Greasing of the poles that are outside of the Royal Sonesta Hotel in New Orleans during Carnival may now be the start of many reveler’s Deep Gras – the final weekend before Mardi Gras Day – but this practice was originally born out of necessity.

Adrienne Breaux, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing, tells us all about the history of the practice that is now an annual event from its beginnings right as the hotel opened in the 60’s to today’s grand spectacle that has four celebrity “greasers,” well-known judges and a crowd in the thousands.

Each year the louisiana endowment for the humanities host the Bright Light Awards. In this year’s award winners is Louisiana Life and Acadiana Profile magazines writer and photographer Kevin Rabalais. Kevin is being honored as the Documentary Photographer of the Year – which is awarded to a photographer whose work captures Louisiana’s history, culture and people. Kevin has been documenting all aspects of life in Louisiana from hunting in Allen Parish to sugarcane harvests in New Roads for years, winning both local and international awards for his work. This week we chat with Kevin about his passion for storytelling, the places he’s gone over the years and where he’s headed next.

When it comes to being a mom, or even an adult, it can sometimes feel like there isn’t a space anymore for the activities that always brought you joy. This is how the concept of Bad Moms That Dance classes started with founders Alyse and Whitney This eventually lead them to create the Bad Moms That Dance Carnival performance krewe. But this krewe isn’t all sequins and pompoms. They pride themselves on dancing along with the crowd to 2000’s hip hop while sporting old school varsity jackets and Nike dunks. The krewe was recently asked to head across the pond for London’s New Year’s Day parade, where they brought a little bit of Louisiana spice to the people of England. This week the founders tell us how the krewe got started, why they love what they do and how – outside of dance – their main mission is to give back to the community that has given them so much.