Virtual Lectures
Monday
October 25
12:00-1:00 PM
Angelique Bergeron, Kathe Hambrick, Kevin McCaffrey
The role that sugar has played in the history of post-colonial Louisiana cannot be understated. River Fest is proud to present a short film by Kevin McCaffrey exploring the history of sugar as it relates to the Mississippi River, followed by a panel discussion featuring Kathe Hambrick 2PRESERVE, CEO and Founder River Road African American Museum, and Angelique Bergeron of the West Baton Rouge Museum. These guests will focus in on the unique history of sugar in Louisiana. The presentation with conclude with an audience Q&A.
Wednesday
October 27
12:00-1:00 PM
Beatrice Germaine, Celia Sainville, Ben Jones
Rhum Clément was first established in 1887 when Martinique political icon Homère Clément bought Domaine de l’Acajou in Le François, Martinique. Homere’s innovative thinking and political influence during the Caribbean sugar crisis resulted in economic success and a unique type of rum from Martinique: Rhum Agricole, distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice.
Celia Sainville, Tourism Manager at Clément, and Ben Jones, Spiribam Managing Director, will join the festival virtually to present their culture and fascinating history of rum Clément in Martinique. With their passion and personal stories, get a closer look inside the production process and discover the rich traditions of a world-class Rhum Agricole.
Thursday
October 28
12:00-1:00 PM
In What Remains, New Orleans filmmaker and cinematographer Paavo Hanninen tracks the life of a Gulf oyster from harvest to plate and highlights an emerging effort to use leftover shells as reefs to protect Louisiana’s dwindling coastline. Contemplate an innovative model of sustainable food production and consumption through this textured portrait of a Southern food bedrock. Join us for a screening of the film, followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Paavo Hannenin, producer Meghan Holmes, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana's Restoration Programs Director Kellyn LacCour-Conant, and CRCL Director of Communications and Marketing James Karst.
Thursday
October 28
5:30-8:00 PM
Eternal Flow: Mississippi River Views from Louisiana, Film Screening and Conversation
Kevin McCaffrey
Historic Icon, Working Waterway, Mythic Surge, Sustainable Fountain, Healing Resource, Magical Inspiration, the Mississippi River is often depicted as a Romantic Construct taken from the minds of so many people. We expect nostalgic images of steamboats and river fronts from “days of yore.” For those who live on and near the River today, those filmy images from literature and music fog over the current every day experience and images of the River, no more effluent along its shores than in Louisiana. Or do they? The movie Eternal Flow looks at today’s Mississippi River through the eyes of those who have their own profoundly personal history with the River, and who carry large lessons from it, as resources for living their lives. What emerges is a community that may even only now discover it is a community. Never overlooking the day to day past, present, and future workings of the Great River, this is the ever emerging community of flow.