🌱 2 Dead In Mall Of Louisiana Shooting + Blues Festival Lineup

Happy Saturday, people of Baton Rouge! Here's everything you need to know about what's happening locally today.

First, today's weather:

Areas of low clouds; warmer. High: 64 Low: 49.

Here are the top 3 stories in Baton Rouge today:

1. At least two people were killed in a drive-by shooting near the Mall of Louisiana on Friday, according to Baton Rouge police. Sergeant L'Jean McKneely says officers responded to reports of a shooting on Bluebonnet Boulevard around 1:30 p.m. and discovered multiple victims suffering from gunshot wounds. The intersection at Bluebonnet and Picardy Avenue was temporarily closed while emergency services responded. (FOX 8 Live WVUE)
2. The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens has been awarded a $500,000 grant by the Environmental Protection Agency Trash Free Waters program. The funding will be used to help kickstart efforts to provide education for creating trash-free watersheds in Baton Rouge. As part of the project, several demonstration sites using innovative trash-trap systems will be established at the Burden Museum & Gardens and the Capitol lakes. (Greater Baton Rouge Business Report)
3. The Baton Rouge Blues Festival has announced the lineup for this year's event, which will take place April 23-24 in and around Galvez Plaza, North Boulevard, and Lafayette Street. The roster features blues legends including Robert Finley, Carolyn Wonderland, Nikki Hill Eddie Cotton, Jr., and more. The 2022 event will be the first time the Baton Rouge Blues Festival has been held in person since 2019. (The Advocate)

Today in Baton Rouge:

• Introduction To American Sign Language At Delmont Gardens (1:30 PM)
• Mardi Gras Story And Craft At East Baton Rouge Parish Library (2:30 PM)
• Black History Movie Showing At Greenwell Springs Regional (3:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• The Baton Rouge Gallery shared a behind-the-scenes peek inside the studio of artist Tom Richard. Don't miss Richard's latest exhibition, which plays with pages from H.W. Janson’s “History of Art," on display now! (Facebook)
• Did you know the planetarium at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum shows so much more than just traditional Sky Shows? Visit the museum website to check out the full planetarium show schedule. (Instagram)

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Alrighty, you're all good for today. I'll see you around!

— Kayla Harrison

About me: Kayla Harrison is a Writing Arts professor, as well as a freelance writer for content creation agency Lightning Media Partners. In her free time, you can find her listening to podcasts, writing poetry, and visiting local coffee shops.