Lagniappe (lan-yap) is a word you’ll hear used all over Louisiana. It means a “little something extra,” and meeting in Baton Rouge or Shreveport-Bossier City means it is easy to come by.
Following are a few suggestions to add a little after-business lagniappe to gatherings.
Just 15 minutes from downtown Baton Rouge, Alligator Bayou (225.677.8297; www.alligatorbayou.com) brings groups deep into the mysterious world of a Louisiana swamp. The swamp preserve offers eco-tours by boat through the Bluff Swamps, past centuries-old cypress trees and up close to 15-foot gators. Back at camp, participants can take a guided walk through an alligator eco-habitat and view baby alligators, snapping turtles and Louisiana bobcats. Groups can book a Cajun dance party on the rustic pavilion overlooking the swamp, while smaller parties can enjoy a catered sunset cruise through the swamp.
Lake Caddo, straddling the Louisiana-Texas border, is one of most spectacular natural environments in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Home to the world’s largest Cypress forest, the freshwater lake offers truly stunning scenery. Groups can get a unique view from aboard the Caddo Lake Steamboat (903.789.3978; www.caddolake.com/steamboat.html), a 19th century replica complete with a churning paddle wheel and tooting steam whistle.
Back in the city, Captain Sam Flood spotlights the history of the river that separates Shreveport from Bossier City, offering informative tours and plenty of Southern charm aboard his 30-passenger Spirit of the Red River (318.424.3576). The cruise includes a detour into Cross Bayou for a look at the local wildlife.
The Baton Rouge area is home to some of the most spectacular examples of Louisiana’s antebellum legacy, when cotton was king and sugar was queen. Most are open to group events. Highlights include Nottaway Plantation (225.545.2730; www.nottaway.com), the largest plantation in the South; Houmas House (225.473.9380; www.houmashouse.com) nicknamed “the Sugar Palace”; and Magnolia Mound (225.343.4955; www.magnoliamound.org), a Creole plantation offering old South cooking demonstrations in an open-hearth kitchen.
Built in 1794, Myrtles Plantation (225.635.6277; www.myrtlesplantation.com) in St. Francisville, 30 miles outside of Baton Rouge, is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in the country. Visits from Chloe (a Myrtles slave who hung herself), ghostly children playing on the veranda, disembodied steps climbing the main staircase—these are just a few of the eerie encounters at Myrtles. Groups can take an evening mystery tour followed by cocktails or dinner in Varnedoe’s Restaurant, located in the plantation’s carriage house.
