“It’s kind of like a new life, or a new beginning, every spring,” said Margaret John, vice president of the Red River Crossroads Association, which puts on the festival. “It’s a community effort to beautify our part of north Caddo Parish and to give back to the community.

“We are very excited,” Kelly said. You can get a look at the Kelly’s new home – and 23 others – by visiting this year’s Parade of Homes (POH). On the weekends of June 17-18 and 24-25, you can see newly constructed homes, remodeled homes and outdoor living projects.

I’m always going to be respectful of them. Everything I know came from that place. From the Giacalone family, that’s where I learned everything. Putting my hands in the kitchen on the food, on the ingredients, that’s where I learned everything. I love Italy like I love Mexico (Chef Andrade’s native country), and I love the United States.

“There are pictures of me out there in my baby chair, sitting around the table, while they were out there getting all the berries coming in from out in the field – grading through them, making sure they were all good,” Wells said. “I’ve been around it all my life.

“I hope they get ideas they can take home and apply to their own yard,” said tour chairperson Karen Durham. “They can see some new plants they aren’t familiar with. Most of these houses have some really clever things they have done with their property. It just gives you ideas.

"We've always said crawfish festival, crawfish festival, crawfish festival," said Terri Mathews, now in her 30th year as chairperson of the annual Memorial Day weekend event. "What we came to realize (in 2021 – the year back from Covid) was, man, our music is what sells us.

“Two years ago, (Andy) came to me and asked if I would come out of retirement,” Ann Lombardino said. “He wanted to have his own restaurant so he could have liver and onions and rice pudding, like we served at Beam’s. He said he could not get it anywhere that good in this town.

“When Mage crossed the finish line, it wasn’t being able to say my bet won,” Fertitta said. “It was being able to say my horse won. That’s something you cannot put a price on. Whether I had one share, or 1,000 shares, or 100,000 shares, that is something you cannot put a value or a price tag on.