Submitted by Delia Taylor 

BATON ROUGE, La. – Boutin’s Restaurant will present Grammy Award winning blues artist and actor Chris Thomas King as its featured live entertainment, in a smoke-free atmosphere, on New Year’s Eve.

            King will perform two shows for the single ticket price of $50 in advance, or $60 at the door (if not sold out). 

The first performance will go from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with the second performance running from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.  The ticket purchase includes reserved, limited seating for both performances, as well as party favors and champagne for a midnight toast.  Boutin’s kitchen will serve dinner from its menu until 11 p.m., with the bar remaining open for the entire evening.

Tickets and information are available on-line at www.boutins.comor by calling Boutin’s Restaurant at 225-819-9862.

“We are especially excited about having Chris Thomas King perform for us on New Year’s Eve.  He and his father, Tabby Thomas, have always been local favorites, but Chris’ success in the industry has kept him away from Baton Rouge as of late.  We’re excited about bringing him home for this special occasion,” Boutin said.

King is known for his audacious fusion of blues and hip-hop, but he also reached a whole new audience in 2000 with the Coen Brothers film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” by appearing on the award-winning soundtrack and establishing himself as a serious dramatic actor.  Since that big-screen debut, he has appeared in the Oscar-winning film “Ray,” as bandleader Lowell Fulsom, as well as the movies “Animal” and “Kill Switch.”  He has also appeared in the documentaries “Signpost to Freedom,” “The Soul of a Man,” and “Last of the Mississippi Jukes.”

Meanwhile, King’s musical journey has continued with such genre-bending albums as 2002’s “Dirty South Hip-Hop Blues” and 2006’s “Rise,” which was written in response to Hurricane Katrina.  His latest album, “Sketches of Time,” is the first full-length studio album since “Rise.”

King has sold more than 10 million combined units worldwide and logged more than 1,000 headline tour dates and festivals in 32 countries.  His versatile music style is also credited with influencing many modern-day hip-hop and rock performers.

Submitted by Allison Ravenscroft of Ravenscroft Public Relations

    Two groups of students from Central Community Theater (CCT) here in Central will be traveling to the invitation-only 2011 Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta in January. 

    The CCT Elite Jr. group will be performing selections from  Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Jr., and will be  presenting the show in its entirety  on March 27, 2011 at 2:00pm at the Independence Park Theatre in Baton Rouge, LA.  They rehearse on Mondays from 7:30-9:00pm. 

    The CCT Elite Sr. group will perform selections from Disney’s Aladdin, Jr.  They will be presenting the show in its entirety on March 26, 2011 at 7:00 PM at Independence Park Theatre in Baton Rouge, LA.  They rehearse on Tuesdays from 7:00-9:00 PM.  CCT’s two productions are entirely choreographed by student choreographers Addie Dean and Alex Burns.  For more information please visit www.CentralCommunityTheatre.org.

    Central Community Theatre students have also enjoyed success at past festivals.  At the 2010 Junior Theater Festival, Central Community Theatre Junior Elite students presented selections from Annie Junior for adjudication by iTheatrics Chief choreographer Steven Kennedy and Deirdre Lavarkas, Kennedy Center teaching artist and the Central Community Theatre Senior Elite students presented selections from Disney’s High School Musical Jr. for Ken Cerniglia, dramaturg and literary manager for Disney Theatrical Productions, iTheatrics master teacher Cindy Ripley and Pat Briggs, the retired director of the Palo Alto Children’s Theater.

    The Junior Theater Festival is the world’s largest musical theatre festival dedicated to groups working with elementary and middle school students and is presented by Music Theatre International and produced by iTheatrics and Atlanta’s Theater of the Stars.  The 2011 Festival will be held at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA and will bring together more than 1,800 students, teachers, and Broadway professionals to raise their voices in celebration of on-stage and backstage excellence in musical theater.

    Drawing over 1,800 attendees from 50 schools and educational theater groups from across the U.S. and Canada, the Festival offers an enthusiastic environment for students and teachers to interact with thousands of others who share their passion for musical theater.  Each group performs a 15-minute selection of a musical for professional adjudication by a panel of distinguished theater professionals. In addition, both students and teachers participate in interactive workshops led by Broadway and West End professionals, gain from professional development, enjoy theatrical fellowship and attend a world-class professional production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at the fabulous Fox Theatre.  In true Junior Theater Festival form, student techies work side-by-side with festival staff in all aspects of the festival experience.

    The first Junior Theater Festival was held in January of 2003 and featured premieres of new MTI Education Broadway Junior titles Honk JR., Dear Edwina JR. and Godspell JR.  Starting in 2010, the festival has been an annual event.

From the EBR Library newsletter

    It’s a sweet treat for the Christmas tree! Come and join us at the Greenwell Springs Road Regional Branch to make a candy cane ornaments for your Christmas tree. Children ages 5-11 are invited to create their own piece of the tree this year with pipe cleaners and ribbons on Saturday, December 18, at 11 a.m.

  Then they will her the story, Mouse’s First Christmas by Lauren Thompson.

    For more information or to register, call (225) 274-4460.

From the City of Central Chamber of Commerce

The City of Central Chamber of Commerce would like to thank everyone who came out to the Christmas in Central Festival and Parade 2010!  Your attendance and support helped to make this 24th annual event a fabulous success.  With the great support of our citizens, businesses, and community we look forward to celebrating 25 years in 2011!

Submitted by Jeanie Barnett

Page Turners Book Club had their Christmas party on Dec. 10th at the home of Sue and Dick Webb.  Pictured from left to right are members of Page Turners: Tracie Greely, Dianne Smiley, Jeanie Barnett, Sue Webb, Jan Anderson, Joan Bourgeois and Mikki Cavalier.

By Dave Freneaux 

   Last Saturday, Grand Marshalls Wayne & Diane Leader led the way down a crowded Hooper Road in the 24th annual Central Christmas Parade.  The parade, which began as an effort of the Central Area Business Association, is now sponsored each year by CABA's legacy, the City of Central Chamber of Commerce.  The bands marched and played, the Homecoming Courts sat atop fancy convertibles, and civic groups, churches, teams, clubs, dignitaries, and businesses road in festive floats and on firetrucks.  In typical South Louisiana fashion, from all of the floats, firetrucks and cars came thousands of beads, cups, frisbees, t-shirts and plastic footballs, and enough candy to keep Central's dentists busy for months.

    Unique to this year's parade was the view you see in the photo to the right.  CentralSpeaks.com positioned local photographer Mike Spangler directly above the parade route, suspended in a bucket truck for a unique view of the procession.  CentralSpeaks.com would like to thank Alvin & Casey McCloud of Armco Electric for providing the bucket truck, and Clarence & Penny Fruge of Fruge Realty for the prime parking spot for the truck right on the parade route.  All of the "arial" photographs, as well as many more taken from street level, can be seen online at CentralSpeaks.com, and the arial photos can be ordered directly from Mr. Spangler's website, ep-central.com, under the "view your pictures" tab.

     As is the custom, after the parade much of the crowd gathered at Central Middle to enjoy the carnival rides, food, and the craft show and business expo.  Awards were presented to Carrie's 5678 Dance for best performance, and to the floats of North Point Family Health (1st), JackHammer Baseball (2nd) and Cub Scout Pack 125 (3rd).  If it were possible to give the Chamber of Commerce and all of its volunteers a standing ovation in a newspaper, it would be done here and now.  At the very least, the Chamber has the thanks of an entire community for working so hard to put on one of the most memorable days of Central's year, every year.

All photos in this slideshow are by Expressions Photography.

Submitted by BREC's Kristi Williams

It's beginning to look a lot like the holiday season, and we know what that means-Santa Claus is coming to town! This year, Santa is making stops at five BREC parks on his way to your chimney during BREC's Santa Road Shows.
Santa will be at Lovett Road Park on Dec. 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
During these events children have the opportunity to visit and take pictures with Santa Claus. Parents can either bring their own camera or purchase a photo package. Events also include fun games and activities along with seasonal music the whole family can enjoy. Get ready for holiday fun with a marshmallow roast, candy cane hunt, igloo kick and chimney hoop.
Bring the entire family out to see Santa Claus and experience the holidays the BREC way. Admission is free for all parks. Call the location of your choice or visit brec.org/communityevents for more information.

From the Chamber of Commerce newsletter

Friday evening, Dec. 3 at 7PM, at the corner of Hooper and Sullivan Road.
Featuring Choirs from St. Alphonsus School and Blackwater United Methodist Church. Lighting Displays will be up and the Community Tree will be lit after a special ceremony.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3

Tree Lighting Ceremony: 6 PM

Carnival at Central Middle: 5-10 PM

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4

Christmas Parade: 10 AM

Business Expo/ Craft Fair at Central Middle: After Parade

Carnival at Central Middle: 12-10 PM

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5

Carnival at Central Middle: 12-5 PM