Bo’s Extravaganza with Laura: Renee Lawless

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As children, we all have dreams of what we will do “when we grow up” and if we are very blessed and work hard, they come true. I can remember watching, as so many of us did, The Dukes of Hazzard on television. Yes, the guys loved “Daisy Duke” and her outfits and us girls loved our “Bo and Luke Duke”, for reasons much more reasonable than their looks, right?!  They were the guys all the girls wanted to date and the guy every boy wanted to be. 

John Schneider, also known as "Bo Duke", talked with us in Nashville recently about Bo’s Extravaganza. Schneider put together a Dukes of Hazzard fan’s dream and did so at his personal home (which is also the location of John Schneider Studios) in Holden, Louisiana.  The event was the first of it’s kind and was held on Schneider’s birthday weekend, April 7-8, 2018.

We were invited to come hang out and spend the weekend on the property and how could we resist?  Again, a dream come true. We arrived on Friday, April 6th with plans of setting up and getting familiar with the grounds, only to quickly realize that Louisiana “dirt” is nothing like Kentucky dirt.  We followed the GPS and completely drove past the main entrance, taking us to the Lard street entrance.  Any other time, this would not have been an issue, however, Louisiana had been experiencing heavy bouts of rain, and again, Louisiana mud dries quickly on the surface, making it appear to be simply dirt.  Let me mention that two days prior to this trip, we have taken delivery of a brand new motorhome and this was its maiden voyage.  We saw the sign marked “Bo’s Circus” and tried to back up and turn around, which resulted in us being stuck in the mud, and I mean, s.t.u.c.k.  There was no getting out of this without help.  While I found this very funny and of course an opportunity to Facebook Live our situation, my boyfriend was a little more aggravated. I was thinking, “this is perfect!  Here we are, stuck in the mud on Bo Duke’s property!”.  Then the comments continued along the line of, “Hey, we just need “Bo” to come over in the "General Lee" and save the day!” or “Wouldn’t it be cool if Cooter showed up to pull us out?” Again, he still could not laugh about it but at the end of the day, the town of Holden’s own “Cooter”, known as Phil, got us out of the Louisiana mud and we ended up going into the correct entrance and set up in our spot for the weekend.

Schneider and his staff and volunteers did this up right. Despite the rain and tons of mud, the event included live music in the “Yee-Yaw” barn, with comedy routines from Schneider, LuLu Roman (from Hee-Haw), Renee Lawless (The Have and The Have Nots), Tom Wopat, even Kix Brooks. Once the rain stopped, the music continued with Brooks and Schneider on the outdoor stage providing an intimate concert for all the VIPs in attendance. 

Saturday morning, there was no doubt where you were. General Lees in attendance were playing "Dixie" throughout the grounds and served as our alarm, which while I may not have been ready to wake up that early, was a really cool touch to the event.  It was time to kick off the main event for the public with autograph signings from Schneider himself,  his castmates from the Dukes of Hazzard as well as castmates from The Have and The Have Nots. Additionally, there was continuous live music sponsored by Whiskey and Cigarettes Radio Show, with new and emerging artists all day on stage, with main stage concerts from artists such as Jo-El Sonnier, Paul Overstreet, Cody McCarver, and several others, including Schneider himself. 

The event also featured the official “first time a member of the Dukes cast” has ever jumped a General Lee and Schneider had the honor of making this jump.  It has been talked about for months and everyone, including Schneider, was looking forward to watching history in the making.  As previously mentioned, the weather conditions leading up to the event were not ideal, affecting the "big jump" as well.  With modifications to his jump, Schneider geared up and made the very first jump in a "General Lee" by a Dukes of Hazzard cast member and the crowd cheered him on all the way.  On Sunday, a  professional stunt driver did make a jump, that was actually a record-breaking jump in the General Lee.  Again, everyone in attendance, as well as Schneider himself, were on hand watching as history was made in the "General Lee".

From a kids’ play area, carnival rides, food vendors of every kind, music, front porch sittin’, a "General Lee" car show complete with "General Lee" parades, this was an atmosphere of spending a weekend with a few thousand of Schneider’s closest friends, hanging out at his house for his birthday. 

We were able to catch up with a few people and we brought these conversations back to you. Please make sure you check out Bo’s Extravaganza.com as well as the “BoZaar” coming in December. These events are something you must make a point to attend.  

We were able to be joined by Renee Lawless, who co-stars in The Have and The Have Nots, playing Katherine Cryer, Schneider's on-screen wife.  I am not sure I can remember another artist/actor that I have met that was as humble and down-to-earth as Lawless and I can not wait for you to watch our interview as she discusses how she landed the part of Katherine as well as giving us three words to describe her character.  While I mentioned her being the "Queen of Mean", I think you will quickly realize Lawless is one of the nicest people you can meet.  Fans of the show love her and watching her take such time with each person during the weekend that came up to talk with her was amazing.  Make sure to follow her on all social media platforms and if you have not checked out The Have and The Have Nots on Tuesday evenings on the OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), get caught up and set your DVRs.  You do not want to miss this show.

Thank you John new Alicia for hosting us at your home. We look forward to seeing everyone again in December and next year in April.