At the end of March, the 33rd annual Showcase brought hundreds of tour operators, buyers and journalists to Shreveport.

Charisse Gibson of KSLA was chosen by the judges as the winner of the first “Dancing for the Cure” on April 4 at the Horseshoe Riverdome. She was among six broadcast personalities in the contest competing to win the Pink Mirror Ball trophy.

Barber: There was standing room only at the investiture ceremony of Brian Barber at Shreveport City Court. Judge Maurice Hicks administered the oath of office to Judge Barber as his wife, Becca, stood next to him. Their children helped with the robing ceremony. The event took place Jan. 13. The invocation and benediction were given by the Rev. Dennis Sims of Ellerbe Road Baptist Church.

The suburbs were where it was at, the shopping malls were the new trendy centers of commerce, and jobs were rapidly following the new subdivisions. Downtown was yesterday’s news.

It is difficult to rationalize public obsession with tragic love stories. The brief escapades of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, which took place at the height of the Great Depression, gripped the attention of the nation then and continues to captivate people to this day.

Stage Center Artistic Director Jared Watson said awards were handed out in a number of categories in which voters could indicate their favorites. He emphasized that Stage Center was trying to make these awards more about pleasing patrons than deciding who was the best in any given role.