Les Boutiques de Noel

One thing local shoppers won’t have to worry about this season is the supply chain of potential Christmas goodies, thanks to Les Boutiques de Noël. The annual fundraiser for the Shreveport Opera will be open for business from Nov. 18-20 in the Shreveport Convention Center downtown.

Vendors from Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee are already lining up to display their wares for shoppers looking for that perfect gift. Specialty gifts, art, toys, hand-painted ceramics, watercolor paintings, leather goods and clothing will be up for sale. More vendors are signing on, and you can see the updates about what will be available by going to lesboutiquesdenoel.com or facebook.com/boutiquesdenoel.

Parking at the Convention Center is free. Thursday, Friday and Saturday hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A one-day pass is $10; a three-day pass is $20. Military and senior admission is $5, while children under 12 get in free. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

There are also special events scheduled this year outside regular shopping hours. Nov. 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., The Delton Harrison Grand Patron Party will be held with a special performance by Maxwell Mayeaux, “Max on the Sax.” Tickets are $75.

On Nov. 21 at 6:30, there will be exclusive shopping access, happy hour and a cash bar at #NotYourMothersOpera. Tickets for this event are $35 and will include a charcuterie board demonstration by We Olive.

On Saturday, Nov. 20, at 9:30 a.m. Les Boutiques teams up with Sci-Port Discovery Center for a kids’ event with Santa Claus. Tickets are $20 per child. The price includes a one-day shopping pass for an adult, peppermint ice cream, donuts, hot chocolate and fun activities for the younger opera lovers.

Also on tap during the days of the show are children’s choir performances, fashion shows and performances by the Shreveport Opera Xpress [SOX] singers.

Adrienne Frierson is on the publicity committee for the event. She said they are looking for 2021 to be a comeback year since the event had to be canceled last year due to Covid. The money raised during the event is vital to sustaining the Shreveport Opera’s ongoing programs, she said. “I think the Shreveport-Bossier Opera is important to have in this community. We’re one of just a very small handful of residence opera programs in the entire country. There’s a lot to be proud of in northwest Louisiana.”

The Opera Residence Program draws hundreds of opera singers and musicians from all over the country each year to compete for the opportunity to be selected as a resident artist for the season. Four singers are selected for one-year terms, while a pianist is selected for a two-year contract.

“They’re selected, and they move to Shreveport and live here for one year,” Frierson explained. “They’re in the main stage productions, the two productions we put on every year.”

She said the professionals also travel around the area providing arts education to local schools, nursing homes, libraries and the like.

“I’ve only been involved for a few years, and it’s such a wonderful organization, and I get to learn from pioneers, women before me, who are so awesome. SOX singers conduct nearly 100 educational performances every year for over 50,000 school children in Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto and Webster parishes.”

“I think it’s really, really cool that we have that competition of well-trained professionals who want to come here and share their skill with us,” she adds.

The local residency program is one of a handful around the country, increasing competition among the entrants.

“These professional opera singers, hundreds of them, they go to New York and compete for a chance to move to Shreveport to live for a year and perform,” Frierson added. “I think that’s really important – that we’re one of the few communities in the country that still has that. That’s why I’m involved with Les Boutiques de Noël to raise money to back the Shreveport Opera.”

That money supports the mainstage productions as well as the outreach activities of the Shreveport Opera Xpress.

If you’re looking to avoid the hassle of supply chain issues and gift shortages, Les Boutiques de Noël is back to help you cross those special gifts off Santa’s list this year.