Passing It On workshops are one of the types of workshops supported by the Bayou Culture Collaborative.  They are taught by a tradition bearer who would like to pass on their tradition through a workshop that provides deep learning. Priority is for tradition bearers and traditions in parishes endangered by environmental changes or who practice a highly endangered tradition. We provide funds to an organization or the tradition bearer for workshops or mini-apprenticeships. Expenses generally cover the teacher honorarium and supplies. 

Contact: Maida Owens, Louisiana Folklife Program, folklife@crt.la.gov to explore possibilities for this year or future years. 


Past Passing It On Workshops

Since 2019, 56 Passing It On workshops have been supported with over $101,000 in funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the Arts. 

Below is a sampling of those workshops. Learn more about the tradition bearers, traditions, and their community connections in the Passing it on Workshops Database.

Tradition Bearers’ Completed Workshops

  • Vermilion Parish Cajun Songs and Dance Traditions, Abbeville
  • French Idioms and Expressions, Thibodaux
  • Mardi Gras costume designing, Krewe of Tradition, Houma
  • Cajun music, Cajun Music Preservation Society, Thibodaux
  • Houma Indian gumbo making, Chauvin
  • Wood carving, Terrebonne Folklife Center, Houma
  • Houma Indian Palmetto weaving, Janie Luster, Theriot
  • Houma pigments and dyes, Baton Rouge
  • Traditional plant storytelling, Pointe-au-Chien
  • Pointe-au-Chien traditions, Pointe-au-Chien
  • Houma half-hitch palmetto weaving and Spanish moss doll making, Janie Luster and Ann Luster Robichaux, Theriot
  • Brown cotton weaving, Elaine Bourque, Lafayette
  • Sewing regalia, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, Chauvin
  • Indian foodways, Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha, Grand Bayou Indian Village 
  • Cypress paddle making, Center for Traditional Louisiana Boat Building, Lockport
  • Cloth doll making, Jessica Brown, Houma
  • Cypress basket making, Bourg
  • Cypress dugout pirogue restoration, Center for Traditional Louisiana Boat Building, Lockport
  • Medicinal herbs and the traiteuse tradition, Marlène Toups, Thibodaux
  • Traditions and storytelling, United Houma Nation, Golden Meadow 
  • Adding Curved Roofs to Buildings, Quang Huynh, Independence
  • Grayhawk's Shaving Horse Program, Grayhawk Perkins
  • Grayhawk's Storytelling Program, Grayhawk Perkins
  • French Storytelling Program, Richard Landry
  • French Singing, St. Martinville 
  • Bousillage, Dale Pierrottie
  • Adding Curved Roofs to Vietnamese Buildings, New Orleans/Independence  
  • Waxed Paper Flowers, Thibodaux
  • Creole Storytelling, New Roads, Baton Rouge
  • Caning Chairs, St Martinville 
  • Crochet, Arnaudville
  • Aztec dance, New Orleans
  • Split oak basketmaking, Port Allen
  • drum making, Houma
  • Jure' (call-and-response songs), Opelousas
  • Black Indian Masking, New Orleans
  • Coil, Low-fire Pottery, Lafayette
  • 3-D Woodcarving, Livonia

©2024 Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism