The Library of Congress will open its 87th concert season on October 15, 2011, with BABALU! Celebrating the Library’s Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Collection. This concert will be an homage to two of America’s legendary entertainers, now icons of American popular culture. Hosted by singer Lucie Arnaz, with Desi Arnaz, Jr., Raúl Esparza and Valarie Pettiford, the evening will feature the sizzling, snazzy orchestrations of the Desi Arnaz Orchestra (now in the custody of the Music Division) and salutes Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday and the sixtieth anniversary of one of the best-loved shows in television history, broadcast for the first time on October 15, 1951.

The Library’s concert series is presented free of charge to the public, but requires tickets for admission. Tickets for BABALU! are distributed by TicketMaster, beginning on September 7, at (202) 397-7328, (410) 547-7328, and (703) 573-7328. Each ticket carries a nominal service charge of $2.80, with additional charges for phone orders and handling. Tickets are also available at TicketMaster outlets and online at www.TicketMaster.com (external link).

Although the supply of tickets is likely to be exhausted quickly, there may be a few empty seats at concert time. Interested patrons are encouraged to come to the Library by 6:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert to wait in the standby line for no-show tickets. For further information on Concerts from the Library of Congress, please call the Concert Information line at (202) 707-5502, or visit www.loc.gov/concerts.