Contact: 318-357-6685 / creolecenter@nsula.edu
NATCHITOCHES – To celebrate and educate all on the heritage and living traditions of Louisiana Creoles and Creole Heritage Month, the Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University will host a series of events in October for NSU students, faculty, staff and the public.
The month’s central activity is a scavenger hunt titled #CreoleQuest2026. Members of the NSU community will visit locations at NSU and the surrounding Natchitoches area to learn more about the rich heritage and living traditions of Louisiana Creoles in the parish. Participants will take a picture of themselves at each location and are encouraged to post them to social media using #CreoleQuest2026 and tagging the Creole Heritage Center. All participants will earn a T-shirt and those who visit at least 10 locations or events will be included in a drawing at the end of the month for gift cards to locations around Natchitoches.
Scavenger hunt cards can be picked up at the Center or at any of the month’s events or found on the Center’s website (nsula.edu/creole).
Creole Heritage QR code
The public can participate in #CreoleQuest2026, too, by visiting sites near them that are connected to Louisiana Creoles and posting their pictures on social media with the same hashtag. All public entries will be included in a drawing for Creole Heritage Center gifts such as aprons, lunch bags and cups.
All also are invited to an open house at the Creole Heritage Center on October 27 and 28 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Visitors can enjoy light refreshments and games while meeting the Center’s staff and exploring the Center’s artifacts, photographs and Resource Library that help it preserve and educate all on the vibrant Louisiana Creole people.
Other highlights during October for the NSU community include:
- 1 – The Bon Temps & Living Traditions Kickoff! in front of Alost Hall from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. starts the entire month of events and individuals can pick up their #CreoleQuest2026 scavenger hunt cards.
- 6 – A Creole Heritage Lunch & Learn exploring Creole art in its many forms featuring Milton Arceneaux of Creole Culture, and Katrice LaCour of the LaCour Trio. This event is produced with Northwestern State University’s Ethnic Studies Program and Gail Metoyer Jones Center and a RSVP is required.
- 13-14 – “Show & Share: Louisiana Creole Treasures” will have the Center’s staff displaying highlights from its holdings on the NSU Kyser Hall Brickway from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
- 19 – A Paint & Poetry event in the Student Union (Room 122) from noon- 2 p.m. when participants will be given the tools needed to paint, draw, or compose poetry inspired by Louisiana Creole music, poetry, people and places.
“All these opportunities for the NSU, Natchitoches and broader Louisiana community to recognize and learn about the Louisiana Creole people, their heritage and the impacts they have had on NSU and our communities is what Creole Heritage Month is all about,” shared Dr. Kent Peacock, director of the Center.
October was first designated as Creole Heritage Month in Louisiana in 2005 by the state’s legislature at the encouragement of the Creole Heritage Center. According to the legislature’s resolution, this was done “to encourage statewide recognition of the unique Creole culture in Louisiana and across the nation” because it is “worthy and deserving of recognition so that this important part of the American experience will not be lost.”
The state chose October because it aligns with the UNESCO-recognized International Creole Heritage Day observed annually on Oct. 28 and the celebrations of all Creole peoples that happen throughout the world during the month.
The Creole Heritage Center at NSU has a mission to preserve, educate, and advocate the value and significance of the vibrant Louisiana Creole people and is part of NSU’s School of Social Sciences and Applied Programs. For more information, visit www.nsula.edu/creole, or connect with the Center at creolecenter@nsula.edu or 318-357-6685.