Under the picturesque oaks of Lafayette Park, the Friends of the LSU Museum of Art will debut Southern Palette, an inaugural community fundraiser that promises to become a signature food and beverage festival for the Capital City.

The event slated for March 21 will showcase more than 30 chefs and spirits professionals from 14 states, each offering a unique opportunity to connect with homegrown tastemakers. “This is a celebration of chefs as artists,” says museum director Mark Tullos.

While the selected artisans hail from various states and specialties, they are united by their shared Southern roots. For Kenta Kamo, the executive chef of the renowned sushi bar Temaki Den in Denver, Colorado, Southern Palette is a homecoming where he will share his modern take on traditional Japanese cuisine. The roster of regional talent includes Celeste Gill, Jim Urdiales, Jay Ducote and award-winning Baton Rouge mixologist Alan Walter.

This event marks the first major community fundraiser since the museum’s founding in 1959. “The arts in general are being challenged,” Tullos explains. “We decided to put a lot of effort into one annual fundraiser because the museum has never had its own gala or anything of that nature.”

About 45% of the museum’s budget comes from LSU, with the lion’s share raised annually through the Friends organization, memberships, grants and individual gifts. That gap has been increasingly difficult to close, Tullos says.

Southern Palette will provide the consistent funding needed to continue bringing world-class touring exhibitions to Baton Rouge while maintaining LSU MOA as a resource.

More than a fundraiser, though, the event acts as a bridge for the community, bringing native talent home while providing local diners a direct link to the chefs and flavors they have yet to discover.

“Southern Palette will be a pretty significant go-to destination experience,” Tullos says. “I hope people fly into Baton Rouge and mark their calendar every year to come back.”

To learn more, see the full lineup of talent and purchase tickets, visit southernpalette.org.