Culture in Columbia Louisiana

When you make a list of all the unique things Louisiana has to offer visitors, you quickly see the long-lasting influences of our French, Spanish and African ancestry. Our past is well-preserved in our architecture, music, food and lifestyles—which include our amazing festivals—and of course in our museums of history and fine arts.

It is not an accident that Louisiana clings to the phrase "Laissez les bons temps rouler," meaning "Let the good times roll". Let yourself get lost in the traditions passed down through generations. Come visit us during Mardi Gras when costumed riders parade and magnificent balls are thrown from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport and beyond. Peek back across the centuries, as you walk under lavish ironwork and through the lush courtyard gardens of a meticulous French Quarter hotel. Touch history with a tour of a plantation where the daily activities of the past are recreated. Let nature's mysteries inspire and awe you via a boat tour through a cypress studded bayou.

Here, in Louisiana, history and lore don't merely live in books on a shelf; they're reflected in our everyday lives.

With less than 1,000 residents, Columbia is truly a small town. But since the 1950s, it has gotten a lot bigger each fall when it becomes home to the Louisiana Art and Folk Festival. Held in downtown Columbia, the festival showcases one of Louisiana’s Main Street communities. Visitors discover a beautifully preserved and aggressively maintained old town. A focal point is the Schepis Museum. With its trademark statues of Christopher Columbus and George Washington, the circa 1916 Schepis building highlights the town’s heritage as a settlement for entrepreneurial Italian immigrants. Situated on the Ouachita River in Louisiana’s cotton country, Columbia developed as a bustling riverboat town. Today, there are spectacular views from the Riverwalk. Nearby, the Boeuf Wildlife Management Area offers a wide array of game for hunters to pursue, including deer, rabbit, quail and turkey. Those who prefer wild hog, will find ample hunting opportunities in the area’s vicinity.