An event circulating around the country and world, The Pancakes and Booze Art Show returns Friday to New Orleans with unorthodox art, all-you-can-eat pancakes, music and drinks. It’s a show with universal appeal.

This particular art show has been hosted in New Orleans for three years, encouraging local artists and musicians of all styles to put their work up for sale in a more accessible gallery than the usual art showing. The Pancakes and Booze Art Show presents its talent in New Orleans at The Howlin’ Wolf, a concert venue and bar with the grungy atmosphere that introduces modesty to the traditionally fancy nature of these shows.

The Pancakes and Booze Art Show has equally humble beginnings. Los Angeles-based cameraman Tom Kirlin started it in 2009 when he decided to open up a studio in an empty warehouse.

“I needed a name for the event and I wanted to give people something free to eat, so that’s when I came up with the pancakes idea,” Kirlin said. “Who doesn’t love free pancakes?”

While the show is trendy and the pancakes are delicious, it’s the artists of New Orleans that highlight the night. Other popular destinations include international hubs of artistic talent such as Paris, London and New York City. New Orleans may be smaller than these metropolitan cities, but its population and prominent art scene brought the event to the Big Easy.

“We like to host the event in cities with large populations and huge art communities,” Kirlin said. “New Orleans has both.”

Contributing to New Orleans’ art community, Tulane artists have featured and sold pieces in these shows. Tulane freshman Ariana Anholdt and sophomore Farah Rose both exhibited at the show this past fall and will showcase their work again on Friday. While the first time at a show gets an artist’s feet wet, additional shows prove more of a challenge, necessitating more work and a more professional setup.

“The process was actually a little harder this time because I knew what else I had to do that I didn’t do the first time,” Anholdt said. “I went in very naive, so this time I knew how to prepare, where to get my prints from, what they should look like and different stuff like that.”

Whether or not the artist’s work is actually sold, putting their name out into the community of buyers and sellers promotes their passion and is a fantastic opportunity both for those who pursue art as a career, or just love to express themselves on the side.

“The show went really well and it was a really good opportunity to get my work out there and now people recognize my work,” Rose said.

The Pancakes and Booze Art Show charges a $5 cover and begins 8 p.m. Friday.