People from across the state and even the country will head to Bogalusa on Saturday, March 4 to join the Robert “Bob” Hicks Foundation for its second annual musical tribute to honor “Legends and Trailblazers.”

“Trailblazers are those individuals who do or have done things which others have not done before,” said Hicks Foundation executive director, Barbara Hicks-Collins. “Also honored will be those considered Legends, persons worth remembering for doing something extremely well.”

She said visitors would hail from as far away as Washington D.C., Florida and Georgia, from other cities within the state of Louisiana such as Shreveport and New Orleans, and from “our own Bogalusa community.”

“This year’s musical tribute is an extension of the national 2017 Black History Month and will serve to spotlight yesterday’s visionaries and today’s leaders,” Hicks-Collins said.

As a special attraction, along with the musical tribute, everyone present at the event will get to hear first-person accounts and some oral history of those who impacted and helped change the course of history in Bogalusa and Washington Parish in general.

The program will highlight the history of how “The Rapoport Study” helped changed the Bogalusa medical and health services.

“The granddaughter of the first African-American registered to vote in Washington Parish will describe how he overcame barriers to vote and to register others to vote,” Hicks-Collins said. “First-person accounts of the dangers and the challenges that faced individuals who marched 105 miles for 10 days from Bogalusa to Baton Rouge for racial equality will be provided for this, the 50 year anniversary of the march.

“This program will also focus on the paper mill and Columbia Street, two extremely important facets of life in Bogalusa over the last 50 years. People who made changes in the 60s and people who are making changes now will be honored and remembered as well.

“The public is invited to come to attend an evening of elegant dinning, musical selections from voices of New Orleans and unforgettable spotlights on yesterday’s visionaries and today’s leaders.”

The event will take place at 6 p.m. at the B & C Hall on Cumberland St. in Bogalusa. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $30, or if purchased at the door, will cost $40. Call 985-732-7449 to reserve seats.

All funds will be used toward purchasing supplies and materials for the building of the Bogalusa/Washington Parish Civil Rights Museum. For those individuals who are not able to attend but wish to make donations, checks can be mailed to: “The Robert ‘Bob’ Hicks Foundation, 2682 South Columbia St., Bogalusa, LA 70427.”