Our Annual Report for 2023 is ready in advance of our Annual Banquet at NuNu Arts & Culture Collective in Arnaudville on March 23. Members and others interested in finding out more about our accomplishments over the past year and what’s coming in 2024 can download the report here.
Join us for our Annual Banquet being held at NuNu Arts & Culture Collective (1510 Hwy. Courtableau, LA 93 East) in Arnaudville this year. Activities will include a silent auction, dinner, drinks, a guest speaker and highlights from our past year.
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This year’s guest speaker is authority on Louisiana and Southern Regional Art Claudia Kheel. Her talk is titled “An Enduring Tradition: Artists and Photographers of the Bayou Teche.” Kheel specializes in 19th-century portraiture and has divided her career between working in museums and auction houses. She was the director of American and Southern Art at Neal Auction Company and served as curator of fine arts at the Indiana State Museum and Louisiana State Museum. She is currently a southern regional art specialist at New Orleans Auction Galleries and a collections specialist at Louisiana State Museum. She earned a Master of Arts in American Art History from Newcomb College at Tulane University and a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University. She is an adjunct faculty member at the School of Professional Advancement, Tulane University where she teaches classes on Louisiana art history.
The silent auction will be heavy on local art, so get ready to bid! Shrimp (and vegetarian) fettucine will be provided by Russell’s Food Center.
Here’s the schedule for the evening:
Registration & social hour: 5-6 p.m.
Business meeting: 6-6:40 p.m.
Dinner & speaker: 6:45-7:30 p.m.
Music by the Babineaux Sisters & silent auction: 7:30-9 p.m.
If you are a current member of The TECHE Project, you get in free. Non-members can sign up at the door (starting at $25 for an individual membership).
Dinner is included in the admission price. Beer from Bayou Teche Brewing and wine will be available with the purchase of a $10 commemorative glass or bring your own if you’ve purchased one in the past.
Date: January 20, 2024
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The TECHE Project (a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the ecological, cultural and recreational values of the Bayou TECHE watershed) will be holding a Wood Duck Management Workshop at the Acadian Memorial Museum (121 S. New Market St.) in St. Martinville on January 20 from 10 a.m.-noon. The focus is on the ecology and rearing of wood ducks. Participants can also learn about how to film nestlings in the box and on “jump day” when they fledge from the box.
Nest boxes will be available for sale, and free Bayou Teche Paddle Trail mile signs are available for those program participants on Bayou Teche. The target audience for this workshop is those living on Bayou Teche; however, anyone who is interested in rearing wood ducks is welcome to attend. Admission is FREE for TECHE Project Members and current Wood Duck Box Program participants. For others, the cost is $10. We hope to see you there!
Our special Membership Party is scheduled for November 11 at a private home in Franklin this year. Join us for music by the Babineaux Sisters, gumbo, drinks and conversation along the bayou. Members get in free, and future members can sign up at the door. Please RSVP to techeproject@gmail.com.
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Paddle with us on Saturday, Oct. 21, to celebrate the beautiful Bayou Teche National Paddle Trail! Our whacky Paddle Parade will start at Poche’s Country Club, and paddlers can travel to either Parc des Ponts in Breaux Bridge or Lil’s on the Teche in Breaux Bridge.
Registration is now open on Eventbrite. All tickets include a Festival Pin with this year’s bird: the Northern Cardinal. There will be a Pre-Paddle Shuttle ($5 cash at the bus) from each location. Two bands on decorated barges will accompany the paddlers down the bayou to set the mood! Starting at noon, there will be lunch trucks, libations, merch sales, kids’ activities and live music by Corey Ledet until 2 p.m. If you choose the longer paddle, you will still have time to play at the park, so plan to have lunch with us and support The TECHE Project.
Registration is $15 for adults and $10 for children. Please note that registration does not include kayak rental, lunch or shuttle. Find more information on our events page.
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We have some exciting news just in time for the summer! Our last paddle trail dock has been installed in Poche Bridge at Poche’s Market (3015 Main Hwy., Breaux Bridge). Take advantage of a nice, short paddle (1.5 hours) to Breaux Bridge and stop in at Poche’s to take cracklins and boudin to go.
We’d like to thank St. Martin Parish Government for partnering with us on the Poche Bridge trailhead and Floyd Poche, who has installed a beautiful pavilion and parking area to compliment the Paddle Trail.
Get out on the water this summer and check out one of our 15 docks from Port Barre to Patterson!
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Our “Geaux Paddle” recreation program is offering paddling opportunities for kids ages 10-14 on Bayou Teche this summer. The goal of Geaux Paddle is to get kids who have never paddled before comfortable with paddling and then out enjoying Bayou Teche, the first National Water Trail in Louisiana! This program will happen over two days, with the first day including safety, instruction and an experiment on water testing led by water-quality expert Trent Haines. The second day will include paddling with Margaret and Jeff Simon and a Chihuly-inspired art project with local artist Marla Kristicevich made from recycled trash found on the bayou. All activities take place at our official dock in New Iberia. The paddle portion will also teach about wood duck boxes and the importance of providing safe nest sites for reproduction; education on flora and fauna and the importance of native plants; and trash pickup. See the full schedule below.
This program is being offered as the result of a Healthy Communities Grant from Keep Louisiana Beautiful. The two-day workshop is free to attend, but you must register on Eventbrite in advance. Kayaks/canoes, lifejackets, snacks and drinks will be provided.
Friday, June 9
Paddle Safety, Instruction & Water Quality Experiment
5-7 p.m.
Saturday, June 10
Paddle Trip, Bayou Education & Art Project
8:30 a.m.-noon
ALL ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AT OUR OFFICIAL DOCK AT 108 DUPERIER AVE. IN NEW IBERIA.
We released our Annual Report for 2022 at our Annual Banquet in Jeanerette on March 11. Members and others interested in finding out more about our accomplishments over the past year and what’s coming in 2023 can download the report here.
Please mark your calendar for our Annual Membership Banquet on Saturday, March 11! We will be celebrating our accomplishments from 2022 at Albania Mansion (21066 Hwy. 182 W) on the bayou in Jeanerette.
Albania was built in 1842 by Charles Grevemberg in the Greek Revival architectural style and sits on eight acres surrounded by hundred-year-old oak trees. It was featured in the movie adaptation of “All The King’s Men,” and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley are both said to have stayed on the property. Inside, a curving staircase rises three stories, and some decor from previous owner artist Hunt Slonem is still evident. Now under new ownership, Albania is open to the public and available for events and private parties.
In addition to house tours, we will be offering paddling in advance of the banquet. If you’d like to paddle, just arrive between 3-4 p.m., and you can launch your own kayak right from the dock at Albania or our official dock at T.J. Viator City Park.
House tours will be offered from 3:30-4:30 p.m. See below for the full banquet schedule.
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Banquet Schedule
Registration & mingling: 4:30-5 p.m.
Welcome & business meeting: 5-5:30 p.m.
Dinner & guest speakers: 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Social & silent auction with live music by Drew Simon & Lukas Meaux: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
About the Speakers:
Visual artists Kristie Cornell and Marla Kristicevich strive to create a conversation between people and the environment through the exploration of waterways with their Meander Mindset: Bayou Teche project. Together, they meandered the Teche, collecting organic samples and making photographs, textural rubbings, audio recordings and eco sculptures along the waterway. These collected materials and works create a visual narrative of the artists’ findings and encourage the viewer to reevaluate their connection to the natural world and to take the time to observe and appreciate their surroundings. They have also recently published a book, which will be for sale (and signing) at the banquet.
Admission
If you are a current member of The TECHE Project, you get in free. Non-members can sign up at the door (starting at $25 for an individual membership).
Dinner is included in the admission price. Beer and wine will be available with the purchase of a $10 commemorative glass.