McNeese Banners Series: New season to challenge your mind, senses
Published 3:07 pm Monday, February 23, 2026
By Mary Richardson
The opening reception for the McNeese State Banners Series on March 1 will inaugurate another season that has enriched the people of Southwest Louisiana for the past 34 years.
And, as has been the tradition, the series will bring a huge variety of the arts. Music genres will range from 17th-century classics to music from Guatemala, with a healthy dose of rock n’ roll and pop in between. Intellectual stimulation will include readings by poets and novelists, and a political discussion about the United States’ 250-year history.
“The season really is like a buffet,” said Brook Hanemann, director of the Banners Series. “You get a taste of so many different things. You can enjoy the art forms you already love, but you also get to sample something new without fear. That spirit of curiosity is at the heart of what we do.”
The opening reception will take place at 3-5 p.m. on March 1, in the 1911 Historic City Hall. It is free and open to all.
Sean Hager will provide music and vocals, and there will be jambalaya, baked beans and sweets to represent culinary art. The McNeese Student Art Association will display examples of students’ work.
“We might not cover all art forms,” said Randy Partin, assistant director of the Banners Series, “but music, food and canvas will be well represented.”
Membership packages range in price from $80 per ticket to $550 for all events, including gold tickets to the Rouge et Blanc wine and food event in the fall.
Individual tickets for events will be available online and at the door. Most events are $20, but free to McNeese and SOWELA Technical Community College students with ID. Free season passes will be available to all educators, current and retired, all first responders and those 80 years or older.
The 16-event season will run from March 1 to April 30.
Relic: 7 p.m. March 4, F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20. The chamber group plays early music on original or replicas of 18th century instruments, such as those with gut strings and no chin rests. The group will play Baroque-era music with lively improvisation and ornamentation.
A French Garden of Orchids With The Lake Charles “Orchid-Stra.” Noon-6 p.m. March 14 and noon-5 p.m. March 15, F.G. Bulber Auditorium. Orchid show is free; symphony concert is $20. A three-way collaboration between the Banners Series, the Calcasieu Orchid Society and the Lake Charles Symphony will combine the beauty of flowers and music. A regional orchid exhibit and sale will feature orchids that cannot be found locally. A symphony concert of botanically-themed music will begin at 6 p.m. March 14.
Tartan Terrors: 7 p.m. March 21, F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to students. Tartan Terrors will bring a Celtic invasion to Lake Charles. They bring the energy of a rock show, and augment that energy with humor and step dance. They say they want Celtic music to be accessible to any audience.
United States Air Force Concert Band with the Singing Sergeants: 7 p.m. March 24, free. F.G. Bulber Auditorium. Enjoy instrumental sounds and smooth vocals of the Air Force Concert Band and the Singing Sergeants during their spring tour. They will perform patriotic music as well as Broadway classics — and, as always, a salute to celebrate veterans.
Opening Reception for the 39th Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition: 6 p.m. March 26, Grand Gallery of the Shearman Fine Arts Building. Free. Juror for the exhibit is Nicole Donnelly, a hand papermaker and visual artist, who is the executive director of the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory in Cleveland. She will give a gallery talk and host the awards presentation at 7 p.m.
Lake Area Ballet Theatre presents “Ballet, Bobby Socks and BIG BAND:” 7 p.m. March 26, Rosa Hart Theatre, $20, free to students. The program will be a blast from the past, with a modern ballet flair. Lake Charles’ own talented dancers will perform to ’50s and ’60s classic music. Hanemann said people will be “entertained, inspired, and awed by these incredible dancers, actors and musicians.”
George Rodrigue: His Life and Legacy: 3 p.m. March 27, 1911 Historic City Hall, free. Wendy Rodrigue Magnus, widow of George Rodrigue, has created a nonprofit organization with the mission of providing arts education, storytelling, traveling exhibitions, and school outreach, all built around George Rodrigue’s life and artwork. She will bring original artwork and talk about her husband’s life and legacy.
Movies Under the Stars: 6:30 p.m. April 10, F.G. Bulber lawn on the McNeese campus, free. There will be a free movie for Family Film Night, free refreshments, popcorn and cotton candy. Bring a lawn chair or throw a blanket on the ground and enjoy the big-screen experience.
Louisiana Grassroots: A Cajun Prairie Documentary: 3 p.m. April 12, New student union building, McNeese quad, free. View this new documentary and discuss what it reveals. There will be free wine and cheese reception.
Jeff Boyer’s Fun with Energy: 7 p.m. April 15, F.G. Bulber Theatre. $10, free to students. See big bubble flair. The show is where art merges with science, technology, engineering and math to create STEAM. There will be bubble rainbows with people inside, and audience members making volcano bubbles. Gigantic bubbles will blow their own bubbles. Jeff Boyer is a zany guy, a Guinness World Records-holder, and a master bubble maker. He will present a free school show at 10 a.m. in Bulber Auditorium.
The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass: 7 p.m. Friday, F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to students. Celebrate the Royal Family of Jazz. The group is America’s premier large-brass ensemble, but it had its beginnings in Louisiana, on the streets of New Orleans. On the advice of family patriarch Ellis Marsalis, the group created a concert format that breaks the usual barriers between genres. The group has played at performing arts centers around the world, including China’s National Center for the Performing Arts, Guangzhou Opera House, Tanglewood’s Seiji Ozawa Hall, and prominent performing arts centers throughout the United States, South America, Asia and Europe.
Shawn Hagen’s Wellness concert: 7 p.m. April 21, F.G. Bulber Auditorium, free. In Hagen’s words, this performance is “A brief mostly unaccompanied horn recital … accompanied by the not-so-brief voices in my head.” He said his goal is to teach other performers how to deal with pressure and stage fright. He has played with prestigious, national bands for 25 years, and also has the historic honor of being the first alphorn soloist at the U.S. Capitol with the U.S. Army Band, “Pershing’s Own.” How does he keep from making mistakes — especially when mistakes aren’t an option? That’s the skill he will share.
Doctor Nativo: 7 p.m. April 22, F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to students. Doctor Nativo will be on his way to Festival International de Louisiane in Lafayette. He is one of Central America’s most outstanding talents. His music layers Mayan spirituality with social activism, and his propulsive sound combines reggae, cumbia and hip-hop.
250 Years — A Historical Panel Discussion: April 25, Ben Mount Auditorium, 809 Kirby St. Free. It’s been 250 years since American colonists declared their allegiance to a domestic government. The government would be run “by the people and for the people.” Enjoy and engage with this historical reflection, presented in partnership with the City of Lake Charles and the America 250 Commission-Louisiana. The discussion will focus on the establishment, journey and significance of America.
Kevin Thomason: Poetry Discussion and Reading: 5 p.m. April 26, F.G. Bulber Auditorium, free. Kevin Thomason is the author of the poetry collection “Even the Sky.” His work can be read in Narrative Magazine, Arkansas Review, Southern Poetry Review and elsewhere. He teaches in McNeese’s Master of Fine Arts program.
“Jolly Roger” and “Pirates Alley” by Thomas Leveque: A Discussion and Book Signing: 6 p.m. April 30, Riverside Park, 1701 Fitzenreiter Road, free. Leveque returns to his hometown to discuss the inspiration and motivation for writing his first two novels, both set in Calcasieu Parish. Readers will become embroiled in mysteries that will take them on a journey throughout Southern Louisiana. The plots intertwine murder, treasure, history, legacy, family stories and food.
