Since the turn of the century, people have been traveling to Abita Springs, Louisiana, for pure, clean-tasting water. Thus, with its fitting natural resources and small-town southern charm, it became clear to us that Abita Springs would be the perfect place to pioneer the freshest and most unique tasting beers available today.

Established in 1986, Abita Brewing Company is proud to be the oldest craft brewery in the southeast and one of the oldest craft breweries in the United States. Today, Abita Brewing Company is poised to go from one of the top microbreweries in the country to a nationally renowned household beer.

Experience one of the finest cigars you'll ever smoke. Visit our factories in the French Quarter and watch the masters at work!

The Conrad Rice Mill is the oldest rice mill in America. It is also one of the leading tourist attractions in this area of the Bayou Teche. In 1981, the Mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

P.A. Conrad founded the Conrad Rice Mill and Planting Company in 1912. He would cut the rice by hand and let it sun-dry on the levees before putting the rice in the threshers. The rice was poured into 100-pound bags and taken to the mill. At that time, the mill operated only three to four months out of the year. Conrad would sell his rice from inventory, waiting for the next crop to harvest.

Conrad was an astute businessman, steadily growing his business to the point where he no longer grew enough rice to meet demands. Buying grain from the other growers in the area supplemented his own crop. To satisfy his customers requests, he also began to sell the rice in smaller sized bags. In the 1950's, "KONRIKO" was trademarked as an acronym for "CONRAD RICE COMPANY."

A few years afterwards, P.A. Conrad retired and left the business to his three sons: Phillip, Julian, and Allen. Phillip, the oldest, died at a very early age leaving the two remaining brothers to carry on the family business. After many years of operating the mill, the brothers were at a retirement age and eventually only three New Iberia grocery stores remained as customers.

In 1975 Mike Davis, a former teacher and farmer, bought the mill from the Conrad brothers. Within 10 days of the purchase, the mill was back up and running after laying dormant for two years. Davis quipped, "I would mill for a day or two, then I'd get on the road and peddle the rice."

The original part of the mill was built in 1914 and received additions in 1917 and 1930. This is significant because it is a rare surviving example of a factory using a belt-drive power transmission. Davis has made many changes and improvements to the mill since 1975 and shows no signs of stopping any time soon.

"Now we sell to every major wholesaler in the state and to every chain store," Davis said. "We have also developed a specialty rice business in all 50 states and Canada, and we're beginning to break into the European markets."

Please come visit us so we can personally share our small part of Cajun Country with you.

Fortunately, our business at the store continues to grow, so we recently purchased the lots across from the Konriko® Company Store. We'll be making a new parking lot to better serve our many RV-ers and bus tours.

C'mon by and see us; the coffee is always fresh and hot!

Mardi Gras World invites you to take a look behind the magic of Mardi Gras on your next visit to New Orleans! Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World is New Orleans' showcase of carnival, with thousands of sensational sculptured props and breath-taking giant figures on display all year-round. Tourists are encouraged to bring their cameras and picture themselves next to King Kong, Marilyn Monroe, the giant Bacchsaurus, and thousands of other props and sculptures.

Our daily tours take you through this once-forbidden location inside New Orleans where Mardi Gras is made. You can now see Blaine Kern's artists and sculptors actually create the magical images and figures of Mardi Gras in full view of visitors throughout the year.

You know this is going to be a fun tour as soon as you arrive. Colorful Mardi Gras props, like a gigantic jovial jester, fiercely realistic alligators, and a gorgeously exciting Marilyn Monroe with skirt flying greet one and all to this amazing fantasy factory. You will even view the most awesome floats ever built for carnival - the Orpheus 140-foot triple-tandem sea monster "Leviathan" and the 240-foot quintuple-tandem "Captain Eddie's S.S. Endymion," with tens of thousands of fiber optic lights.

After a brief introduction by a knowledgeable guide and a spirited video about the history of Mardi Gras and the company, you can dress up in authentic, ornate carnival costumes. Visitors tap into their imaginations, as the ladies don sequined headdresses, gowns, and the gentlemen wear regal coats of armor, imagine yourself as a noble king or queen of the ball!

During the self-guided portion of your tour, you'll enter a maze of amazing props of all sizes. In one area, heaps of props await repair, and you'll see artists, painters, and sculptors creating before your very eyes. A 15-foot torso of the lovely and captivating Cleopatra stands nearby.

Follow the yellow arrows to next "den" (float artists' warehouse). It's a big carpentry and paint shop, where workers build and decorate sensational floats. For each "krewe" (club), artists paint each float with brightly-colored themed scenes. Gold and silver foil on the sides of the floats glisten and flutter in the breeze. The floats appear as colorful and animated as any imaginative Hollywood movie, with strings of lights tracing their outlines to illuminate them at night.

At night, the facility comes alive for the most unique parties on the planet. Conventions and groups wishing an incredible setting for an unforgettable party have their dreams come true in the spectacular home of carnival -- Mardi Gras World!

Ever wonder what it would be like to visit the home of TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce? Well, Avery Island, Louisiana is a place where doin' things slowly ensures doing them right. From the unique feel of the South Louisiana marshes and bayous to the nature preserve inhabited by indigenous plants and animals, Avery Island is TABASCO® homegrown goodness at its finest.

Touring the visitor center and the pepper sauce factory is just one part of the Avery Island experience. In addition to seeing how we age TABASCO® in white oak barrels and ship it all over the world, you can visit Avery Island's 200-acre Jungle Gardens and see, in season, a variety of azaleas, camellias and bamboo. You might even spy some alligators, deer, nutria, raccoons and black bears that live in the hills and marshes around the gardens. And then there's always the thousands of snowy egrets (saved from extinction with the help of E.A. "Mr. Ned" McIlhenny) who nest on the island each year on specially-built, pier-like structures in a pond nicknamed "Bird City". You can stroll the gardens along a path covered by gnarled oaks laced with Spanish moss, and stand at the shrine that houses a centuries old Buddha - a gift to E.A. McIlhenny in 1937.

When you are ready for the hot stuff, you can see the factory where TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce is made. There's a short film on TABASCO® history and a guided tour of our bottling and packaging operations. Then spend time in the original TABASCO® Country Store and check out a wide array of products and souvenirs for sale.

We sure hope to see you soon!

Students enrolled in GlassWorks Young Adult Summer Program have the opportunity to design and execute a number of multi-media projects incorporating a variety of studio areas.

Week-long sessions have a strict student limit of 25 young adult, with a 3-1 student to teacher ratio. While attending the GlassWorks Summer Workshop, young adults experience the camaraderie of team work as they learn new, innovative skills with materials and equipment they have never before been exposed to.

Under the guidance of GlassWorks? master faculty members, students begin their instruction in layout and design, as well as technical skills involved with kiln fired glass/slumping, stained glass, glass bead making and lampworking, sandblast etching, welding and soldering, copper enameling and engraving, printmaking, and paper and book arts.

Each student enjoys hands-on experimentation throughout the entirety of each project at the unparalleled learning environment of the New Orleans School of GlassWorks and Printmaking Studio. As the designs completed by summer workshop students incorporate so many different techniques, each project enables young adults to broaden their engineering and design skills, drawing and rendering, and hand-eye coordination. Students returning to GlassWorks from previous years are challenged to create their own designs, integrating at least two different media, further increasing expertise in the creation process.

Projects incorporating a variety of media are encouraged, involving each student in all of the resources available to them at this specialized, excelled arts workshop. Well crafted, visually stunning finished pieces, and experimentation with new skills are the objectives put forth to all campers, setting the stage for remarkable pieces students may take home at the end of their session.

GlassWorks has been offering this one-of-a-kind glass, metal and print programming for young adults since its inception in 1990, and is proud to offer this creative outlet to local youths. GlassWorks also hosts an outreach program for economically disadvantaged and at risk youth in the New Orleans area.

World champion pottery studio where you can experience the timeless magic of the potter's wheel, smell the smoky molten intensity of a spectacular raku firing, and enjoy a unique shopping experience with all American handmade fine crafts.

Artist Statement
"It is through twenty years of working with glass that I have gained an understanding of the dialogue that is established between artist and material. A lapse of concentration can ruin a piece, but a controlled flick of the wrist or light breath through the blowpipe can give the piece a subtle curve or movement that makes the piece extraordinary. It is this controlled spontaneity that makes glass so magical. I know that the weight from the additional glass bits on the side of the piece will stretch the form. But by using centrifugal force and holding the piece at the correct angle and speed, I can create a composition with the glass that allows both the glass and artist some influence on the final piece. Glassblowing is much akin to a dance; the artist moves with respect and knowledge of the partner. Each has an important contribution to the final piece, but only one will lead - the artist. The dance, when completed, yields an object that was only conceived in one?s imagination or on paper, a tangible work as a result of collaboration between artist and material."

The "Mr. Charlie"
The Only Place in the World Where the General Public can Walk Aboard an Authentic Offshore Drilling Rig!

Mission
The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition's mission is to gather, save, preserve, and interpret artifacts and information about the offshore petroleum industry and to educate others concerning the impact and significance of this Cajun-born industry upon the rest of the world.

Purpose
The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition is a non-profit corporation established for the purpose of educating the general public, and the next generation, on the significance of the offshore oil and gas industry and its affect on the local area, the state, the nation, and the world.

It is a tribute to the pioneering men and women of an industry that developed a culture based on initiative, perseverance, creativity, and hard work. It is a living reminder of the positive contributions, the technological advancements and the world-wide influence of an industry that began in this sleepy, fishing village community.

Through the efforts of the rig museum, everyone will have the opportunity to experience the real oilfield. It will tell the story from the view point of the participants. The hardships and the heroism, the challenges and the conquests, the problems and the solutions will be told here. The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition will be an accurate depiction of the way it was in the offshore oil business.

The "Mr. Charlie"
The Only Place in the World Where the General Public can Walk Aboard an Authentic Offshore Drilling Rig! From 1954 to 1986 "Mr. Charlie" drilled hundreds of offshore wells off the coast of Morgan City, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first transportable, submersible drilling rig and an industry springboard to the current offshore rig technology.

"Mr. Charlie" was built in 1952 and finished in 1953. In 1954 he went to work for Shell Oil Company, drilling a new field in East Bay, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Despite skepticism from offshore industry professionals, "Mr. Charlie" performed up to expectations and went on to drill hundreds of wells for every other major oil company operating in the Gulf, with a cumulative depth of 2.3 million feet.

His barge is approximately 220 feet long and 85 feet wide. Under the living quarters pontoons extend the width to 136 feet. The barge is 14 feet deep, with a 4 foot skirt extending below its bottom on both port and starboard sides. The floor of the platform is 60 feet above the barge, supported by the massive legs that serve to connect the barge and platform. These legs also serve as conduit for connecting services such as: electric, water & air lines, elevator access and other services needed to operate an independent facility, out of sight of land.

"Mr. Charlie" could accommodate a crew of 58. Once "Mr. Charlie" was on location, he was an independent island and nearly totally self-sufficient with room to store drinking water, food, and supplies for the crew. He generated his own electricity, disposed of his own waste, provided his own communication system, and contained enough fuel to accomplish these tasks. He also maintained supplies and equipment to perform his job of drilling a well. He also had to be prepared for any emergency with a complete fire fighting system, blow out preventors, and medical supplies and equipment.

"Mr. Charlie" was capable of drilling wells in water depths up to 40 feet and had a prolific career lasting nearly 4 decades. He revolutionized the offshore oil industry in the Gulf and world-wide. He was retired in late 1986 when drilling activity headed into water deeper than his "feet." The offshore industry was born in Morgan City, and "Mr. Charlie" carried it into the Gulf of Mexico and shipped it around the globe. "Mr. Charlie" revolutionized the offshore oil industry and lead to the technology currently being used around the world. This historic and renowned structure now continues in a new role, teaching others about an industry that changed the world; the offshore oil industry.

Mission
The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition's mission is to gather, save, preserve, and interpret artifacts and information about the offshore petroleum industry and to educate others concerning the impact and significance of this Cajun-born industry upon the rest of the world.

Purpose
The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition is a non-profit corporation established for the purpose of educating the general public, and the next generation, on the significance of the offshore oil and gas industry and its affect on the local area, the state, the nation, and the world.

It is a tribute to the pioneering men and women of an industry that developed a culture based on initiative, perseverance, creativity, and hard work. It is a living reminder of the positive contributions, the technological advancements and the world-wide influence of an industry that began in this sleepy, fishing village community.

Through the efforts of the rig museum, everyone will have the opportunity to experience the real oilfield. It will tell the story from the view point of the participants. The hardships and the heroism, the challenges and the conquests, the problems and the solutions will be told here. The International Petroleum Museum and Exposition will be an accurate depiction of the way it was in the offshore oil business.