes well with everything else on the plate.

This is one of our starters, too.

It's, local blue crab.

I Groton, we mix it up with some Mornay, with some fresh kale and, guanciale, which is, cured, pork jowls.

Bon appetit.

And what's a holiday meal without a customized holiday drink?

We visited the bar area of the Roosevelt and witnessed that Christmas cookie.

We're going to start off with Stoli Vanilla.

Oh, we're going to do two ounces.

Bring some nice sweetness to it.

Going to kick it up with sweetness as well with a little brown sugar.

Ooh okay.

Hit a little vanilla extract okay.

A couple dashes of that and then some cream.

Just heavy cream down.

Then we will finish that off with some nice colorful Christmas flakes.

Oh how cute.

This is our Christmas cookie.

I love it.

Oh, let's see if it tastes like a Christmas.

Yeah give it a try.

I can see.

Oh, this is so good.

The last area of the Roosevelt to spread some cheer is the teddy bear tea room.

This event has been bringing families together for over 19 years.

The tea is named after President Theodore Teddy Roosevelt, and guests are gifted a signature teddy bear in his honor.

I filled in for Santa Claus by making an entrance on their street car, but traditionally he joins families for tea, cookies, champagne and a wealth of laughs and cheer.

Now, the Roosevelt is definitely on the good list, and they make Louisiana proud.

I mean, the Roosevelt does holidays better than any place I've ever seen, especially in the city of New Orleans.

And we just really, I think, capture the spirit of the city and then take it to another level.

Now, that was just a small taste of what New Orleans has to offer over the holiday season.

You can find a full list of events, from heavy on dinners to Teddy bear tea at holiday Dot New orleans.com.

Karen.

The hotel was beautiful.

Oh my goodness.

I have great memories of that teddy bear.

Teddy bear.

My children are little, I took them, I dressed them up in smart dresses and turned on the cutest photos.

You get to share them with us.

I well, my kids might not be happy about that, but I'm very proud of them.

Oh wait, and that chocolate alligator.

Wow.

Oh wow.

We're in the pastry chef.

She was beaming with pride to say she spent 80 hours making that chocolate alligator.

Okay, so I'm not a fan of gator meat, but I would definitely eat that chocolate gator for sure.

For sure.

Well, that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything LPB any time.

Wherever you are with our LP app, you can catch LPB news and public affairs shows, as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please like us on Facebook and Instagram for everyone at Louisiana Public Broadcasting, we want to wish you a happy holiday.

I'm Karen Loblaw and I'm Dorothea Wilson.

Until next time.

That's the state we're in.

There.

Support for Louisiana.

The state we're in is provided by Entergy.

Louisiana is strengthening our power grid throughout the state.

We're reinforcing infrastructure to prepare for stronger storms, reduce outages, and respond quicker when you do need us.

Because together, we power lights.

Additional support provided by the Fred B and Ruth B Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum.

Located in Jennings City Hall, the museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is a historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and by Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

Visit Baton Rouge and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting and viewers like you.

Thank you.