The Chimes is spilling out the door, literally.
On Friday the venue will host its first outdoor event in the gravel parking lot behind the restaurant. New Beers Day will feature several new beers to sample, food served by the Chimes and cover band Bag of Donuts.
Doug Felton, The Chimes general manager, said the event is in celebration of the 73rd anniversary of the day former President Franklin Roosevelt made 3.2 alcohol-by-volume beer legal again.
“New Beers Day” was one of Roosevelt’s first actions in office and marked the beginning of the end of Prohibition.
Felton said the celebration at The Chimes started last year, and he was so pleased with the turnout he decided to hold it again.
Felton said Crown Beverage, a Coors distributor; Mockler Beverage, a Budweiser distributor; and, of course, Abita will all be represented at the event.
“We’re keeping [the event] to domestic beers,” Felton said. “Since it is a domestic celebration.”
Felton also said that Abita will be helping with the cost of the commemorative glasses, which will be available to people who buy Abita inside The Chimes.
Felton said the event will also be a “test run” for The Varsity’s plan to hold concerts in the lot behind the Varsity on Chimes Street.
Felton said the stage for the event will be provided by Mockler Beverage and Budweiser.
Chris Lundgren, talent buyer for The Varsity, said the stage will be similar in size to the stage used for Groovin’ on the Grounds. The entire area is about 2,500 square feet and can hold up to 3,000 people.
Lundgren said the venue wanted to produce an outdoor show to host bands that typically would not play at the theatre and to accommodate larger crowds. He said part of the reason more well-known bands do not come to Baton Rouge is because there is not a venue large enough to host them. He said the city has more small clubs than large venues, and the River Center downtown hosts more theater shows than concerts.
Lundgren said The Varsity plans to use Friday’s concert as a template for future outdoor events.
“If problems arise we can see what can be done to work out the kinks,” Lundgren said.
He said the venue is working with local radio stations to plan a big event for the upcoming football season, but no details have been confirmed. He said The Varsity would be open to hosting music festivals or more bands with local or regional followings.
Lundgren said discussions for hosting an outdoor concert have gone on for a while, but the logistics of producing the event have delayed its implementation.
Even with the logistical questions, David Blossman, president of Abita, remains optimistic about the event.
Blossman said Abita is looking forward to the event because last year its Strawberry Harvest Lager was well received.
“Chimes does a really good job of showcasing a lot of our products,” Blossman said.
Leo Basile, national sales manager of Abita, worked more closely with this year’s New Beers Day and helped with a lot of the planning for the event.
Basile said this year, like last year, Abita will be presenting all of their flagship beers.
He said Abita sold the commemorative glasses to The Chimes at cost so they could offer them to customers in memory of the event.
Basile said he expects this year to be a success, even though it is the weekend before spring break.
“I think that last year was a big success,” Basile said. “Anything at The Chimes and in that area is usually a big success.”
Abita’s Strawberry Harvest Lager, which will be featured at New Beers Day, will only be available for a limited time.
The concert starts at 5 p.m., and the event will last until 10 p.m. It is free and open to all ages.
Contact Christiana Johns
and Zac Broussard at [email protected]
