Basin Brew Fest moved to auditorium

Several events are slated this weekend in the Tri-City area including the Basin Brew Fest & Restaurant Crawl in Morgan City.

Morgan City Main Street will host its Second Annual Basin Brew Fest & Restaurant Crawl Saturday at Morgan City Municipal Auditorium. The fest will raise funds for the complete renovation of Lawrence Park.

Organizers had originally planned to hold the fest on the riverfront wharf, but changed the venue due to the high water and prediction of possible rainfall, Main Street Director Beth Portero said.

Basin Brew Fest will showcase Louisiana breweries offering a few hand selected styles of beer as well as a homebrew competition. The beer sampling section of Basin Brew Fest requires a ticket to enter and requires you to be 21 or older.

Officials with the Krewe of Dionysus’ Irish/Italian Heritage Walking Parade still plan to hold the parade Saturday in downtown Morgan City, Parade Chairman Walter Shepherd said. The parade will start at 1 p.m. at Second and Belanger streets and finish at Freret and Front streets under the U.S. 90 bridge.

Brew Fest vendors will be set up in the ballroom. VIP early entry to the sampling area will start at noon. General entry begins at 1 p.m. The sampling area will close at 4:30 p.m. DJ Kolin will play music during this time.

General admission tickets will be $40 at the gate. They include 30 beer samples and an entry wrist band. Half-tickets are $25 at the gate. They include 15 beer samples and an entry wrist band. Designated Driver tickets are $3 and come with a soft drink voucher.

The ballroom will open to the public at 4:30 p.m. when Driftwood begins playing music. The band will play until 7:30 p.m.

Participants in the Restaurant Crawl will be set up in the east concourse of the auditorium. That area will be open to the public from noon until 7:30 p.m.

No ice chests are allowed at the fest. Participating restaurants will be serving $5 tasting plates. They will have beer on tap and soft drinks and water for sale.

Other events this weekend include the Autism Society Bayou 10th annual 5K Run/Walk Family Fun Day Saturday at Morgan City Junior High School. The race begins at 8:30 a.m. Also included are an obstacle course, face painting, balloon art, games, food, cake walk and more. Onsite registration starts at 7:30 a.m. The cost is $25 for adults and $10 for students.

Also Saturday, Louisiana State Museum — Patterson will host its 20th annual Easter Egg Hunt & Spring Festival from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Admission is $5 per person and includes one favor bag, a photo with the Easter bunny, super slides, fun jumps, face painting, train rides and more. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.

Egg hunts will begin at 11 a.m. for ages 2-4, 11:15 a.m. for ages 5-7, and 11:30 a.m. for ages 8-10. Those who find eggs with special messages will win a bicycle. There will be two winners for each age group. All proceeds go to fund museum projects.

On Sunday, St. Joseph Catholic Church in Patterson will hold a blessing of the St. Joseph Altar at 6:30 p.m. in the parish hall. Then on Monday, St. Joseph Catholic Church will celebrate its Patron Saints Feast Day. The day begins with Holy Mass at 9 a.m. with Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette.

Immediately following Mass, the traditional Sicilian “Tupa, tupa” ceremony will take place with children of the parish representing the Holy Family.

Free spaghetti dinners will be served beginning at 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday with visitation of the St. Joseph Altar concluding at 4 p.m.