Barbara Lacen-Keller’s daughters Kelly Bentley Dixon (left) and Dawn Bentley-Johnson dance after the ribbon cutting for the park named in honor of their mother on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (Danny Monteverde/PRC)
A loud cheer followed by the sharp rat-a-tat-tat of a snare drum and the blare of a horn signaled that the months of work were finally done.
Friends and family of Barbara Lacen-Keller gathered Friday (Oct. 10) to celebrate a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a park named in honor of the woman known as “the mayor of Central City.” Her family, elected officials, members of the Mystic Krewe of Femme Fatale and others danced to the sounds of the Sons of Jazz Brass Band and Trombone Shorty after the formalities wrapped.
“It’s an honor, because my mother always said people don’t have to be good to you. But when they choose to be it’s because you’ve touched them in a special way,” Kelly Bentley Dixon, Lacen-Keller’s middle daughter, said during brief remarks before the ceremonial opening of the park at 1801 S. Robertson St…