It’s that time of the week again. My, how time flies. This weekend isn’t full of festival, but it’s packed with concerts and events you won’t want to miss. It’s time for the second edition of Heliopolis Weekend Warrior.
For a complete list of events now and in the future, head to our Local Events Calendar.
Friday
5:15p – Skip the nerdgasm that will inevitably be The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 and see the indie hit Dear White People (<-trailer link) at the Robinson Film Center (tickets). This movie, which holds a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, has received oodles of praise. Newsday calls it “One of the freshest, funniest, boldest debut films to come along in years.”
7:15p – Walk a few doors down from the Robinson Film Center and have dinner at Crystal Stairs where you can eat a bowl of authentic creole red beans and rice or fried shrimp that will knock your socks off. My fellow Heliopolis writer Stephen Pederson recommends the tilapia.
8:00p – After dinner, drive the short trip over to Strange Brew off South Market Street to catch what promises to be a great show with The Bristol Hills and Jackie Don Jr. & The Putmans. Day Old Blues will have a popup shop on site for you peruse as well. Click play on the track below to set the mood:
10:00p – Because at this point you’ll be craving a little munch from your likely drinking, get a designated driver or taxi and head to Hangar 21 for fried mac ‘n’ cheese bites and listen to Critical Failure and Broken Silence. ($5 cover)
11:15p – Walk to Chicago Downtown to see The Dubonauts, Even though the doors are at 10p, the band says they will start “around” 11p. Since Shreveport is notorious for bands starting later than they should, we imagine getting there at 11:15p will be totally safe, if not entirely too early. (We can never remember what the cover is for Chicago. They don’t have a website or Facebook, and the event didn’t say, so we don’t know. It usually costs something between $5-10, but ladies get in for free until midnight because otherwise it would apparently be a total sausage fest – and Chicago’s not gay, bro. Females also get cheaper drinks. Why was I born with a penis?)
Saturday
8:00a – Get up early for the FINAL Shreveport Farmers’ Market of the year. Stock up on meat, veggies, and amazing chicken and dumplings. Haven’t tried them? I’ve posted a picture to right because… you need them in your life. (FREE, except the stuff you’ll definitely buy)
11:00a – Slide over to Akins Nursury and support Providence House with Red, Green, & Evergreen. Starts at 9am but, honestly, you should be at the market at that time. Any purchase you make will benefit a worthy charity. Santa will be there.
12:00p – Grab lunch at Sevendipity Cafe. Nothing out of the ordinary if you’ve been before, but they have a full bar now, so there’s that. I totally recommend the Margarita Chicken Sandwich. (Expect to spend between $6-12 per person)
2:00p – Take a power nap. You deserve it only if you’ve done everything above. And you’re going to need it. (FREE, hopefully)
5:00p – Grab dinner at Frank’s Pizza Napoletana which is likely somewhat on the way out to your next destination. If nothing else it’s probably not out of the way. Leave it at that and order The Big Hurt or Fig and Pig pizza with your favorite libation.
6:45p – Start driving out to the Ralph A. Worley Observatory for the FREE Star Party by Shreveport-Bossier Astronomical Society. See planets, stars, the moon, and other amazing stuff. Observe the universe and learn something new. Leave with more than a gallon of gas in your car. It’s totally worth the drive, and, because LSU’s been having a terrible year, you watching the game’s probably not going to massively change how much shame Les Miles should be feeling. (FREE, plus the benefit of not watching the Tigers lose. Again.)
9:00p – On your way back into town, stop at Tiki Bar & Grill on Kings Highway next to Tacomania to see The Hollow Decks play live and in color!
10:30p – I know we just went to Hangar 21 last night, but it’s time to go back for another good cause this weekend. They are hosting a Toys For Tots Benefit Concert which asks you to bring an unwrapped toy of $10 value or they’ll charge you $10 cover which will go directly to Toys for Tots. And, if you didn’t take my advice on the mac ‘n’ cheese bites last night, here’s your chance to not make that mistake again.
Sunday
There’s a Sunday this week because there’s stuff happening Sunday!
1:30p – Crawl out of bed and hit George’s Grill for breakfast. Or brunch, whatever. They’ve served brunch before brunch was a thing. The western omelet kicks ass. When is someone in the SBC going to offer fresh-squeezed in-store OJ?
3:00p – Jump across the street to Anderson Auditorium (next to Marjorie Lions Playhouse) to hear the Chamber Music Series featuring Yevgeny Yontov. (FREE)
Here’s where we hit a snag in the schedule. It’s not the 4:30p to 7pm gap I’m concerned with. You can figure that out. It’s that two great events are happening at the same time. While this isn’t particularly rare here, it’s not often that they both REALLY deserve a place on this list. And, unlike some events I’ve covered, you can’t go to part of one and then hit the other and get any kind of experience that these events are trying to achieve. You must decide.
7:00p – Going in alphabetical order, first up is the Homegrown edition of the House Concert Series featuring HWY Lions whih will be pretty flippin cool. The House Concert Series has been running a long time and they always treat events right, bringing in artists from all over. It’s not often they feature a local artist, but they always deserve to be there. (Suggested donation of $20, you MUST RSVP here)
7:00p – Second, alphabetically, is ‘One Hunnit: The Mix Tape’ Listening Party featuring Lil Larry and hosted by Sleep is for the Rich. Lil Larry is prolific and unashamed of the city he lives in. If I had to pick (which I will), I’d pick this. Guaranteed explicit.
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Don’t let me down, warriors. I’ll see you out.
I promoted quite a bit of drinking in this article. Thus, I feel compelled to tell you to be responsible and not be a jackass. Designate a driver or get a taxi for frack sake.