Brandon Manning named Director of Events and Abby Singer's Bistro at RFC in Shreveport

Brandon Manning is well-known around Shreveport for knowing how to throw a good event, whether it's one of his own or for someone else. Now, he's going to be taking over Abby Singer's Bistro and the event space at the Robinson Film Center.

Manning was born and raised in Minden, and while he loves his hometown, he always knew it wasn't where he wanted to stay.

"I left Minden and decided I was going to go to Lafayette on a whim," Manning said. "I always loved Lafayette. The summer I went down is the summer of the shooting at the movie theater there. I didn't find a job before I went, and I was living off my savings. So, when the shooting happened, everyone stopped hiring, and I had to come back home."

Shreveport was a place Manning and his friends frequented to get out of their town and experience a bigger city. Once he came back home from Lafayette, Manning decided to give living in Shreveport a shot, and eight years later, he's a staple in the community.

He jumped right into working at different restaurants waiting tables before falling into the bartending industry. He worked for the Korner Lounge before becoming the bar manager at the Remington Hotel, despite never managing a bar before.

"Part of being the bar manager was creating events to draw bar revenue," Manning said. "So, I started coming up with these fun events, and that's when I realized, 'Oh, I'm good at these.' So, I became the in-house event coordinator, where I planned all the parties, and it just took off from there."

Manning spent his school years volunteering on the dance committees and stayed active in different social extracurricular activities. Years later, these interests ended up aiding him in what is now his full-time career.

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The amount of time it takes to put together a successful event within budget sometimes causes perfectionist Manning to lose sleep. But it's a sacrifice he happily makes for a career he genuinely loves.

"I love bringing together a lot of different people who normally wouldn't be at the same event or people who don't think they have things in common," Manning said. "All you really need is to find that interest. Everyone loves good food; everyone loves good music, and a lot of people love art. So that's what most of my events have been centered around local artists, local chefs and local musicians."

After being laid off from Remington, Manning worked at Fat Calf Brassiere, owned by locals Anthony and Amanda Felan. While he worked as a server and bartender, the Felans gave Manning the opportunity to help with their wine dinners and events.

"I really missed doing events, and I knew the only way I was going to be able to do the events that I love was to start my own company and do it," Manning said.

Brandezvous Productions was created in 2021, and Manning put on events like the now-annual Pride Disco along with bar crawls, his "Exploration of the Palettes" that paired local artists with local chefs and more.

With a love for nonprofits, Manning looked for a way to combine his work with the nonprofit world. He joined the board of directors at the Robinson Film Center in June 2022 and was in charge of planning The Robby's this year. Now, he's left the board to become the Director of Events and Abby Singer's Bistro.

The bistro will begin major renovations in early 2024, and Manning is excited to see it thematically tie seamlessly into the rest of RFC. In addition to the remodel, Manning has a lot of ideas for fun changes to come to the indie movie theater downtown. Follow the RFC website and Facebook page to see what's coming next.

"I love the community here, no matter where I go, I can always find good people," Manning said. "I love that we have this community here of creatives and small business owners and people who just enjoy those things."

Brandezvous Productions occasionally will still put on social events, so check out its Facebook page so you don't miss out.

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Abby Singer's Bistro, Robinson Film Center gets new Director of Events