Les Boutiques de Noel celebrates landmark year
Les Boutiques de Noel, the signature holiday shopping event that starts the holiday season for the Shreveport-Bossier City area, returns Nov. 20-22 to the Bossier Civic Center.
The event celebrates its landmark 40th year with their “40 Years of Giving” theme with all proceeds dedicated to bring world-class opera productions to Shreveport-Bossier City through the Shreveport-Bossier Opera Guild. Profits also support the opera’s celebrated children’s program, the Shreveport Opera Xpress.
This educational program brings more than 130 performances to 45,000 school children each year in Caddo, Bossier, Webster and DeSoto parishes. Shreveport Opera Xpress provides schools, many of which do not have a music program, with a rare taste of classical music designed specifically for children.
Les Boutiques de Noel began as a event in 1974 with just a mere 20 exhibitors but has since evolved into a market of more than 100 shops from a nine-state area. It is attended by well over 10,000 shoppers, and it has now become recognized as one of the single largest fundraising events put on by an Opera Guild. The event is the brainchild of Delton Harrison, who attended a holiday market in New York City 40 years ago and came back and presented the idea of Boutique to the Shreveport Opera as a fundraiser.
Maria Casten, boutique chairman and president of the Opera Guild, is excited about this special year for Les Boutiques de Noel.
“It’s a three-day shopping extravaganza with merchants from all over the United States. It’s the premier shopping event that really kicks off the holiday season for Shreveport-Bossier; it’s like a threeday Christmas party. If you love Christmas, you’re going to love to come to this,” Casten said.
This year, the festivities will kick off on Thursday with a Preview Patron and Sponsorship brunch from 8 a.m. to noon. “This year, we are doing a Thursday morning sponsorship patron brunch with private shopping,” Casten said. “It’s going to be closed to the public until noon. We are going to do the brunch from 8 to 10:30 so sponsors can come to eat breakfast. We will be honoring past boutique chairmen at the event, and, of course, Delton Harrison who had the initial idea for doing boutique.”
Preview shopping will be from 9 a.m. with Good Eats market catering the buffet, which includes an oatmeal bar; Rhino Coffee will provide a espresso and coffee bar and Thrifty Liquor will be offer bloody Marys and mimosas. The SOX singers will be on hand to sing Christmas carols. Tickets for preview shopping are $50.
Karen Bryant has been the merchant chairman for Les Boutiques de Noel for 20 years and along with her team is responsible for the variety of items that are offered to the shoppers.
“There are 101 vendors this year,” Bryant said. “We have a tremendous following, and people always want to come back.” There are merchants returning that have been a part of boutique for years, but there will also be a variety of new vendors as well.
“Su King’s Fashions is returning after several years. We also have the Indianola Pecan House out of Mississippi, who are new, and PK Fine Imports out of California that have real good-looking pewter.”
Market Place hours for Les Boutiques de Noel for the public are noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 21 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 22. Tickets are $10 a day or $20 for a three-day ticket with seniors and military tickets at $5.
“I have worked on this for almost 28 years and have met so many people over the years. I just love it,” Casten said. “I believe in the event; I love the event. The biggest thing is that it benefits our SOX program. Every single dime goes into supporting the program where they go into the schools and bring opera to the schools.
They travel all over the state. It makes a big impact on the kids.”
For more information about Les Boutiques de Noel, contact Casten at 470-7385, or visit the website www. lesboutiquesdenoel.com.
–Mandy Byrd
