Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu Announces Expansion of Louisiana's African American Heritage Trail, Launches New Trail Web Site

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu announced today the addition of seven new sites to Louisiana's African American Heritage Trail, a series of places and attractions significant to African American history and culture in Louisiana.

The announcement took place at St. Augustine Church, coinciding with the beginning of both Black History Month and Treme's bicentennial commemoration. Treme is America's oldest African American neighborhood and home to four of the sites along the trail.

Seven New Trail Sites

A project of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the African American Heritage Trail takes visitors to museums, heritage sites, institutions and cultural attractions in all corners of Louisiana. The trail was launched in February 2008 with 26 member sites. The additional sites bring the total number to 33.

"As soon as we launched the trail, we started work on the second phase," said Landrieu. "Louisiana has some amazing stories to tell, and expanding the trail helps us showcase that heritage and keep our state a leading travel destination for African Americans."

The newly added sites are: the Audubon State Historic Site/Oakley House in St. Francisville, Rosedown State Historic Site in St. Francisville, Centenary State Historic Site in Jackson, Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site in St. Martinville, Winter Quarters State Historic Site in Newellton, Fontainebleau State Park in Mandeville and Fort Pike State Historic Site in New Orleans.

New Website: AStoryLikeNoOther.com

Landrieu also announced the launch of a bold new website to promote the trail: AStoryLikeNoOther.com. The site opens on a video featuring Grammy Award winner Chris Thomas King with music arranged by New Orleans composer Jay Weigel.

Visitors can then explore trail sites with an interactive map, image gallery, blog and audio vignettes narrated by Academy Award winner Louis Gossett, Jr. They can also download free itineraries to follow the trail one region at a time. An iPhone application, in development, will be available on the site when it is complete.

"We developed the new website to serve as the first stop on the trail," said Pam Breaux, secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. "It ties together all the cultural assets and helps the trail present Louisiana's rich African American heritage better than any single museum ever could."

Louisiana promotes the African American Heritage Trail through advertising and public relations as well. To learn more about Louisiana's African American Heritage Trail, visit AStoryLikeNoOther.com.

SOURCE Louisiana Office of Tourism