NEW IBERIA, La. --- The Bayou Teche Museum and plantation home Shadows-on-the-Teche will continue their membership as Blue Star Museums this summer. The program provides free admission to currently-serving U.S. military personnel and their families.

The program began on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, and will end on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2023. Free admission is available for those in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard as well as member of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps, and up to five family members.

Blue Star Museums is a collaboration of the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and the Department of Defense. The program provides families an opportunity to enjoy the nation's cultural heritage and learn more about their new communities after a military move. The complete list of participating museums is available at Arts.gov/Initiatives/Blue-Star-Museums.

About Bayou Teche Museum

The state-of-the-art museum with a permanent collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the region tells the story of a growing city, its people, culture and industry all centered around the "snake-like" curves of the Bayou Teche. The museum is home to George Rodrigue’s studio, which includes the painting he was working on before his 2013 death.

About Shadows-on-the-Teche

The Shadows-on-the-Teche, National Trust for Historic Preservation site, opened to the public in 1961 with the mission to preserve the buildings, landscape, collections, and historical integrity of the site; to research and interpret through education programs a 19th century southern Louisiana plantation economy and community and their evolution; and to encourage an appreciation of and interest in historic preservation. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns and operates the Shadows-on-the-Teche, is a private, non-profit organization. The Shadows does not receive funding from federal, state, parish, or city government. The site supports itself through admissions, special programs and events, and donations to the Friends of the Shadows.

For more information about Bayou Teche Museum, please contact Marcia Patout at (337) 606-5977, bayoutechemuseum@gmail.com, or visit BayouTecheMuseum.org.

For more information about Shadows-on-the-Teche, please contact Jayd Buteaux at (337) 369-6446, jbuteaux@savingplaces.org, or visit ShadowsOnTheTeche.org.