225BatonRouge.com

This month, there is an event that’s a great time for you, your friends or family, and it’s free. (It might even mean good jobs for our region in the future.) I’m talking the second annual Red Stick Animation Festival. This event brings in top names to conduct workshops in the developing industry of animation, film and video gaming. It will provide animators, directors, students, artists, designers, writers and educators with a forum to share and learn more about the art of animation.

There are no fewer than 35 screenings of animated films to be shown at these venues: Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center, the LASM Theater and the LASM Planetarium, and they are free. (You can check out the schedule for workshops and screening online at redstickfestival.org.)

The event is headed up by LSU’s Stacey Simmons and Steve Beck. They have received major support from Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Mayor Kip Holden, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber.

This is a relatively new industry in the hi-tech digital field, but one that is hot. The jobs are attractive to young graduates, and the good news is that they pay very well. Make sure you check it out. It’s not only entertaining, but it’s the future!

Convention and Visitors Bureau on the move

In March, two things happened that earned tourism officials high marks. First, the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau launched its new Web site promoting our region’s assets, accommodations and attractions. That isn’t anything special, but the site is. Not only is it pretty cool, but it’s easy to navigate and has some distinctive facts about our city that many people don’t realize. Visitors will love it. They put Baton Rouge’s best foot forward. Check it out at www.bracvb.com.

Also, Paul Arrigo and his team took Mayor Holden, architect Skipper Post, sports foundation president Jerry Stovall, along with River Center manager Alan Freeman, BRCVB chairwoman Toni Hayes and a few other community leaders to pitch our city again hosting the Bowling Congress. In 2005, over 60,000 bowlers came to town with a direct economic impact of $70 million to our region. The good news is Baton Rouge was selected again for the 2012 event. Better start practicing your game now.

Quick Notes

Healing Place Music, the music department of Healing Place Church, is releasing its newest CD, a live recording entitled Wonder of the World. The original songs were inspired by the church’s mission to be a healing place for a hurting world, and the goal of the project is to see more people encouraged to live the life they were intended to live.

The release is set for April 8th, which will include a CD/DVD combo, featuring a look behind the scenes of how it all happened. The release of Wonder of the World is a great example of local musicians in our community who want to make a positive impact through their music.

Speaking of music, our cover story explores what ever happened to the big-time rock concerts in Baton Rouge, and why the big shows seem to skip Red Stick. We asked you for your favorite concert memories, and you blew us away with your heartfelt stories of seeing Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and other great bands who played here during Baton Rouge’s live concert heyday. We also asked you to share your cherished concert pictures; within these pages are some beauties. Who knows, maybe with so much going on in Baton Rouge now, the cruel economics of the concert scene will evolve, and we’ll get some big shows again. At 225, we’re going to be working hard to make this a reality.

A6 is arguably the most active local political group outside the Republican and Democratic parties. Now that its leader, Michael Trufant, has returned to New Orleans change is in the air. Will the Metro Council who continues to oppose term limits on boards and commissions so it can maintain its power play try to squash this thorn in its side? Or will A6’s new leader, attorney Loren Kleinpeter, pick up the mantle and continue to lead A6 and the city to a more progressive transformation for a brighter future? Read freelance writer Jay Lyles’ interview with Kleinpeter on page 20.

Also in this issue, check out the story on professor Brad Schaefer. You may not have heard of him in Baton Rouge, but the LSU professor is known worldwide in his field for his audacious recent research, which hints one of Albert Einstein fundamental assumptions about the universe may be wrong. This work follows another startling discovery Schaefer made that knowledge of the Greek astronomer Hipparchus, whose work was long-believed lost before the Roman empire, was, in fact, intact.