📅 Baton Rouge: Week at a Glance | June 15–21

Why it matters: Juneteenth brings multiple free community celebrations across the parish, Plan BR III moves toward final adoption and Much Ado About Nothing closes out its inaugural run.

🗓️ Tue.–Wed., June 17–18

🍶 Sake & Omakase—6:30 p.m. 📍 The Teaching Kitchen at Main Street Market, downtown

• BREADA's new Summer Culinary Series opens with an intimate five-course omakase tasting menu paired with premium sakes. Sake educator Chris Johnson ("Sake Ninja," ranked among the top sake educators in the U.S.) joins 225 Best Chef winner Thien Nguyen and Nick Bennett, RD. Limited to 20 guests per evening. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. $150 per person; $250 per couple. Tickets at breada.org.

🗓️ Fri.–Sun., June 19–21

🎭 Much Ado About Nothing—closing weekend 📍 Mid City Civic Theatre, 7155 Florida Blvd.

• The inaugural production from Baton Rouge's newest theatre company closes out its run. Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets $40; $20 students/children at midcitycivic.org.

🗓️ Saturday, June 20

🌿 Birding at Burden—7–9 a.m. 📍 LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden, 4560 Essen Lane

• Monthly guided tour through Burden's birding loops—320 species recorded on the grounds. $12.51, registration required at Eventbrite.

🌱 Red Stick Farmers Market: Fresh Fest—Squash-Tastic—8 a.m.–noon 📍 5th & Main Street, downtown

• This week's Fresh Fest theme celebrates Louisiana squash. Chef demo by JP Uzee at 10 a.m. in The Teaching Kitchen at Main Street Market. Details at breada.org.

🎉 Samba Luxe Carnival—noon 📍 222 North Blvd., downtown

• A free-entry cultural fashion festival bringing samba costumes, feathers, sequins, a live DJ dancefloor, local food vendors and carnival energy to downtown Baton Rouge. Details at sambaluxecarnival.com.

🔭 Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon 📍 Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, LASM, 100 S. River Road

• Three showtimes: 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Rock the Dome Laser Series continues with Pink Floyd's landmark album under the dome. Tickets at lasm.org.

🎵 KB & the Backbeat feat. Ross Hoppe—6:30 p.m. 📍 Cary Saurage Community Arts Center, 233 Saint Ferdinand St.

• Bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Kasey Ball brings together jazz, blues, soul, funk and Louisiana traditions with drummer Chris "Katt" Lee, guitarist Jarrett Gustafson and pianist Ross Hoppe. Doors at 6 p.m.; show runs 6:30–8:30 p.m., followed by an open jam session 8:30–9 p.m. Bring your instrument. Tickets at bontempstix.com.

🗓️ Sunday, June 21

🔬 Random Acts of Science Sundays—1–3 p.m. 📍 Louisiana Art & Science Museum, 100 S. River Road

• Surprise pop-up science activity and guided tour of the Solar System Gallery led by a NASA Solar System Ambassador, followed by a planetarium show at 2 p.m. Included with admission; free for members. Details at lasm.org.

🎵 Sundays Smooth Jazz Series 📍 EBRPL River Center Branch Library, 120 St. Louis St.

• Every Sunday in June—bring your lawn chairs and settle in for free live smooth jazz on the library grounds. No tickets required.

🎵 Juneteenth

Juneteenth—observed Friday, June 19—commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Here's how Baton Rouge marks the holiday.

🗓️ Friday, June 19

🎨 LSU Museum of Art: Free Juneteenth Admission—10 a.m.–5 p.m. 📍 Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.

• Free general admission all day on Juneteenth. Current exhibitions include ReVision: Women in Photography and the South Arts Southern Prize. Details at lsumoa.org.

🎵 Juneteenth: Celebrating Historic South Baton Rouge—2 p.m. 📍 Magnolia Mound Museum + Historic Site, 2161 Nicholson Drive

• Free Juneteenth programming at one of Baton Rouge's most historic sites. Details at brec.org.

🎵 Juneteenth Celebration at L'Auberge—8 p.m. 📍 L'Auberge Casino & Hotel, 777 L'Auberge Ave.

• Lil Nathan & The Zydeco Big Timers, Universal Language and The Michael Foster Project. Ages 21 and up. Tickets at Ticketmaster.

🗓️ Saturday, June 20

💡 Juneteenth Discovery Day—9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. 📍 Capitol Park Museum, 660 N. Fourth St.

• Hands-on learning with interactive activities celebrating Juneteenth. Discounted admission. Details at louisianastatemuseum.org.

🎶 Juneteenth Unity Festival—3–9 p.m. 📍 Main Library at Goodwood, 7711 Goodwood Blvd.

• The City of Baton Rouge's free Juneteenth celebration—live music from The Michael Foster Project and Universal Language, food trucks, children's activities and family programming. Bring your lawn chairs. Free. RSVP at eventbrite.com.

📋 Government & Business

📋 CHANGEMAKERS Applications Open—through July 31

• The Baton Rouge Alliance for Students is accepting applications for the ninth cohort of CHANGEMAKERS, a 10-month civic leadership program focused on improving educational outcomes across Baton Rouge. Open to leaders from business, nonprofit, government and community sectors. New cohort announced August 12. Apply at bralliance.org/changemakers.

🗓️ Monday, June 15

🏛️ Press Club of Baton Rouge: BREC Leadership—11:30 a.m. 📍 Drusilla Place Catering, Drusilla Shopping Center, Drusilla Drive & Jefferson Hwy.

• Interim Superintendent Janet Simmons and Interim COO Maurice Velasquez discuss BREC's master plan, recent operational changes, the June 27 millage renewal ballot and the search for a new superintendent. Doors open 11:30 a.m.; speaker begins 12:15 p.m.; adjourns 1 p.m. $25 members; $30 nonmembers. Public welcome. LPB streams on its YouTube channel for later viewing.

🗓️ Wednesday, June 17

🏛️ Metro Council Zoning Committee: Plan BR III—4 p.m. 📍 City Hall, 222 St. Louis St.

• Plan Baton Rouge III—the 148-page downtown master plan developed by Sasaki and commissioned by BRAF—comes before the Zoning Committee for adoption into FuturEBR, the parish's comprehensive development plan. A major milestone for a plan calling for more than $1.5 billion in early investments and 80 recommendations to reshape the downtown riverfront over the next decade. Full agenda can be seen online. Public comment accepted.

🗓️ Thursday, June 18

🏛️ EBR Library Board of Control—4 p.m. 📍 Main Library at Goodwood, First Floor Conference Room #102, 7711 Goodwood Blvd.

• Open to the public. The agenda was not posted on the library website by press time. Once posted, the full agenda is here.

🏛️ EBR Parish School Board—5 p.m. 📍 School Board Office, 1050 South Foster Drive

• Regular monthly meeting. Open to the public—full agenda at ebrschools.org.

Reach us: Want to submit an event item for consideration? Email us the information at news@redeyebr.com. Details: The calendar is on a Monday–Sunday rotation, and the submission deadline is the Wednesday prior.