To celebrate funk god Prince’s 55^th birthday on June 7, the Prytania Theatre will host two late-night birthday celebrations this Friday and Saturday night, both of which will feature a screening of Purple Rain, Prince’s magnum opus. Local funkateer and self-proclaimed Prince lover, DJ Soul Sister will host the Friday night party, while local radio show host and actress Samantha Beaulieu will host Saturday’s event. Both parties, which are BYOB, begin at 10 p.m. And, of course, no screening of Purple Rain would be complete without a Prince and Appolonia costume contest, so put on your best ruffled blouse, bodysuit or velvet blazer for your chance to win Prince-inspired prizes.

Purple Rain screens Friday & Saturday nights at The Prytania Theater uptown for Prince's Birthday weekend.

A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince has made some recent connections to the Crescent City. Besides releasing a two-song tribute to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (2005’s “SST”/”New New Orleans”), Prince also recently performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live with a band that featured two of New Orleans’ premier artists, Ledisi and Trombone Shorty. You can watch that performance here.

Ledisi is a Grammy-nominated bandleader herself, and her willingness to sing backing vocals in someone else’s band is a testament to the Purple One’s legendary and pervasive influence. Trombone Shorty, of course, is a world-class trumpeter and trombonist and one of the finest musical ambassadors New Orleans has. Rumor has it that both Ledisi and Shorty will appear on Prince’s new album, Plectrum Electrum, which is due out sometime later in 2013. Known for recruiting the sexiest, most talented female band members, The Purple One does it again with the new album – check out the enticingly jammy album preview, featuring his new all-female band of rockers, here.

Tickets for both Prince film screenings cum birthday bashes are available at www.theprytania.com.