The Mid City Merchant’s Associaton hosted White Light Night across Government Street on Nov. 19 from 6-10 p.m.
The Mid City Merchant Association’s White Light Night arrived on Government Street Friday night, where hundreds of local artists, musicians and businesses from all corners of Louisiana lined the street, ornamented with sparkling white lights and crowded with intrigued shoppers.
The festival stretched from the Electric Depot to Reginelli’s Pizzeria and included restaurants, antique stores, and artisan shops.
The Mid City Maker’s Market at Circa 1857 antiques was one of the larger venues of the festival, where potter Ghada Henagan sold her ceramics. She first shaped clay with her sister in Lebanon and began vending at festivals after she moved to Louisiana. Mid City Maker’s Market is her favorite festival to work, and she praised the organizers for running the event so well.
“(Mid City Maker’s Market) is always nice, but the combination of White Light Night and Mid City Maker’s Market makes it even better,” Henagan said. “I like it because it’s crowded, and everyone is having fun.”
Over at the Electric Depot, more vendors gathered as live bands serenaded the crowds. Courtney Easterly runs a store called Deathtastic Creations, where she makes elegant art with a macabre twist.
“We create art out of death.” Easterly said of the booth lined with crystal skulls and butterflies framed amongst sunflowers. “A lot of people are really scared of insects and dead stuff. We try to make it pretty.”
Her affinity for butterflies combined with people’s natural fear of insects persuaded her to make beautiful art that could help people overcome that dread. 
Isabelle De Joya Vea is an LSU psychology and biology graduate who runs the shop IDJV Art and Jewelry. She started a side hustle as a painter her senior year at LSU. Once more people found her colorful art through social media, she pursued it full time.
“My process is really color-driven,” De Joya Vea said. “I really like abstract art because it’s very freeing. It doesn’t really have any kind of restrictions. It’s whatever you want to make it.”
Her psychology background got her thinking about seasonal affective disorder, resulting in her vibrant, psychedelic art.
“Your mood really changes whenever you see something beautiful.” De Joya Vea said. “With the art, I kind of tend to go with bright colors because it’s like speaking to you. It’s not dragging you down. It’s uplifting you.”
De Joya Vea praised Midcity Maker’s Market for being a great outlet for local creatives to learn, communicate and share.
“I think the community in Baton Rouge is just really great. There’s a lot of push for supporting local makers. I love the cool support system Baton Rouge has for their locals,” said De Joya Vea. “We’re all very happy when people come to our booths and tell us how they connect with it or how they love our products or how they told somebody else about our products.”
Psychology freshman Sanarita Harb works for Red Stick Spice, whose parking lot hosted its own vendors for White Light Night.
“Having events like these is really good for business,” Harb said. “Mid City Maker’s Market has small monthly events, but White Light Night is a big event that everyone looks forward to.”
Harb thinks Baton Rouge has a really good local artist and small business life, and she praised events like these for keeping Baton Rouge nightlife alive.
“From a worker’s perspective, it was hectic and busy, but, ultimately, festivals like these are always really fun because it’s different from normal interactions where someone just comes in to get their stuff and leave. People come in and they genuinely want to talk to you,” said Harb. “Normally, someone might just order something online, but now, they have a chance to actually see things in person.”

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Mid City Merchants

White Light Night