The Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration (NLCC) is a well-established scholarly conference in the state of Mississippi, with an outstanding reputation as one of the state’s most significant annual events devoted to literature, history, film, and culture.
This year, we will partner with the Sons of the American Revolution to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s Farewell Tour. Programming that has historically been the last weekend of February, is now the last weekend of March to accommodate the tour’s schedule. The theme, ‘Follow the Frenchmen through Natchez: The Return Tour of Lafayette,’ will include scholarly presentations, lively conversations, and events that examine the life and historic contributions of the Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette. In addition, the three-day event will include a live educational encampment with the goal of inviting over 700 children from nearby public and private schools to learn about life during the Revolutionary War through witnessing living history.
Friday programming will take place concurrently with a second day of the Living History Educational Encampment. As the encampment continues at Rosalie, we will start the morning with a choice of a second screening of Lafayette: The Lost Hero, for any who missed it the night before, or a grave marking ceremony with the SAR. This will be followed by speakers Rev. Jason Philip Bird ‘James Armistead Lafayette: Slave, Spy, Patriot, and Friend,’ and ‘The Gard Nationale de Paris in America.’ This will be followed by a lunch and presentation by Lafayette expert historian Dr. Robert Rhodes Crout, who will take us on a deeper dive into Lafayette’s life and legacy following lunch. Dr. June Burton, author of Napolean and the Woman Question, will also do a presentation on Adrienne de Noailles, the wife of Lafayette. Later in the afternoon, there will be an SAR grave marking at Historic Gloucester, which will include Sweet Tea and Lemonade in the Gardens along with a house tour. In the evening, we will gather at Rosalie for a reception.
Saturday programming will begin with a reenactment of Lafayette disembarking from the American Cruise Line Splendor, with much fanfare including a brass band, cannon salute, dockside reception, and drum escort parade to the grounds of Rosalie. It will be followed by a ceremony at the Bluff Park Bandstand. Throughout the day, there will be a silent auction, historical exhibits, and a series of lectures. Speakers include Jak McGee Smith ‘Lafayette, The Young Eagle,’ Thomas Gerard Lilly Jr. ‘Washington’s Favorite Son,’ and Julien Icher ‘Lafayette and the Regeneration of European Freedom.’ The day will end with the General’s Banquet, which will feature period music and dance, and Julien Icher as the keynote speaker, ‘Lafayette’s Return to his Beloved America.’
