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Blues, animation festivals prove two better than one
By Charles Nunmaker
Baton Rouge can be a great place to celebrate Louisiana's diverse culture and historic background. The great city always has an event or festival going on every weekend where everybody can join in and have fun.
Baton Rouge Blues Week starts on April 15 and has events that run all the way to April 26. The festival is entering its 14th year and can reach attendances of 25,000 people throughout the week. During this time period, there are many different performances at different locations around the city, including Teddy's Juke Joint, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux's, Chelsea's, Lyceum Dean and Pastime.
Baton Rouge Blues Week also shares its time with several other occasions including Earth Day. On Earth Day, Baton Rouge Blues Week kicks off the green celebrations with special performances by Tab Benoit in Repentance Park, Moreland and Arbuckle at Lafayette Park and Big Al and the Heavyweight's at Teddy's Juke Joint.
All the festivities lead up to one big event: The Baton Rouge Blues Festival on Saturday, April 25. The Baton Rouge Blues Festival will be held at Repentance Park and features a great line-up including Bobby "Blue" Bland, Percy Sledge and the Aces, Charlie Musselwhite, Bonnie Bramlett and Mr. Groove and much more. There will also be performances at the beer garden by John Lisi and Troy Turner. The festival kicks off at noon.
Baton Rouge also gets to share the festivities with a "purple" weekend featuring not only the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, but also the Red Stick Animation Festival. The Red Stick Animation Festival is reaching its fifth anniversary this year and is known for bringing in industry professionals and animators from all over the country. The festival, which spreads throughout the downtown Baton Rouge area, features many great events that families and individuals of all ages can enjoy.
The festival starts on April 22 and runs to April 25. During that time, the festival will screen many different animated movies for all to enjoy while holding competitions for the best animated short films by students and professionals, as well as competitions for the best animations for visual music, music videos, commercials and young audiences.
The Red Stick Animation Festival has many events for families and individuals alike, but to gain entrance into the festivities, you must first sign up for a free Red Pass or a Gold Pass which will allow you to enter workshops by industry leaders.
One of the most anticipated events is the Princess Ball at the Old State Capitol on Friday, April 24. The Princess Ball invites all young ladies of Baton Rouge to come and dance with friends and family. The Ball starts at 7 p.m. with registration and dance lessons for everybody.
Then on Saturday, April 25, the festival will hold its Cartoon-A-Palooza where young and old alike can come and enjoy cartoons with a complimentary breakfast at the Old State Capitol Building. The Cartoon-A-Palooza also features entertainment with clowns, face painting and spacewalks for all, and it all starts at 9 a.m.
The Red Stick Animation Festival is also giving its second Lifetime Career Achievement Award to animator Mark Henn. Mark Henn, who is a Disney Animator, is receiving the award for his feature work on the Disney Princesses including Ariel of "The Little Mermaid," Belle of "Beauty and the Beast," young Simba in "The Lion King" and Mulan.
The Red Stick Animation Festival and the Baton Rouge Blues Festival have overlapping dates, but both festivals have teamed up to include events that include blues music and animation. These events are especially unique to the Baton Rouge area and cannot be missed.
The two festivals which include these unique events start on Friday, April 24. After the Blues Week's Live After Five performance featuring Henry Gray and The Cats with Buddy Flett, the two festivals come together to present a live animation performance by artist J. Walt. The live animation performance, which is held at the Manship Theatre, is set to blues music and will be a one of a kind performance.
The festivals also team up on April 25 to show the animated film "Sita Sings the Blues" which tells the story of an Indian girl set to South American blues music. Both of these events are free and open to the public.
Together the Baton Rouge Blues Week and Festival as well as the Red Stick Animation Festival are making Baton Rouge a hit festival spot for the upcoming weekends and are sure to let all enjoy the beautiful spring weather.
Originally Published: April 15, 2009