Hollywood in the Hills

St. Francisville: Hollywood in the Hills

By Anne Butler

As Louisiana has become the country’s third busiest state for movie and television production, just behind California and New York according to figures cited by writer Timothy Boone, so St. Francisville has become one of the film industry’s most popular locations. Hollywood, in other words, has discovered what residents have known for a long time: the St. Francisville area has something for everyone.
From the Mississippi River to the sandy creeks and unspoiled wilderness areas of the rugged Tunica Hills, from sand pits that look like desserts and deeply sunken roadbeds to architectural treasures like antebellum plantations and rude rustic cabins, from country lanes overhung with moss-draped trees and weathered barns to the quaint little rivertown of St. Francisville and even the state’s enormous maximum security penitentiary, location scouts excited about the area’s potential have directed a number of productions to West Feliciana in recent years---Jonah Hex, GI Joe II, Oblivion starring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman, Beautiful Creatures, Whiskey Bay, Maze Runner, Battle Los Angeles, Everybody’s All American, Dead Man Walking, Out Of Sight, North & South. Filming for The Reaping, with Hilary Swank, was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina.
For the just completed docudrama Bonnie and Clyde, a large number of locations in St.Francisville were used in the filming, including the courthouse, recently restored Temple Sinai for funeral scene, Magnolia Café, and Birdman Books and Coffee, plus other locales in the surrounding countryside. The town of St. Francisville was perfect for this production, according to tourist director Laurie Walsh, because “it steps back in time so naturally.” Cover the streets around the courthouse square with sand, bring in some vintage cars and actors in period costumes, and St. Francisville is transformed into an ideal 1930s setting, especially with still-used structures like the 3-V Tourist Courts, tiny overnight cabins with attached garages that were so typical of the era.
Productions like Bonnie and Clyde, so visible and accessible, involve the entire community, according to Walsh, and townsfolk are very supportive, with lots of locals experiencing the excitement of working as extras, not to mention the thrill of sharing a latte with the likes of William Hurt in the local coffeehouse. The exposure for St. Francisville and West Feliciana is great, Walsh explains, and the productions generate income for all segments of the community, not only for tourist services like accommodations and restaurants but also for cleaners (costumes often need cleaning), gas stations, hardware stores, locations for base camps, law enforcement agencies for providing extra security, crowd control and traffic diversions. Thanks to Walsh and an active local location scout, owners of properties used in filming are paid, often quite well.
In addition to serving as the Main Street Manager and Tourist Commission Director, Walsh is also the Film and Video Liaison for both town and parish, charged with overseeing film productions. A required no-fee permit includes practicalities like insurance indemnity and providing advance notification to local authorities on filming sites and shooting schedules, and Walsh very capably assists production crews locating whatever they need.
The town works closely with the Baton Rouge Film Commission, which has just launched a new website, www.filmbatonrouge.com, with St. Francisville area settings like Tunica Hills and Cat Island prominently displayed on the very first page of suggested filming locations. Additional information is available on St. Francisville town and tourist commission websites. According to figures from Louisiana Entertainment, statewide economic impact from the film industry in 2012 was $1.7 billion, generating 14,000 jobs, thanks in part to the state’s film tax credit program. With industry productions having such a huge impact on the state economy, St. Francisville is well positioned to take advantage of continuing interest in movie and television productions that can be enormously beneficial to the entire area.
But it’s not necessary to be a movie star to enjoy the area. Summertime special events in St. Francisville include the popular annual Feliciana Hummingbird Celebration, sponsored by the Feliciana Nature Society in this area where the artist Audubon found inspiration for many of his famous bird studies in the 1820s. It will be held Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27. The Friday evening kick-off event begins at 6 p.m. at Rosedown State Historic Site, with a wine and cheese reception featuring LSU professor Catherine Fontenot speaking on hummingbirds and the plants that attract them to landscapes. Saturday the banding of birds by biologists Nancy Newfield and Linda Beale gives visitors the opportunity to observe the hummingbirds being captured, weighed and banded from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at two locations, Murrell Butler’s home and artist’s studio at 9485 Oak Hill Road, and Carlyle Rogillio’s home at 15736 Tunica Trace. Online visit www.audubonbirdfest.com.
Also on Saturday, July 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church’s Jackson Hall on Ferdinand Street in St. Francisville, the West Feliciana Animal Humane Society celebrates its first successful year of operations with a “Take a Chance on Me” Anniversary Gala, featuring food and drink, wine bar, live music by the popular local group Delta Drifters, fashion show and silent auction. Tickets of $25 benefit the WFAHS and the James L. “Bo” Bryant Animal Shelter, and they may be purchased in advance by mailing checks (payable to WFAHS) to Box 2032, St. Francisville, LA. For additional information online see http://wfahs.thebonnieblue.net. Thanks to the dedication of hardworking volunteers, this animal shelter has an incredibly high adoption rate; donations and volunteers are always welcome.
Located on US Highway 61 on the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge, LA, and Natchez, MS, the St. Francisville area is a year-round tourist destination.  A number of splendidly restored plantation homes are open for tours daily: the Cottage Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, the Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation, plus Catalpa Plantation by reservation; Afton Villa Gardens and Imahara’s Botanical Garden are spectacular. Particularly important to tourism in the area are its two significant state historic sites, Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation in the Audubon state site, which offer fascinating living-history demonstrations most weekends to allow visitors to experience 19^th-century plantation life and customs.
The nearby Tunica Hills region offers unmatched recreational activities in its unspoiled wilderness areas—hiking, biking, birding, photography, hunting. There are unique art galleries plus specialty and antiques shops, many in restored historic structures, and some fine little restaurants throughout the St. Francisville area serving everything from ethnic cuisine to seafood and classic Louisiana favorites. For overnight stays, the area offers some of the state’s most popular Bed & Breakfasts, including historic plantations, lakeside clubhouses and beautiful townhouses right in the middle of St. Francisville’s extensive National Register-listed historic district, and there are also modern motel accommodations for large bus groups.
For visitor information, call St. Francisville Main Street at 225-635-3873 or West Feliciana Tourist Commission at 225-6330 or 225-635-4224; online visit www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com, www.stfrancisville.net or www.stfrancisville.us (the events calendar gives dates and information on special activities, including the lively monthly third Saturday morning Community Market Day in Parker Park and the twice-weekend Farmers Markets on Thursdays and Saturdays).

JULY HOT AS A FIRECRACKER IN ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA

by Anne Butler An eloquent document formally severing the colonies’ ties with Great Britain, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson, the architect of much of the document, declared, “May it be to the world…the signal of arousing men to burst the chains…and to assume the blessings and security of self-government…the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion...All eyes are opened, or opening, to the rights of man.”  Thomas Jefferson would die some years later on July 4, a date he hoped would annually “forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.”  Also on the committee charged with drafting the document along with Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin was John Adams, who wrote his wife Abigail that he felt that momentous day in July should be “celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival…commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God…pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfire, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.” Philadelphia first marked the anniversary on July 4, 1777, with bonfires, bells and fireworks, plus the adjourning of Congress, and this custom soon spread to other towns and cities, especially after the War of 1812. By 1870 Congress had established Independence Day as a national holiday, and over the years it has traditionally been observed with patriotic oratory, political speeches, fireworks, parades, symphonic spectaculars, and lots of baseball games and barbecue. But imagine, if you can, the fervor with which the day was celebrated by the early residents of the St. Francisville area, center of cotton plantation country settled by Anglos who began descending from the East Coast shortly after the Revolutionary War, a desperate conflict many of them either witnessed or participated in. The early owner of The Cottage Plantation, for example, was the son and nephew of five brothers who served with honor on George Washington’s staff. The son-in-law of the builder of Butler Greenwood Plantation was the son of a valiant young soldier who survived being bayoneted nine times by the British during the revolution, nearly froze during the harsh winter at Valley Forge, and lived to become governor of Georgia. And as for “taxation without representation,” that battlecry of the 13 colonies objecting to King George III’s taxes, it was still resonating with the builder of The Myrtles Plantation when he led the so-called Whiskey Rebellion against new president George Washington’s excise taxes on spirits, the first test of the new nation’s federal powers, and had to escape from Pennsylvania to Spanish territory.  For a number of years the St. Francisville area has celebrated the Fourth of July with fireworks and free hot dogs and cold drinks provided by the Town of St. Francisville and its active Main Street Program (www.stfrancisville.us or www.stfrancisville.net) at the ball fields behind Sonic. In addition to this family-oriented event, gorgeous Greek Revival Greenwood Plantation, off LA 66 north of St. Francisville, hosts its first old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration with free open house from 1 to 4, plus food, games, rides and other activities (www.greenwoodplantation.com) . The Myrtles, on the outskirts of St. Francisville, salutes the members of our armed services on the Fourth (225-245-1525) with Freedom Appreciation Day on the grounds, with children’s activities, free hot dogs, soft drinks, chips, and great live music from local favorites Emily Branton, Nancy Ropollo and the Angola Prison Band. Participants are requested to wear red, white or blue, and to bring lawn chairs or blankets and photos of servicemen for a Tribute Table. Another favorite event in the St. Francisville area in July is the annual Feliciana Hummingbird Celebration, held Friday and Saturday, the 30 and 31st. Birding celebrations are particularly appropriate in this area that harbors such a huge population of both resident and migratory birdlife, just as it has since the 1820s when artist-naturalist John James Audubon was so spellbound by the abundant flora and fauna that he painted some 80 of his Birds of America around St. Francisville. The event, sponsored by the Feliciana Nature Society, highlights the unique hummingbird breeding habitat that entices ruby-throats to linger awhile in the months between late March and early September as they migrate from South and Central America up to Canada. Friday evening’s entertainment begins with a 6 p.m. wine and cheese reception in the 27-acre spectacular gardens of Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site. The evening’s featured speaker is Andre Brock, whose degrees are from LSU in Animal, Dairy and Poultry Science (BS) and in Horticulture (MS). Now serving the St. Francisville area as 4-H Agent and Assistant County Agent, he will present a program on gardening to attract hummingbirds. On Saturday, July 31, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., the festival continues at two private gardens, where vendors will offer hummingbird-attractive plants and where hummingbird biologists Linda Beall and Nancy Newfield will capture and band birds, giving visitors the rare opportunity to observe the tiny creatures up close as they are being weighed and measured. The banding sites are the homes of Carlisle Rogillio on Tunica Trace and artist Murrell Butler on Oak Hill Road, both of which usually attract dozens of hummingbirds. A small fee is charged for both events. For more information, visit www.audubonbirdfest.com or call 800-488-6502. The St. Francisville area features a number of splendidly restored plantation homes open for tours daily: The Cottage Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, The Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation, plus Catalpa Plantation by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally. Particularly important to tourism in the area are its two significant state historic sites, Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation in the Audubon state site, which offer fascinating living-history demonstrations most weekends to allow visitors to experience 19th-century plantation life and customs. The nearby Tunica Hills region offers unmatched recreational activities in its unspoiled wilderness areas—hiking, biking, birding, photography, horseback riding with rental mounts from Cross Creek Stables. There are unique art galleries plus specialty and antiques shops, many in restored historic structures, and some fine little restaurants throughout the St. Francisville area serving everything from soul food to Chinese and Mexican cuisine, seafood and classic Louisiana favorites. For overnight stays, the area offers some of the state’s most popular Bed & Breakfasts, including historic plantations, lakeside clubhouses and beautiful townhouses right in the middle of St. Francisville’s extensive National Register-listed historic district, and there are also modern motel accommodations for large bus groups. For visitor information, call St. Francisville Main Street at 225-635-3873 or West Feliciana Tourist Commission at 225-635-4224; online visit www.stfrancisville.us (the events calendar gives dates and information on special activities, including the monthly third Saturday morning Community Market Day in Parker Park) or www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com.

Spring in St. Francisville, La.

Ivory-billed Woodpeckers by Murrell Butler

SPRING IN ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA,
PUTS A NEW TWIST ON THE BIRDS AND THE BEES

By Anne Butler

Spring in other locales may turn a young mans fancy to the good old birds and bees, but the residents of the historic little rivertown of St. Francisville, Louisiana, put their own spin on it. Here, the emphasis in April is on the birds and thebulls.The birds are only natural in a scenic unspoiled area so richly endowed by Mother Nature that some 175 resident or migratory feathered species frequent it. In the 1820s more than half of these were painted by artist-naturalist John James Audubon for his famousBirds of Americawhile in residence at Oakley Plantation near St. Francisville, and participants in the 8th annual Audubon Country BirdFest April 4th should see be able to chalk up sightings of a large number of these.

But the bulls? This is, after all, part of Louisiana’s fertile plantation country, where the early cash crops of indigo and cotton were planted in orderly rows across the hilly farmlands. But one of the most notorious of these agricultural endeavors is the penal farm called Angola. That’s where the bulls come in, at one of the region’s most popular events, “the wildest show in the South.” The infamous Angola Prison Rodeo, begun in the 1960s, proved so popular during its regular fall runs that an entire spring weekend, April 18 and 19, has now been devoted to it as well.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron by ptWalsh

The Feliciana Nature Society sponsors the Audubon Country BirdFest in its efforts to enhance the appreciation and preservation of the area’s splendid natural resources, and this event attracts birders and nature lovers from across the South. The guided field trips this year take participants into some of the most intriguing wildness areas, including Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge along the only un-leveed stretch of the lower Mississippi River, the swampy wetlands habitat of old-growth cypress trees including the champion bald cypress. The Cat Island tour is generally by canoe because of high water (canoes, life jackets and paddles are provided), so participants signing up for this tour should be capable of paddling for several hours. Other field trips, led by experienced birders, visit Oak Hill Plantation, home of wildlife artist and naturalist Murrell Butler with a variety of habitat areas from heavily forested hilly woodlands to swampy lakes and creekbeds, and historic Ouida Plantation, Tunica Hills home of Nature Society president Tracey Banowetz surrounded by steep ravines, open fields and cultivated butterfly gardens.
The area’s two state historic site plantations, Rosedown and Oakley, are also Birdfest features, with guided tours designed for both beginner and intermediate birders. Both have intimate family connections to Audubon; the artist first came to the St. Francisville area in 1821 to tutor Eliza Pirrie, young daughter of the family at Oakley, under an arrangement leaving him half of each day free to roam the woods collecting specimens for his paintings. Eliza’s son would marry beautiful Sarah Turnbull of Rosedown Plantation, interweaving the family histories of these two remarkably preserved plantation properties.
Except for the state historic site tours, morning and afternoon field trips carpool from the St. Francisville Inn, BirdFest headquarters; capacity is limited, so advance reservations are required. The Audubon State Historic Site (Oakley House) sponsors an educational Audubon Nature School Day on Friday, April 3, with interactive stations providing students with hands-on learning, and on Saturday, April 4, Audubon Nature Day at Oakley highlights “Thinking Green” and explores nature conservation and green environmental practices with modern implications.

Pileated Woodpecker at Oakley House photo by ptWalsh09

After birdwatching the first weekend in April, visitors to the St. Francisville area can bask in the beauties of nature at the Easter Sunrise Service at Hemingbough. This extrmely popular non-denomination service, hosted for several decades by gracious owner Arlin Dease, begins at 7 a.m. Easter morn, April 12, as the sun rises over still waters and the congregation fills the lovely lakeside amphitheater. Music, spiritual inspiration and complimentary continental breakfast make this an unforgettable experience in a setting of unsurpassed beauty. For information, telephone 877-635-6617.

Considerably livelier is the following weekend’s entertainment in the St. Francisville area, the annual Angola Prison Rodeo on April 18 and 19th. From the time the mounted black-clad Angola Rough Riders race at break-neck speed into the arena, flags streaming and hooves flying, visitors are on the edges of their seats through events pitting inmates against pro-stock Brahma bulls and wild-eyed bucking broncos. The only non-inmate event in what is called the longest running prison rodeo in the country features ladies’ barrel racing.

But the crowd favorites are the events unique to Angola, the "Bust Out" when all the chutes containing ferocious bulls are opened at once, or the "Wild Horse Race" in which inmates try to catch and mount frantic wild horses, or the "Wild Cow Milking" where obtaining even a drop of milk is easier said than done. Two other events pit convicts against bulls in a contest of wills: "Convict Poker," with four inmates seated at a poker table as a bull is released into the arena, and the last one to remain seated wins; and the crowd-pleasing "Guts and Glory", an arena full of inmates on foot trying to remove a $100 chit tied between the horns of the meanest Brahma bull around. Professional rodeo clowns and pick-up riders do their best to assure the safety of the contestants, and Angola's EMS units haul off the casualties.

Museum at Audubon State Historic Site

The rodeo grounds open at 9 a.m. for a huge arts and crafts festival and sale showcasing inmate talent in hobbycraft like jewelry, handtooled leather, paintings and woodwork both large and small. Inmate bands perform throughout the morning, and the famous Angola Prison Rodeo Band takes over for the duration of the rodeo events, which begin at 2 p.m. There are a large number of concessions offering a variety of food and drink, and the stands provide shaded seating for more than 10,000 cheering spectators.

Tickets should be purchased in advance by calling 225-655-2040, 225-655-2607 or 225-635-2042, or by mail from the Louisiana State Penitentiary Business Office, Angola, LA 70712, or online atwww.angolarodeo.com. Visitors should allow time to tour the fascinating prison museum just outside the front entrance gates to learn more about the history of this enormous maximum-security penitentiary. It should be noted that there are specific regulations with which visitors must comply when entering prison grounds; no food, drink, cell phones or cameras are allowed through the rodeo entrance gate, and on prison property no weapons, ammunition, alcohol or drugs are permitted; purses and bags will be searched and all vehicles must be locked when unoccupied.

The St. Francisville area features a number of splendidly restored plantation homes open for tours daily: The Cottage Plantation, Butler Greenwood Plantation, The Myrtles Plantation, Greenwood Plantation, plus Catalpa Plantation by reservation and Afton Villa Gardens seasonally. The area’s two state historic sites, Rosedown Plantation and Oakley Plantation in the Audubon state site, offer fascinating living-history demonstrations every weekend to allow visitors to experience 19th-century plantation life and customs.

Bull Riding at Angola Prison Rodeo submitted by LSP

The nearby Tunica Hills region offers unmatched recreational activities in its unspoiled wilderness areas—hiking, biking, birding, photography, horseback riding with rental mounts from Cross Creek Stables. There are some unique shops, many in restored historic structures, and some fine little restaurants throughout the St. Francisville area as well as some of the state’s most popular Bed & Breakfasts for overnight stays, including historic plantations, lakeside clubhouses and beautiful townhouses right in the middle of St. Francisville’s extensive National Register-listed historic district.
For visitor information, call St. Francisville Main Street at 225-635-3873 or West Feliciana Tourist Commission at 225-635-4224; online visitwww.stfrancisville.us or www.stfrancisvillefestivals.com