Sponsored by East Baton Rouge Parish Library

Fashion, music, food, dance and an illuminating story bring Baton Rouge together this spring.

Louisiana is a cultural gumbo. Each generation of immigrants adding its own ingredients to the roux that flavors our music, food, art, architecture and more. Exploring other cultures allows us to move outside of our bubble, find new ways of thinking and ultimately, get to know ourselves better. Great literature provokes people to think about their environment, their relationships, and themselves differently and often shows us how much we have in common. Discussing a good read with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers adds richness and depth to our experience of reading.

This spring, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and Forum 35 are helping Baton Rouge connect through the fourteenth One Book One Community initiative.  Events will be held throughout the parish and will include schools, libraries, colleges, businesses, and community groups.  Free programs will begin in March and will run through April 2020.  Visit ReadOneBook.org for information and resources.

Don’t miss the One Book One Community Kickoff Party March 7 at 6pm at the Main Library on Goodwood.

Come and meet local organizations, enjoy delicious refreshments and a live musical performance by I Am I Drummers. Start reading and join the conversation at a book discussion March 16, April 9 and 18.

Throughout the spring, programs around the parish will showcase fashion, food, dance, film and music like a performance by Kumbuka African Drum & Dance Collective, a group of artists dedicated to the preservation, presentation, documentation and research of traditional African and African American culture, as expressed through the medium of the drum, dance and song. Truly an immersive experience, members of the Collective are dancers, musicians, historians, jewelers, drum makers, costume designers and painters.

The Mid City Micro-Con April 25 will feature Hot Comb, Ebony Flowers’ poignant graphic novel addressing realizations about race, class, and the imperfections of identity through relatable and endearing coming-of-age stories.

Fostering Racial Healing, One Relationship at a Time with Dr. Tina M. Harris, the LSU Manship-Maynard Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy Friday, March 13 at  6 p.m.

Visit ReadOneBook.org for a complete schedule of events.