We got your weekend: War crafts, concerts, and entrepreneurial pitches

 

Buku Project at Mardi Gras World Friday and Saturday

Friday-Saturday / Shane’s shout out: The BUKU Project at Mardi Gras World, 2 PM. Tickets: $89.50 (single day pass), $169.50 (2 day pass)

NOLA’s newest major music festival returns for its third installment this weekend, boasting some of the biggest names in dance, indie rock, and hip hop for a giant party in and around Mardi Gras World. With one off performances (such as Nas doing his entire Illmatic album and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band sitting in with DJ The Gaslamp Killer) and awesome perks (like the chance to catch the whole thing from the VIP only S.S. BUKU riverboat), this ain’t yo mama’s festival. Single day tickets sold out last year, so get yours while you can.

Friday / Barpreneurs: Novel ideas are often born over drinks, inscribed on the back of a napkin. Building upon this idea, Sobou developed a “barpreneur” series: an established guest entrepreneur listens to pitches from a handful of local budding entrepreneurs over bites at Sobou’s bar. From noon to 1:30 PM, for the final installment of the series, Robbie Vitrano, co-foudner of the Idea Village and Naked Pizza, will serve as the featured guest entrepreneur who will listen to pitches from 12 hopefuls. To apply for a spot, email Sam Fritz with a sentence or two about your idea. Curious but don’t have a pitch? Observers are welcome to attend. The event is free and open to the public.

Attend Drafts and Crafts at the WWII Museum to check out the PT-305 and support its refurbishment.

Friday / Drafts and crafts: Don’t let the word “crafts” scare you off — there will be no hot glue guns, puff paint, or pipe cleaners at this event. The WWII Museum (945 Magazine) launches a new fundraising event benefiting Operation Restoration, a young professionals committee that preserves and restores priceless WWII artifacts, for their inaugural project: the PT-305, a WWII New Orleans-built patrol and torpedo craft to become fully operational and seaworthy in 2015. The benefit will include entertainment by Flow Tribe and the Roots of Music; food from local restaurants including American Sector, Mopho, Tableau, and others; and beer, wine, and specialty cocktails. 7 – 10 PM in the US Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center and the Colonel Battle Barksdale Parade Ground. Tickets are $65 (all-inclusive). Guests are invited to arrive early to view the PT-305 boat from 6:30 – 7:30.

Adonis Rose plays Saturday night at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse free show.

Saturday / A swingin’ good time: The folks at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra invite guests to join them for a free night of prohibition-era jazz at the Swingin’ at the Sonesta event. The show will feature music from the Marine Corps Band New Orleans Jazz Ensemble, playing the sounds of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong, and Adonis Rose & the N.O. Vaders playing contemporary drumming jazz. Dancing is encouraged, and mixologist Tiffany Soles will be crafting 19th century cocktails — from Manhattans to Bess Knees — available for purchase. The event starts at 8 PM at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse (300 Bourbon Street). No reservations necessary.

Monday/ And the winner is… : You may never make it inside the Tony Awards (without being forcibly removed by security, anyway), but you can (lawfully) attend the Big Easy Theater Awards. The 26th annual event (in the Harrah’s theater, 228 Poydras) will honor the best of New Orleans theater — musicals, dramas, and comedies — from 2013, with hosts Leslie Castay, a Broadway veteran nominated for her performance in Southern Rep’s Next To Normal, and Ian Hoch, who won the Big Easy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for the 2012 production of Balm in Gilead. Tickets start at $125 — includes dinner buffet and open bar — call 504-483-3129. Doors open at 6:30; the show starts at 7:30.

Editor’s note: An earlier item about Pink Martini at the Civic Theatre had the incorrect date. The orchestral band will bring its charming arrangements to the Civic NEXT Thursday, March 27. We’ll remind you next week; meanwhile, you can plan ahead to catch the show.

Chelsea Lee is associate editor at NoleVie. Email comments to her at chelsea@nolavie.com.