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WASHI NGTON MARDI GRAS
Stephanie Grace: Congressional delegation shares a little of what’s on their minds, 8A • See photos, 9A
ACADIANA
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THE
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
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S u n d ay, F e b r u a ry 1, 2026
‘HARD-LOVING
CAJUN MAN’
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Parents sound alarm as summer camps turn away kids Catholic preschoolers lose spots because of new state law BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
With plans to send her two children to camp at their Catholic school in New Orleans, Laurie Martin thought she might escape the dreaded scramble to secure summer child care. That changed when she got the email. Days before Christmas, the Christian Brothers School informed families that, due to a new state law, the school would not accept children under 5 into their Little Falcons Summer Camp. Now Martin has no idea what to do with her 4-year-old daughter, Colette, when she’s out of school this summer but Martin and her husband are still working full time. “We can’t take off work for three months because the 4-year-old can’t go to camp,” she said. “There is no other option.” Summer camp sign-up is always a nervewracking process for parents who race to nab spots during the registration period, which typically starts in January. But parental anxiety has spiked this year after several Catholic schools said they will no longer enroll preschool-age
ä See CAMPS, page 15A
PHOTO BY ROBIN MAY
TK Hulin, seated, and his brother B-Lou Hulin answer questions along with production staff after the screening of the documentary ‘Good Time Hard-Loving Cajun Man’ at the Acadiana Center for the Arts on Wednesday.
TK Hulin screening brings out swamp pop fans, relives memories of packed dance halls BY JOANNA BROWN
Staff writer
The “Cult of TK” showed out in full force this week for “Good Time Hard-Loving Cajun Man,” a film about the life and music of TK Hulin. Hundreds of people filled the theater at Acadiana Center for the Arts on Jan. 28 for the second screening of the documentary, which debuted at Southern Screen last year. The event was attended by a wheelchairbound TK Hulin and his brother and bandmate, B-Lou Hulin, and many in the audience were longtime friends and fans of Louisiana rockers “TK Hulin and the Lonely Knights.” They were the same fans that the
film referenced as the “Cult of TK” — the crowd of young adults that followed the group from dance hall to dance hall in the 1960s and ’70s as they played their brand of swamp pop, country, and rhythm and blues. Scenes from spots like Signorelli’s Club in St. Martinville showed a packed dance floor as TK Hulin and his bandmates kept the party going all night long, traveling through an ecosystem of bars and clubs that is now largely lost in southwest Louisiana. The band’s local fame was thanks to TK Hulin’s charisma, energy and the strict injunction of his mother to only play nearby. Hulin’s biggest hit, “I’m Not a Fool Anymore,” made the
Billboard Top 100 in 1963, and that year’s breakneck tour with stars like Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison made him lose too much weight. When Hulin’s mother saw him again in Lake Charles, she told him he had to get off the road and stay near home. “Mama got what she wanted,” said TK Hulin at the screening, engaging with fans who have known his music for more than 60 years. He said his mother was also mad at him for ruining a new $25 suit after he had let a crowd of girls in an autograph line tear the buttons off. Hulin played his last show in 2024,
ä See FILM, page 15A
LSU researchers utilizing staph to fight cancer Bacteria would spare health tissue, target deadly cells
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
The staph bacterium, sometimes called a “superbug,” is one of the most common causes of infection in the hospital, and it can be deadly. But new research at LSU shows how staphylococcus aureus might be used for good — by harnessing the bacteria to kill cancer cells with minimal harm to healthy tissue. “When we study those mechanisms and we understand them better, we can reengineer them to do something good for us,” said Dr. Chen Chen, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Cancer drugs in use today that rely on toxins derived from bacteria can damage healthy cells,
ä See RESEARCHERS, page 15A
Downtown Alive! has launched its spring 2026 merch that highlights the recognizable Evangeline Maid aesthetic. PROVIDED PHOTO
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Downtown Alive! merch highlights iconic billboard Evangeline Maid sign will appear on gear
suspended in the sky. The iconic Evangeline Maid billboard at the intersection of West Simcoe and South Bienville streets in Lafayette is one of those quirky artifacts that has become BY JOANNA BROWN emblematic of a community. The EvanStaff writer geline Maid factory has been a cornerIf you are approaching downtown La- stone Lafayette business since 1926, and fayette from the north, a short detour will the Downtown Alive! concert series was bring you to one of the most impressive launched in 1983, just a few blocks from sights in the city: a rotating loaf of bread that bright, freshly baked billboard.
Downtown Alive!, produced by Downtown Lafayette, has launched its spring 2026 lineup, along with new merch that highlights the recognizable Evangeline Maid aesthetic — the colors, the billboard and the maid herself. Evangeline Maid is a longtime supporter of Downtown Alive!, according to JoElle Judice, communications and engagement manager
Business ......................1E Deaths .........................3B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................7D Living............................1D Opinion ........................4B Commentary ................5B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
ä See MERCH, page 15A
101ST YEAR, NO. 216