POP!

<p class="p1">The boogaloo was once a popular dance among young people of the 1960s that, to see it, signalled a party was most definitely underway. 

<p class="p3">This high-energy jig lives on in spirit, if not in form, during Imperial Calcasieu Museum’s annual Boogaloo fundraiser set this year for Saturday, April 21, 8 p.m.-midnight at Cash and Carry, 801 Enterprise Blvd.

<p class="p3">“It was a word that always indicated the fun and the lively and the unexpected,” said museum head Susan Reed, things she said Boogaloo is all about.

<p class="p3">“There’s no auction, and there’s no silent auction. By design this is just a party that you come to and have a great time.”

<p class="p3">Attendees can enjoy live music by the Tugboats and an array of food served up by six local restaurants. <p>The Tugboats will perform at this year’s Boogaloo fundraiser for Imperial Calcasieu Museum.</p>(Special to the American Press)

<p class="p3">Items include meatballs in olive ragu by The Villa; pulled pork sliders and jerk chicken kabobs by City Market &amp; Deli; pops and ice cream bites by Pops &amp; Rockets; five cheese creamy macaroni topped with smoked beef short rib crumble by Paul’s Rib Shack; rice pilaf by Mazen’s; and smoked salmon cones by The Pioneer Club.

<p class="p3">Reed said this year’s theme “Boogaloo Goes POP” will pay tribute to the mid-century pop art movement with 4 by 8 foot paintings displayed throughout the building.

<p class="p3">Past themes include vintage Paris, Broadway, New York City and James Bond. She said this year museum leaders wanted to pay tribute to times gone by in the world of art.

<p class="p3">“We hadn’t done pop art before, and we thought ‘Why not?’” Reed said.

<p class="p3">The fundraiser, its largest of the year, helps finance operations that range from affordable summer art camps; free admission for students and teachers; art and historic installments; and maintaining the Sallier Oak.

<p class="p3">The museum began in 1963 at City Hall under the oversight of the Junior League of Lake Charles and moved in 1971 to its current location on West Sallier Street next to the historic oak tree.

<p class="p3">Its latest exhibit, detailing the history of Mossville — a community founded by freed slaves that’s disappearing as a result of corporate expansion — has been up since last summer. 

<p class="p3">Tickets to Boogaloo cost $50 for members and $60 for non-members. They can be purchased at the museum, Gordon’s Drug Store and the Perfect Fit.

<p class="p3">For more information, call 337-439-3797.