A&E

Acadiana 365’s Weekend Picks

With Festival International only five days away, these highlights of events happening this weekend can help get you into festival mode for next week.

Festival International is just around the corner and several events are happening this weekend to get you into the festival spirit.

INNOV8 Lafayette Kick-Off Reception

On Friday, April 19, the Acadiana Entrepreneur Group and the Opportunity Machine are teaming up to celebrate the beginning of INNOV8 Lafayette, the eight-day festival of innovation and creativity hosted by several of Lafayette's most progressive venues from April 19-26. The reception is being held at The Switch and gives attendees the chance to tour its shared workspace facility and meet members of the Acadiana Entrepreneur Group, a collaborative business group aimed at solving problems by sharing the best techniques and experiences. Acme Burgers will also be on-site serving their delectable sliders and other refreshments.

The INNOV8 Lafayette Kick-Off Reception will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at The Switch located at 100 Central St., in downtown Lafayette. The event is free and open to the public. For more information on INNOV8 Lafayette visit INNOV8Lafayette.com.

Record Store Day 2013

This Saturday marks Record Store Day, which is a celebration of local "mom and pop" music stores and businesses across the country that promotes the local music scenes of each region by supplying Record Store Day outlets with rare titles that are usually very hard to come by for the avid record collector. Lafayette's Record Store Day sponsor is Vinylville Records who will be offering special deals and obscure records at its location in the Lafayette Jockey Lot at 3011 NW Evangline Thruway on Saturday, April 20, from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

The Feed & Seed will also be celebrating Record Store Day with a special screening of Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop, which is the official documentary of Record Store Day. The film explores why almost 2,000 record shops have vanished from the United Kingdom, record shops staggering rise during the 60s, 70s and 80s, the demise of vinyl after the advent of the Compact Disc and its eventual underground renaissance. The screening will be held at the Feed & Seed, located at 106 N. Grant St., starting at 7 p.m.

Louisiana Soundtrack Experience

In an effort to promote Louisiana's unique musical flavor, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne is joining with the Louisiana Office of Tourism and Oxford American Magazine for Cajun Seasoning: Zydeco Rhythms in the Heart of Acadiana. The day-long program, which is part of the Louisiana Soundtrack Experience series taking place throughout the state all year long, features a panel at discussion at the AcA on preserving the musical heritage in Louisiana. The panel will be moderated by Oxford American Guest Editor Alex Rawls. Panelists include Cajun folklorist Dr. Barry Ancelet, editor and writer Herman Fuselier, Louis Michot of The Lost Bayou Ramblers and many more. Following the panel discussion, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne will present a screening of Sunshine By The Stars: Celebrating Louisiana Music, starring Harry Connick Jr., that features Louisiana's biggest music stars performing versions of "You Are My Sunshine," originally recorded by Gov. Jimmie Davis.

The Louisiana Soundtrack Experience event is free and open to the publc and will be held Saturday, April 20, from 2-8:30 p.m. at the Acadiana Center for the Arts and Parc Sans Souci in downtown Lafayette.

Cloudheavy CD Release Party

The Cloudheavy Recording Collective is holding a CD Release Party for the band The Horsemen. The event will also serve as a launch party for the Cloudheavy website and accompanying magazine. Performances for the event will come from Paperhaus, Parsely, Cones of Uncertainty, The Cavemen and The Horsemen.

The event begins Saturday, April 20, at 9 p.m. at Arterial, located at 201 Jefferson St., in downtown Lafayette. Admission is $5. For more information visit Cloudheavy's event page on Facebook.

For more information on other events happening around Acadiana all weekend long visit Acadiana365.com.