I became aware that food is not only a lure to social gatherings; it is an escape from them, too. When I find myself feeling alone in a room full of people with no clue how to break the ice, you’ll find me in the corner by the food table, stuffing my face with cheesy poofs, so I don’t have to try to speak with anyone.

Making Christmas Bright.

The Robinson Film Center is premiering “Holi-dazed,” a pop-up installation and special event project that’s billed as transforming the Robinson Film Center’s Abby Singer’s Bistro into “a smorgasbord of sights, sounds, smells and tastes of the holiday season” beginning Nov.

“That’s when the businesses [in the downtown area] really suffer,” Clark said. “Everyone goes to Natchitoches, or everyone goes to Marshall. And that’s how this really came about. We started trying to look for a way to drag holiday traffic and overnight stays into the downtown area.