Local
Melrose Plantation Brings Celebration of Arts, Crafts and History Again
Summer is famous for arts and crafts festivals around the world. Nowhere is that
more special than at Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches Parish, where the unique
history of the area wraps its loving arms around new artists as it has for decades.
Mid June is hot, and the intrepid tramp to the country, where lines and lines of cars
park alongside the roadways leading into the plantation area. License plate on cars
and trucks show people who have driven from the central part of the country, from
all points South and beyond. Native American crafters, old-style wood whittlers and
women quilters sit among fine painters and those of classic skill.
Melrose was a celebrated place decades ago, in the early days of the 20th century,
when Cammie Henry, the great hostess who owned the plantation part of its
colorful history, brought artists, writers, story tellers and creative people of
different stripes to the area to submerge themselves in the beauty of the Cane River
area, and after soaking up its mysteries of sight and sound, and after that moved
on to displaying their offerings at Melrose and wherever they settled or originated
from. Henry fed and housed artists so they didn’t have to worry about the “little
things” and could concentrate on creating.
Today Melrose celebrates annually with an arts and crafts festival. The weekend
was filled with visitors crowding into bed and breakfasts and motel lodgings to
interact with locals as everyone turned out for the festival.
Pictures alone can’t say enough, but for what they tell, here are some for those
who enjoy vicariously what others enjoyed this weekend as they do every year in
Natchitoches.
Summer is famous for arts and crafts festivals around the world. Nowhere is that
more special than at Melrose Plantation in Natchitoches Parish, where the unique
history of the area wraps its loving arms around new artists as it has for decades.
Mid June is hot, and the intrepid tramp to the country, where lines and lines of cars
park alongside the roadways leading into the plantation area. License plate on cars
and trucks show people who have driven from the central part of the country, from
all points South and beyond. Native American crafters, old-style wood whittlers and
women quilters sit among fine painters and those of classic skill.
Melrose was a celebrated place decades ago, in the early days of the 20th century,
when Cammie Henry, the great hostess who owned the plantation part of its
colorful history, brought artists, writers, story tellers and creative people of
different stripes to the area to submerge themselves in the beauty of the Cane River
area, and after soaking up its mysteries of sight and sound, and after that moved
on to displaying their offerings at Melrose and wherever they settled or originated
from. Henry fed and housed artists so they didn’t have to worry about the “little
things” and could concentrate on creating.
Today Melrose celebrates annually with an arts and crafts festival. The weekend
was filled with visitors crowding into bed and breakfasts and motel lodgings to
interact with locals as everyone turned out for the festival.
Pictures alone can’t say enough, but for what they tell, here are some for those
who enjoy vicariously what others enjoyed this weekend as they do every year in
Natchitoches.
Local News
The Real Views