Lafourche TAG program to stage dinner theater

Fans of local theater and supporters of student talent programs will be interested in the fundraising dinner theater show set next weekend in Lockport. The cast and crew are students from Central Lafourche, South Lafourche and Thibodaux High Schools, enrolled in a Lafourche school system talented and gifted (TAG) program taught by Brittany Bourque.

The play is “So This is Love,” on stage Saturday and Sunday, at Victory Life Rockatorium, 1200 Crescent Ave., Lockport.

Brittany Rogers Bourque, the director, has distributed publicity suggesting that tickets, $15 each, are available through the three schools involved or any TAG member. Tickets cover admission, dinner (spaghetti, roll and salad), brownie dessert, beverage and a door-prize ticket. Performances begin at 5:30 p.m. each day, with the house opening at 5. Get tickets in advance to enable food preparation.

News from the MAX! The Nicholls-based alternative school serving regional students grades 1 – 8, with dyslexia and other language-related differences is accepting applications for the fall school year, and seeking participation in its 12th annual Annual Race Fest fund raiser.

The MAX Charter School Race for Their Future, says Carol Broussard, will run March 14 Peltier Park, Thibodaux. It includes a 1-mile Fun Run and 5K Run/Walk, with food, drinks, games, bounce houses, live music, a silent auction, a Cajun cook-off and lots more. A $5 raffle features prizes valued to $5,000. Registration is $20 through February 14. Register at runsignup.com/racefortheirfuture2020, or 227-9500. Sponsorships are available.

Apply soon for the enrollment lottery in April. Information and forms, 985-227-9500 or email contactus@maxcharter.org.

Undersea Round Table? Submarine historian Pat Doyle is guest lecturer, Tuesday, 6 p.m., Terrebonne Main Library, Houma. Doyle will discuss “The Silent Service: U.S. Submarines in World War II.” Sponsored by the Regional Military Museum, free and open to the public.

Speak up! The public is invited to comment on plans and policies aimed at improving transportation in the Houma-Thibodaux area. The Houma-Thibodaux Metropolitan Planning Organization meets for lunch at noon, Thursday at the South Central Planning and Development, 5058 W. Main, Houma. Information: htmpo.org.

Mardi Gras Bash! Terrebonne's Main Library celebrates the 2020 Carnival season with its second annual after-hours bash, Saturday, Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. King cake tasting, a festive photo booth. The Bash is adults only. Admission is free. The Cajun French Music Association, Bayou Chapter, will provide live music for dancing and socializing and conclude with a second line parade. Costumes encouraged but not mandatory. Call Main Library reference, 876-5861, opt. 2 to register.

Job Fair: Terrebonne Parish Main Library, Mon., Feb. 3, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Local businesses will discuss positions in various fields. Vendors include, Teche Action Clinic, Wal-Mart, TGMC, US Census Bureau, Ground Pat'i, Options for Independence, Lowe's, Thomas Sea-Marine and Fletcher Technical Community College.

Attendees should bring resumes and dress professionally for possible on-site job interviews. For more information call Carlos Crockett at 876-5861, opt. 2. Free and open to the public.

Oops! I inadvertently misidentified a pair of our fellow Gulf cruisers last week. I should have written Ernie and Marlene Pinel of Montegut.

While I personally prefer vacations which feature a heavier concentration of sight-seeing, I must concede that cruises out of New Orleans are lodging and dining bargains which can rarely be matched by other forms of travel. Our passage, for two passengers, seven days, three ports, all meals, insurance, entertainment, fees and gratuities, was roughly $1,500. Since the home port was New Orleans, there was no air fare, and friends transported us to and from the port, eliminating hefty parking fees. We did not drink or gamble.

A seven-day road trip, hotel to hotel in your own car, allows a variety of sight-seeing stops, but the lodging and food costs alone could easily exceed $215 per day, without considering fuel and vehicle wear and tear. There is also the bother of unpacking and repacking at every hotel.

On a cruise, sight-seeing is limited to port stops, and generally involves paying the cruise line for off-the-ship tours. We paid for a tour of Nassau, uninformed that we would have to walk a half-mile each way (the patient using a folding “walker”) just to reach the bus which was not permitted to drive to the ship's gang plank.

Inexplicably, garbage trucks drove right to the side of the ship.

Lesson? Demand details before you pay for a tour. Travel by car allows a wide choice of attractions, some of them relatively inexpensive or free.

Responding? Contact Bill Ellzey at 985 381-6256, at ellzey@viscom.net, billellzey312@gmail.com, or c/o The Courier, P.O. Box 2717, Houma, LA 70361.