Emmy-award Winning Actress and Baton Rouge Native Lynn Whitfield will be inducted in the Louisiana  Black History Hall of Fame. The event which is part of the hall of fame's 20th Anniversary Benefit Gala and Celebration will honor, preserve, and showcase successful Louisiana African American history.

It will be held on Saturday, February 26 at 7 p.m.  at the Southern University Royal Cotillion ballroom.  Tickets are $35.  They can be purchased at the Echelon Center, 6220 Florida Boulevard.

Whitfield has starred in such films as "Tyler Perry's Family Reunion", "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"; Oprah Winfrey's "Women of Brewster Place"; and her Emmy-Award Winning Performance in "The Josephine Baker Story".  This event celebrates her success as a Louisiana Hall of Fame Inductee in the category of arts, music, and entertainment.

For more information, call (225) 925-3541 or (225) 270-1741.

The sounds of swing, be-bop and other variations of jazz will fill the LSU Student Union Theater on Friday, February 25, as the LSU School of Music will host a Jazz Area Showcase. Beginning at 7:30 p.m., the concert returns to the LSU campus this semester, after being held in downtown Baton Rouge last fall.

During the concert, the audience will be treated to performances from School of Music jazz faculty and student ensemble groups. These include the LSU Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band, as well as the three jazz chamber ensembles.

One of the ensemble groups will perform an original work written last year by Bill Grimes, the E. & D. White Professor of Music in the LSU School of Music, called “Bobcycles.” The title came from Grimes’ wife, Jan, who is a professional-in-residence teaching collaborative piano at LSU.

A new exhibit and opening reception will be held tonight, February 24 at 6 p.m  at the Louisiana Sate Museum. It showcases the World of Cane River Creole: Rural Life in Natchitoches Parish which is explored in photographs, paintings, and artifacts.

“This exhibit celebrating the Cane River region welcomes the heritage of central Louisiana to the Capitol city,” said Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne. “I invite citizens to take this opportunity to learn more about Louisiana’s oldest town.”

The event is free and open to the public. The Louisiana State Museum is located at 660 North Fourth Street in downtown Baton Rouge. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free of charge. 

Founded in 1714 as the first permanent European settlement in Louisiana, “Natchitoches and its rural environs are considered the cradle of state’s Creole culture,” said Louisiana State Museum historian Charles Chamberlain, who conducted extensive research for The World of Cane River Creole.

“Almost three centuries later, traditional ways remain strong among the Cane River Creoles,” said Chamberlain.