Baton Rouge becomes a toon town

The Red Stick Animation Festival returns to Baton Rouge April 16-19 with a number of workshops, lectures and film screenings at various downtown venues. The list of activities includes Lawn Chair Theater at the Old State Capitol, a Saturday morning Cartoon-a-Palooza and the annual Best of the Fest animation competition, featuring more than 200 films from 27 countries. The festival will also screen two film premieres: Delgo, an animated work-in-progress featuring the voices of Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Burt Reynolds, Val Kilmer and the late Anne Bancroft, at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 17 at the United Artists Citiplace Stadium 11, and Santa vs. Claus at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 19 at the Manship Theatre. Both screenings are free but require registration to attend. Register for a free red pass or purchase a gold pass to attend workshops. Event times vary.