BATON ROUGE, La. (THE LOUISIANA WEEKEND) - Are you ready for happy hour? The West Baton Rouge Museum is hosting a Historical Happy Hour tonight from 6pm to 8pm at 845 North Jefferson Avenue in Port Allen. This event is free and open to the public. Happy Hour includes live music by the Michael Foster quartet, a live sculpture demonstration, food provided by the PoBoy House, and a Champagne punch by the West Baton Rouge Historical Association.
For more information on this event visit https://westbatonrougemuseum.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=1536
Here’s more information on the museum from Tonya S. Wyandon in public relations.
West Baton Rouge Museum
Cultivating Culture for over five decades, the West Baton Rouge Museum celebrates the resiliency of our community.
Like the young stalk of sugarcane that grows from the previous year’s harvest, our people and our culture represent its family roots, well-established in tradition.
Historically grounded and rich in culture, the West Baton Rouge Museum represents art preservation that springs forward into the future for generations to come.
Culture Cultivated. La Culture Cultivee. La Kiltire Kiltive.
Minutes away from downtown Baton Rouge, the West Baton Rouge Museum offers diverse rotating exhibits, kid-friendly events, French programs and tours, as well as monthly musical jams, Historical Happy Hour, blacksmithing apprenticeships, art workshops, lectures, and more.
Located on a six-acre campus directly across the river from the State Capitol, the West Baton Rouge Museum is the only museum to trace the bittersweet story of sugar in Louisiana from the colonial period to the present day. Culturally cultivated, visit the Juke Joint or browse the sculpture galleries and historical exhibits.
The hub of the Port Allen Cultural District and a designated Louisiana Well-Spot, the West Baton Rouge Museum also highlights local artists recognized on an international level and offers FREE monthly yoga and periodic wellness workshops.
West Baton Rouge Museum. Culture Cultivated.
WBRM Galleries:
The Dameron Gallery: Angela Gregory: Doyenne of Louisiana Sculpture
Named for WBRM founder Ethel “Puffy” Claiborne Dameron, the Dameron Gallery holds the new semi-permanent exhibition, Angela Gregory: Doyenne of Louisiana Sculpture, which highlights much of Gregory’s work in the West Baton Rouge Historical Association’s permanent collection.
The Perkins “Sugar” Gallery: From Field to Factory
The Perkins Gallery features From Field to Factory an exhibit on Louisiana’s sugarcane industry which features a stunning mural of mature cane at harvest time. The centerpiece of the Perkins Gallery is a 33-foot model of a sugar mill, originally constructed for the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. The exhibit also pays tribute to Norbert Rillieux, a Louisiana born free person of color whose multiple-effect evaporator revolutionized the sugar industry.
The Trahan Gallery: Rooting Metal
Rooting Metal: The Trahan Gallery features the metallic sculptures of Ronald Trahan, a celebrated artist in the Port Allen Cultural District. Trahan is best known for capturing the spirit of Jazz, Blues, and Rock musicians in his three-dimensional mixed metal forms. The exhibit traces the artist’s family history in West Baton Rouge and discusses Trahan’s artistic lineage through his mentor, Frank Hayden, back to Auguste Rodin, the father of modern sculpture.
Rotating Exhibit Galleries
The Whitehead Gallery and Brick Gallery host constantly rotating exhibits. For information on current exhibitions, visit: www.WestBatonRougeMuseum.org
Alliet House (photos taken today by Christian)
Walk the floor boards of the c. 1830 Alliet House. The interior of a fully furnished Creole style cottage reveals the lifestyles of the French speaking Acadian families that lived in this home since the Antebellum period.
Big RED Cypress Barn (photos taken today by Christian)
Constructed in 2014, the Big RED Cypress Barn is a treasured new addition. Filled with late 19th and early 20th century sugarcane farming equipment, the barn features several demonstration and instructional spaces including a Blacksmithing Shop, a Spinning, Weaving and Textiles room, a Woodworkers Shop, tractors, tools, and Model A. Ford.
The Juke Joint (photos taken today by Christian)
Juke Joints were gathering spaces for music and entertainment frequented by Blacks through the Jim Crow Era of segregation in the 1950′s and 60′s.
In continuance to honor the tradition of Louisiana’s diverse music culture, the West Baton Rouge Museum currently offers FREE monthly music programs such as Old Time Jam, Historical Happy Hour, Le Jam’s, Le Café Francais, and of course, scheduled live Blues performances with world renown and award-winning musicians. Past performers include: Kenny Neal, Chris Thomas King, and more.
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