February 1, 2020
Newsletter
Edited by William de Marigny Hyland
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Thank you all for your interest. Los Isleños Society will celebrate its 45th annual fiesta in 2020. The result of a successful public-private partnership, Los Isleños Museum Complex has grown into a historical and cultural resource of great significance. We shall continue to move ahead with the generous support of our membership!
BEN CROWE, President
February 11, 2020 Membership Meeting
The next membership/Fiesta 2020 meeting will take place Tuesday, February 11, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the Frank M. Fernandez Isleño Center, 1357a Bayou Road, St. Bernard Village. Kathy Serpas Ziegler will conduct the meeting as chairperson of the Fiesta 2020 Committee and review what has been accomplished to date and what remains to be done to prepare for Los Isleños Fiesta 2020. Arrangements for the festival are moving ahead according to schedule or somewhat ahead of schedule. Sheriff James “Jimmy” Pohlmann and Parish President Guy McInnis have both pledged, as always, their complete support of the festival. Funds raised through the annual fiesta subsidize repairs, general maintenance, improvements, interpretive/educational programs and public outreach programs of the Isleño Society. The following dates are scheduled for food preparation:
- FEBRUARY 29, 2020 – cut fruit and prepare sangria – lunch will be served to volunteers participating in the sangria preparation – Frank Fernandez Isleño Center
- MARCH 4 & 5, 2020 – Dessert cooking and preparation in Esteves House under the direction of committee chairman Susie Esteves, (504) 451-3201. Please call Susie to volunteer your assistance.
Los Isleños Fiesta is the major fundraising vehicle of the Society. Without the membership’s support, we cannot succeed. Please volunteer for the fiesta – enjoy the environment which has taken almost 50 years of relentless effort to build! With your enthusiastic support, our future can be bright indeed!!
January 2020 Meeting
Author Suzanne Stone delivered an excellent presentation on the history of coffee and its consumption in New Orleans and the region during the January 14th membership meeting held in the Frank M. Fernandez Isleño Center. Forty (40) members and guests attended the meeting. The reception following the presentation featured Spanish cheese from the Pais Vasco (Basque country), traditional Spanish chorizo, Spanish wine and an assortment of other refreshments. Jack Kramer won the January door prize, a $25.00 gift card from Gerald’s Burgers and Donuts. We thank Richard “Richie” Lewis, proprietor of Gerald’s Donuts and Burgers, for the generous gift. Door prizes will be offered during future membership meetings of Los Isleños Society.
CISLANDER US Exhibition – Capitol Park Louisiana State Museum
The Isleño Society has scheduled a field trip to view the Isleño/Canary Islander exhibition currently on display in the Louisiana State Museum Capitol Park, 660 North Fourth Street, Baton Rouge, 70802, for Saturday, February 15, 2020. A St. Bernard Parish School bus will depart February 15th at 9:00 a.m. from the St. Bernard Parish Government Complex, 8201 West Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette, LA, 70043. The exhibition is in its complete form with audio-visual components and additional photography not displayed in the New Orleans Cabildo. The exhibition in Baton Rouge will come down after March 17, 2020.
We ask all members not riding the bus to meet at the Government Complex and follow the bus to Baton Rouge. Society member and former Canary Islanders Heritage Society President Joan Aleman made a donation to defray the expense of the school bus. Admission to the Louisiana State Museum Capitol Park will be free of charge as will the bus transportation. Luncheon at the expense of individual members and/or guests will be at the Baton Rouge Piccadilly Cafeteria followed by dessert at the 190-year-old home of Mike Martin and Donna Mumfrey-Martin in New Roads, Pointe Coupee Parish and then return home. All those riding the school bus or traveling in their private vehicles need to make reservations with Secretary Bill Hyland by calling (504) 874-0635 or emailing him at whyland@sbpg.net. Other field trips in 2020 are being planned.
MEMBERSHIP DUES PAYABLE NOW
Membership dues have been coming in steadily since January 2020 and we thank those members who have responded so promptly. Please pay your either online by visiting our homepage and clicking on the “Join Now” button or mail your dues in the traditional method to:
Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society
1345-1357 Bayou Road
St. Bernard, LA, 70085.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FEBRUARY – JUNE 2020
February 11, 2020 Membership/Fiesta 2020 preparation meeting, 7:00 p.m., Frank Fernandez Isleño Center
February 15, 2020 CISLANDER US Exhibition, Louisiana State Museum Capitol Park, Baton Rouge,
Leave Chalmette at 9:00 a.m.
February 25, 2020 MARDI GRAS
March 7 & 8, 2020 LOS ISLENOS FIESTA – Los Isleños Museum Complex
March 9, 2020 Farewell Dinner/March membership meeting – please come to wish the members of Maxorata a safe
return trip home to Fuerteventura Island and thank them for coming and supporting our festival!!!
7:00 p.m. – Frank Fernandez Isleño Center
March 24, 2020 Fiesta 2020 Review Meeting – 7:00 p.m. Frank Fernandez Isleño Center
April 12, 2020 EASTER SUNDAY
April 14, 2020 Membership Meeting – Will Buckingham, Ph.D., The Decimas of St. Bernard Parish –
7:00 p.m., Frank Fernandez Isleño Center
May 1 – 2, 2020 St. Bernard Birding Festival, Los Isleños Museum Complex
May 12, 2020 Membership Meeting, Frank Fernandez Isleño Center, 7:00 p.m.
May 24, 2020 Canary Islands Day/Memorial Day – St. Bernard Catholic Church, Cemetery & Iverson Hall
10:00 a.m.
June 8, 2020 Membership Meeting/Scholarship Award Dinner, Frank Fernandez Isleño Center, 7:00 p.m.