North Gate Fest 2019

The 14th Annual North Gate Music and Arts Fest 2019 was a big success! The weather was chilly, but that did not deter the crowds from showing up and having an amazing time. The Fest featured excellent food, beer by Abita and wine by Calandro’s, outstanding musical performances at the singer-songwriter tent and on our main stage, and an impressive collection of local artists displaying their beautiful artwork. Please see our photo gallery under the “Fest” tab for great shots from the festival.

Please support our sponsors: Louie’s Café, The Chimes, Varsity Theatre, Raising Canes, City Slice Pints and Pizza, Highland Coffees, The Revelry, Campus Apartments, Sigma Engineers and Constructors, Calandro’s Supermarket, Rockstar Enterprises (stages), Krab Queenz, The Bicycle Shop, Green Frog Music, WHYR 96.9 FM Community Radio, Baton Rouge Music Studios, Abita Beer, and Crescent Crown Distributors. Without generous donations from our sponsors, the North Gate Fest could not take place.

The pandemic kept us from having the North Gate Fest for a couple of years. Stay tuned. We hope to be back with our music and arts festival in the near future.

Louie’s Cafe was established next to LSU on Chimes Street in 1941. Louie served customers fresh made cheeseburgers, hashbrowns and omelets, and the café became an LSU institution.

The current owner, Jimmy, took over Louie’s Café in 1977, and the ten-stool diner continued the tradition there until 1986, when Jimmy decided to move to a nearby location with a little more space there.

Louie’s Cafe became a 60-seat, 24-hour establishment with an expanded menu, serving bar-going college students as well as the breakfast and lunch crowd. Louie’s is popular all year around, but the most exciting time is the fall semester, during football season, because the cafe is within walking distance of the stadium. In 2020, Louie's adjusted its hours. It is now open 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM every day.