You may call it a washboard, but in Louisiana we can pick up just about anything and make music with it. The official language of Louisiana is music. A soulful mix of jazz, blues, Cajun, Zydeco and country, Louisiana is a song you can't get out of your mind. As rare as an oyster's perfect pearl, as raw as a gator's hide, as mysterious as the fog that blankets the bayous, as elusive as the aroma of jasmine on a hot summer night--in Louisiana, a world of musical experiences awaits you.

The Louisiana songbook gave birth to musical artists as varied as Louis Armstrong, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tim McGraw, Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., Mahalia Jackson, Aaron Neville, Allen Toussaint and countless others. Even Elvis and Hank Williams, Sr. got early starts here in Shreveport on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show. And we also count the likes of Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, Ernie K-Doe, Frankie Ford, the Dixie Cups and others as part of our music royalty.

Head west to Eunice in Cajun Country and you'll discover the Liberty Theater, home of the "Rendez-vous des Cajuns" radio and TV program, a kind of Cajun "Prairie Home Companion." "

Stop your car anywhere in Louisiana, roll down your window, and odds are you'll hear great music.

To see what's happening now on the music scene, visit ww.louisianatravel.com/music.

When the state's nickname happens to be "Sportsman's Paradise," there's a lot to live up to. Louisiana is home to some of America's best fishing, both fresh and salt water. When it comes to hunting, we're home to backwoods and bayous full of fowl and four-legged critters. And with one of the largest game preserves in the U.S. our state is also a natural habitat for many rare and endangered species, making Louisiana a "Bird Watcher's Paradise" as well.

Louisiana has nearly 20 state parks located throughout the state, each carefully chosen for outstanding hiking, fishing, biking, birding and nature trails. Most feature bodies of water, campsites and picnic areas. Several have air-conditioned cabins or group camps available for rent.

And if you'd rather hunt your birdies on a world-class golf course, welcome to the Audubon Golf Trail--twelve top courses that play, you guessed it, twelve months a year. Come experience the courses of Hal Sutton, Pete Dye, David Toms and the most magnificent designer of them all–Mother Nature.

For more information on outdoor activities, visit www.louisianatravel.com/outdoors.

When the main characters in your history book include a patriot pirate, a former slave who owned a plantation, and two star-crossed lovers, your history can't possibly be boring. Louisiana has the most colorful history of any state and of many countries. Discover the fascinating stories of Jean Lafitte, Marie Therese Coincoin and Longfellow's Evangeline, the Cajun Romeo and Juliet.

Follow the epic journey of the original Acadians to the heart of Cajun Country. Experience the rich cultural legacy of the Mardi Gras Indians. And learn firsthand of the Canary Islanders, Spanish colonists who arrived here in the 1720s and whose unique culture and language has been preserved until today.

Tour Civil War battlefields. Learn about Storyville, the French Quarter's notorious red-light district where jazz was born. Splash ashore with the soldiers of World War II at the National D-Day Museum. And stroll the streets of Natchitoches, the oldest French settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory.

We don't have to reenact our history. It's still alive and well and waiting for you to discover it.

For more information on Louisiana's history and culture, visit www.louisianatravel.com/culture.

In Louisiana, our stars have names like Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, Leah Chase, John Besh and John Folse. An epiphany is guaranteed with every spoonful, whether you're sampling Cajun, Creole, Soul Food, or something equally wonderful.

We take food seriously here. At breakfast, we talk about where we're going for lunch. And at lunch, we talk about what we're having for dinner. At dinner, we talk about how good breakfast and lunch were. All this explains why it's so easy to find a great meal here.

A great place to sample all Louisiana has to offer is at one of our many festivals. Or hop on the Louisiana Culinary Trail and take your palate to places it's never gone before.

For more information on our state's wonderful cuisine, visit www.louisianatravel.com/culinary.