This weekend, the Downtown Development District will be celebrating the fine arts with free food, fun and music.
The Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge will be hosting FestForAll, one of Baton Rouge’s most popular festivals and a 30-year tradition. The festival will be held on North Boulevard in downtown Baton Rouge.
“The festival highlights great musical and art talents that are free and open to everyone,” said Katherine Scherer, the Arts and Cultural Programs Director for the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge.
FestForAll has something for everyone throughout the weekend, featuring live music, performing arts, crafts demonstrations, an array of Louisiana cuisines and the Children’s Village, Scherer said.
Several bands will perform on the Louisiana Gumbo stage, which is located in the Galvez Plaza, and the Jambalaya stage, which is located on North Boulevard.
Musicians from several different genres, including blues, jazz, Celtic, folk, Cajun and alternative rock, will entertain the public with their sounds. Some of the scheduled performances are Kenny Neal, Dorothy Jane, the Benjy Davis Project, Liquidrone, Chris Belleau and the Zydeco Hounds, Scherer said.
Inside the Old State Capitol’s House Chamber, the public can enjoy watching performing arts organizations such as the Baton Rouge Ballet Theater and the Baton Rouge Little Theater.
The festival will feature 65 artists from Louisiana and 11 from other states, Scherer said. A wide variety of art will be located along North Boulevard including clay, furniture, glass, jewelry, metal, sculpture, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking and wood carving.
Scherer said 15 food vendors will provide the community with local cuisine, including Chicago Steaks Bar and Grill, Copeland’s of New Orleans, Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, Pelican Place Seafood, Zippy’s and CC’s.
The musicians who performed during the 2003 FestForAll donated tracks to the Arts Council, which enabled them to produce the first volume of the FestForAll CD, Scherer said. The second volume of the CD features tracks from artists who are performing this year. The CD will be available for the public to purchase this weekend. The cost of the CDs are $12 for one and $20 for both. The Arts Council’s goal is to offer the FestForAll CD annually, Scherer said.
Other souvenirs from the weekend include the 2003 and 2004 FestForAll posters designed by artist Anna Macedo.
Saturday events run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday events last from 12 to 6 p.m.
Scherer said the public can park anywhere downtown.
For more information about FestForAll events, log on to www.artsbr.org.