KINDER — The Allen Parish Tourist Commission plans to spend $40,000 to expand its welcome center north of Kinder to include a music museum, Coushatta Tribe exhibit and a swamp scene. 

State Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill recently presented commission director Adagria Haddock and Commission Chairman Mike Karam with the money, generated by local hotel and motel taxes. It will be used to enlarge the building by adding a 50-by-12-foot room to the back of the center, Haddock said.

“We’re trying to turn the welcome center into an interpretive center that will be a destination for people to come see and get information instead of just stopping by,” she said. “We want something to bring the tourists to see and something for visitors to enjoy.”

The center, just off U.S. 165 north of Kinder, gets 100-150 visitors a month and is included on the Myths and Legends Byway. 

The Tourism Commission wants to enlarge the center to include a music museum featuring notable musicians from Allen, Beauregard, Cameron, Calcasieu and Jeff Davis parishes. Clay sculptures of many of the musicians would be featured, along with information about them and their music.

“This way people would be able to see and read about them,” Haddock said.

Local music would also be played in the museum, which Haddock hopes to use to hold jam sessions for local musicians.

Other plans include an exhibit on the language, people and culture of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana. “The Coushattas are part of our history, and people are interested in learning more about them,” Haddock said.

A swamp diorama featuring alligators, beavers, frogs, ducks and other native animals and plants will also be included in the project.

“This is going to be economic development for our parish because people will be coming through, maybe stopping to visit and to see this,” Hill said. “It will help diversify the economy of our parish and promote our tourism to bring more people in who shop and eat in the area and maybe stay in our hotels.”

The expansion is the first major improvement since the welcome center opened in 2002. “This is a big project for us and will likely have to be done a little at a time,” Haddock said.

The expansion would enhance many of the displays already at the center, including the more than 100 veterans featured on a Wall of Honor. The ongoing project features charcoal and graphite portraits of area veterans drawn by local artist Gary Nupp from old photographs.

The welcome center also serves as a venue for artists to showcase and sell their work. The latest display includes a large oak carving of a giant tiger and other work by artist Sam Wade of Oakdale.