Art Melt, Irish film fest round out Baton Rouge weekend

Baton Rouge’s largest juried art exhibition, Art Melt, hits the big time with its new venue at the Louisiana State Museum. This downtown space is double the size of the Shaw Center gallery used formerly, which should help solve problems associated with overcrowding at the ultra-popular event in previous years. This year’s Art Melt will feature more than 300 artists working in every medium you can imagine. The free event takes place on Friday, but tickets to tonight’s preview party can be had for as little as $40; all art from the exhibition will be on display at the Louisiana State Museum through August 28. For more details, go to ArtMelt.org. To help accommodate parking for the event, a free CATS shuttle will run between the Convention Street Parking Garage and the museum from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The State Galvez Garage at Main and Fifth streets will be open until 11 p.m. On Saturday the Baton Rouge Irish Club presents the second annual Irish Film Festival at the Manship Theatre, featuring four acclaimed films about Irish people and culture. From The War of the Buttons, a lighthearted drama about two rival child gangs, to Peacefire, a gritty tale of Northern Ireland in the 1990s, these films represent a sweeping array of Irish experience. Screenings are from noon to 10:30 p.m., and tickets are $8.50 for each screening. Visit manshiptheatre.org for tickets and showing information. And if you can’t make the Saturday screenings, you can always have a Guinness or two while you catch some award-winning Irish short films at Phil Brady’s Bar at 6:30 p.m. Monday. For more cool ideas to fill your hot summer weekend, read 225 Select by clicking here.