Even in a state renowned for its abundance of festivals, you may not have heard of the Blackpot Festival & Cook-Off. The annual culinary competition at Lafayette’s historic Acadian Village has only one requirement: Every dish has to be cooked in a black iron pot. Of course, no Louisiana fest worth its salt would ignore sights and sounds in addition to flavors, and this one is no exception. There’s an annual accordion contest, square dancing and plenty of room for RVs and camping.
NolaVie photographer Matt Hinson attended the recent 2013 Blackpot Festival, and offers this collection of sights, sounds, and savorings from the experience. Maybe it will whet your appetite for a trek west, black iron pot in tow, in 2014.
NOLAbeings Multimedia artist Claire Bangser created NOLAbeings as a portrait-based story project that marries... 
Voodoo in New Orleans: Reviving history: New Orleans fortune telling This article takes a deep dive into the history of Voodoo in New Orleans, its hybridization with Catholicism, and its present-day place in the city's culture. The author visits fortune-tellers in the French Quarter, using their guidance as a tool for introspection rather than a deterministic predictor of the future. Through her experiences in New Orleans, the author feels a mystical connection to both the past and the future. 