New Iberia, Louisiana
John B. Henderson Friendship Center
One open hall for repasts, receptions, meetings, and family celebrations.
Setups
One room, set five ways
The hall is a single open space, which means it isn't fixed to one kind of event. How the room gets arranged is what changes.
Round tables across the floor with a walkway down the middle, and room at the front for a head table.
Up to 130 seated
Tables move to the edges to open the middle for standing and dancing. Food and drink go along one wall.
Up to 180 standing
Long tables in rows near the serving end so families sit together and the food stays close. The front stays clear for anyone who wants to speak.
Up to 130 seated
Chairs in rows facing the front, a table for speakers, and the side aisles left open so people can come and go.
Up to 130 seated
Tables around an open center, with one end set aside for the cake, the gifts, and photographs.
Up to 130 seated
Still confirming
The Center owns 130 chairs but ten tables, which between them seat far fewer than 130. If you want every guest at a table, plan on renting extra tables and ask us before you book — the hall's own tables seat closer to seventy.
The hall
What it looks like
Photographs of the Friendship Center itself — the room you'd be renting, the kitchen behind it, and the lot you'd park in. Nothing here is stock photography of somebody else's venue.
The hall, set with round tables
The warming kitchen
Restrooms, off the hall
The same hall, long tables
Covered entrances
At the road
Parking and grounds
What you get
What comes with the hall, and what you handle
Renting here is straightforward, but a few things are yours to arrange. They're all listed here so nothing turns up as a surprise the week of your event.
What's included
The hall, as one room
The Friendship Center rents as a single space of 40 by 50 feet — 2,000 square feet of open floor. It doesn't divide, and there's no partial rental.
Chairs and tables
130 chairs, six five-foot round tables, and four six-foot rectangular tables. They come with the hall and they stay in the building.
Eight hours on site
Three hours to decorate and set up, four hours for your event, and one hour afterward to clear out.
A warming kitchen
For holding and warming food that arrives already cooked. It is not a commercial kitchen, and the stove and ovens are not for cooking.
Available for a fee
Projector
$100. No charge for financial members.
Ice maker
$100. No charge for financial members.
Extra setup hours
$100 an hour beyond the three included. Tell us at booking if you need them, and give us your exact setup time.
What you arrange
Catering
Food has to be cooked off site and brought in ready to serve. Your caterer clears the kitchen and leaves it as they found it.
A licensed bartender, if you're serving alcohol
They need a current bar card and proof of $1,000,000 general liability insurance, sent to us at least 15 days before. Only the bartender may pour.
Decorations — and their removal
Everything freestanding, nothing fixed to walls or ceilings, and all of it out with you during your hour at the end.
Rates
What it costs
Every figure the Foundation has confirmed is on this page, including the ones that are easy to miss. You shouldn't have to call to find out what something costs.
$850
in total
The deposit and the rental fee are separate amounts. The deposit does not come off the rental fee.
- Depositat booking, to hold your date
- $250
- Cleaning fee
- Not refundable$125
- Damage deposit
- Refundable$125
- Rental feedue 30 days before the event
- $600
- Total
- $850
The $125 damage deposit comes back to you if nothing is damaged, which puts the real cost at $725.
Your eight hours
- Setting up, before
- 3 hours
- Your event
- 4 hours
- Clearing out, after
- 1 hour
- Total time on site
- 8 hours
Paying
Check, Credit card, Money order, Zelle, Cash. Inside 30 days we can't take a check — money order, credit card, Zelle, or cash only.
Security — required for every event
Every booking has at least one security guard, at $50 an hour each. The Foundation hires them from the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office — you can’t bring your own — and you pay for them with your final payment, 30 days before the event.
- One guard for an event of up to 100 people.
- Two guards for an event of 101 or more.
- Two guards any time alcohol is served, whatever the guest count.
Financial member rate
Financial members of Rho Omicron rent at a reduced rate, as do a member's spouse, parents, or child. Ask us and we'll confirm what you'd pay.
Availability
What's open
The hall books as one rental per day, since a booking takes eight hours of the building's time.
November 2026
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Open
- Held for someone else
- Booked
Choose an open date to carry it into the request form.
The board keeps these dates current. An open date isn't held until the Foundation confirms it with you, so send a request and we'll come back to you about it.
Request a date
Ask about your date
Tell us when you'd like the hall and what you're planning, and someone from the Foundation will get back to you.
Policies
The rules, in plain language
Payment, cancellation, security, alcohol, decorating, catering, and what happens if something gets damaged.
Deposit and payment
A $250 deposit books your date. Of that, $125 is a cleaning fee and does not come back; the other $125 is a damage deposit and does, provided nothing is damaged.
The $600 rental fee is separate from the deposit and is due 30 days before your event. That makes $850 in total, of which $725 is the real cost once the damage deposit is returned.
Pay by check, credit card, money order, Zelle, or cash. Inside 30 days of the event we can't accept a check. A returned check costs $25 or 5% of its value, whichever is greater, and the event is cancelled within two days unless it's paid in full another way.
Miss the 30-day balance and the event is cancelled and the deposit is kept.
Cancellation and refunds
Cancel 30 days or more before your event and the rental fee is refunded. The deposit is not refunded on a cancellation, whenever it happens.
Cancel between 7 and 30 days before and half the rental fee comes back.
Cancel inside 7 days and nothing is refunded.
If the Foundation cancels your event, you are refunded in full.
Security
Every event has at least one security guard. Up to 100 guests needs one; 101 or more needs two; serving alcohol needs two whatever the headcount.
The Foundation hires and chooses the guards — you cannot bring your own. They are provided by the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office. You pay for them at $50 an hour each, with your final payment 30 days before the event.
The guards can stop an event that becomes unsafe or disorderly, and no refund is given if that happens.
Alcohol and bartending
You may serve alcohol, and if you do, two security guards are required for the whole event.
A licensed bartender has to pour. They need a current bar card and proof of $1,000,000 general liability insurance, given to us at least 15 days before. You arrange and pay them directly.
Alcohol cannot be sold in any form — no cash bars, and no tickets that include drinks.
Guests cannot bring their own alcohol. If you supply it yourself, only the licensed bartender may serve it.
Setup, decorations, and cleanup
You have the hall for eight hours: three to set up, four for your event, one to clear out. Extra setup hours are $100 each. Tell your decorator this before you book.
Setup is the day of the event. If you need the day before, ask — it's charged at the normal rate.
Decorations must stand on their own. Nothing goes on walls, ceilings, mirrors, artwork, curtains, doors, light fixtures, or windows — no tape, putty, staples, nails, or command hooks.
No open flames, sparklers, fog machines, confetti, rice, glitter, feathers, or fake snow.
Anyone on a ladder hanging decorations must carry general liability insurance. Friends, family, and hosts are not allowed on ladders.
Take everything you brought with you, clear the floors, and clean the kitchen. Trash bags are provided.
Catering and the kitchen
The kitchen is included with the hall. There's no separate charge for it.
It warms and holds food. No cooking happens on site, and the stove and ovens are for warming only.
Your caterer takes all food with them, empties the refrigerator and counters, cleans up, and carries kitchen trash to the dumpster.
The Foundation isn't responsible for food brought in by an outside caterer or cook.
House rules
Events end by 1:30 a.m.
The lot holds 30 to 40 cars, with 5 accessible spaces marked on the concrete at the front doors. Park there — parking on Leon Landry Road or Highway 675 isn't allowed.
No smoking anywhere on the property, inside or out, and no illegal substances. Smoking carries a fine of at least $500.
Children stay supervised, indoors and in the parking area.
You have the hall and the restrooms. Using any other part of the building costs you your damage deposit.
Wi-Fi is available, but bring your own setup for music and video — we can't guarantee the connection.
Damage and liability
You're responsible for damage to the building, inside and out, and for anything your guests or vendors do while you have the hall.
The Foundation doesn't take responsibility for items brought to or left at the Center, including anything you rented for the event.
The damage deposit comes back after the event, less anything needed to repair damage.