Annual Events & Festivals - Annual Events And Festivals
Louisiana has more than 400 festivals every year. Events and festivals remind us why we love living here and why we love sharing our gatherings with others. Certain events are seasonal or linked to local history. Some carry us through tough times. Like the rest of the state, Baton Rouge parties throughout the year. From zany carnival parades to solemn events, Baton Rouge marks each occasion with style.
Many events take place in fall, but planners schedule their events around Southern University and LSU’s home football game dates. Winter is short in south Louisiana, and calendars stay filled from Thanksgiving through Christmas, a time for family reunions and festivals tied to the rural south past. Thousands of twinkling lights entwine trees downtown and in neighborhoods. Chilly, damp days can arrive in January, but after Twelfth Night (January 6), it’s time for Mardi Gras preparations with formal balls and parades to follow. Cold weather never stops a good Mardi Gras party or parade. People simply throw a warm wrap over their fanciful costumes and head out for the fun. Spring is glorious in Baton Rouge with flowering trees and shrubs. It’s a grand time for garden pilgrimages and outdoor festivals.
Although the following list is extensive, it doesn’t include every event held in the city or nearby towns. I’ve listed a few of my favorites and longtime events that consistently take place year after year. For a more thorough month-to-month listing, check out the Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site, www.visitbatonrouge.com. The site includes both one-time and annual events, including festivals, concerts, fundraisers, and more. A comprehensive monthly list appears in Country Roads magazine, and a weekly calendar is run in the Advocate’s Fun section on www.2theadvocate.com. We also suggest checking the official Louisiana tourism Web site, www.louisianatravel.com.
1. Twelfth Night
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Twelfth Night (January 6) marks the beginning of Mardi Gras season, the dates for which vary because it is tied to the Christian liturgical calendar. Some families still observe Epiphany (the arrival of the magi) with private parties. It’s also a time for attending concerts and plays. Private Mardi Gras balls, which involve detailed planning, start early in the month and run through the season.
2. Mardi Gras
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: February is the height of Mardi Gras season with parades, balls, and parties taking place throughout Louisiana. Many Baton Rougeans are invited by friends and relatives to participate in Mardi Gras events in other cities. In turn they often host houseguests here in the Capital City.
3. AUDUBON PILGRIMAGE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 635-6330
Description: Audubon Pilgrimage commemorates the summer John James Audubon spent in St. Francisville and painted many of his bird folios. The town is the garden spot of Louisiana’s English Plantation country. Visitors tour historic homes and gardens, many of which are privately owned. Activities include living history demonstrations, cemetery tales, an antiques show and sale, and night festivities. Local men, women, and children dress in authentic 1820s clothing.
4. BATON ROUGE SPRING GARDEN SHOW
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 578-2158
Description: This is a gardener’s dream opportunity to get new ideas on landscaping and plant care from some of the region’s leading horticultural experts. Sponsored by the LSU Department of Horticulture, the two-day event features exhibits by local and regional nurseries, vendors, and garden societies. You’ll find an amazing selection of trees, shrubs, herbs, ferns, succulents, and more. LSU AgCenter representatives conduct a Plant Health Clinic. Kids can learn about seed planting and insects. Pick up a new garden accessory or two. It’s also a good place to hook up with a garden club member interested in sharing your hobby.
5. HABITAT HOME & GARDEN SHOW
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 769-7696
Description: Sponsored by the Capital Region Builders Association, the Habitat Home & Garden Show features some 200 exhibitors with the latest technology and energy-efficient concepts in home design. Bring your plans, photos, and drawings. Don’t forget your dreams.
6. LAGNIAPpE DULCIMER FêTE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 753-7917
Address: 845 North Jefferson Ave.
Description: This acoustic folk music festival features workshops and concerts. Programs include mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, mandolin, autoharp, ukulele, sacred harp, harmonica, and fiddle. Participating instructors are from as far away as Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
7. ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 925-8295
Description: Baton Rouge sheds its football colors for the “wearing o’ the green” for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade rolls through streets near City Park and through the Perkins Road Overpass area. Families gather along the roads to catch green and white beads tossed by participants riding floats decked out in shamrocks, harps, and other symbols of the Emerald Isle.
8. AUDUBON COUNTRY BIRDFEST
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (800) 488-6502
Address: 5720 Commerce St.
Description: Birders flock to the Audubon Country Birdfest in the West Feliciana area where John James Audubon created numerous bird paintings. Headquartered at the St. Francisville Inn, the fest features birding trips to various locations and canoe trips to Cat Island.
9. BATON ROUGE BLUES WEEK
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 383-0968
Description: Featured concerts take place in Manship Theatre, Teddy’s Juke Joint, Boudreaux & Thibodeaux, and Chelsea’s. Past performers include Irma Thomas, Henry Butler, Tab Benoit, Chris Thomas King, Tabby Thomas and Friends, Kenny Acosta, Big Al and the Heavyweights, and the Dixie Rose Acoustic Circle. Take in Sunday in the Park sessions in Lafayette Park and programs and enjoy some “blues food,” especially creamy red beans and rice, and crispy fried chicken. Locally produced radio shows and folk-life seminars round out the week’s offerings.
10. INTERNATIONAL HERITAGE CELEBRATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 930-0901
Description: Presented by the Baton Rouge Association for World Affairs, this event salutes the people of nations around the world. Enjoy the parade of nations, craft demonstrations, music, dance, storytelling, educational booths, and international foods.
11. KITE FEST LOUISIANE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 344-2920
Description: This family-oriented, three-day festival at the West Baton Rouge Soccer Complex in Port Allen includes home-built and professional kite-flying exhibitions, sport team ballets, children’s kite-flying workshops, children’s candy drops, and classic sounds by Jude. Food booths offer Louisiana cuisine, including gumbo, jambalaya, and seafood po’ boys. Friday is designated as Student Day.
12. LOUISIANA EARTH DAY FESTIVAL
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Every spring day, Baton Rouge residents turn out to celebrate the Earth, its complexities, and its bounties. Louisiana Earth Day activities include interactive education and exhibits. There’s fun for kids and adults, including music and food.
13. PONCHATOULA STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Ponchatoula, about 55 miles east of Baton Rouge, is the Strawberry Capital of Louisiana. In the spring people look forward to the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, when juicy berries are consumed in mass quantities. There’s a strawberry-eating contest, baking contest, talent contest, sack race, and a big parade. Local bands entertain the crowds. The most popular drink? Strawberry daiquiris, of course.
14. RED STICK ANIMATION FESTIVAL
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 578-0595
Address: 100 Lafayette St.
Description: In addition to the Shaw Center for the Arts, the Old State Capitol and the Louisiana Art and Science Museum serve as venues for this lively contemporary festival. Expect free screenings of classic animated films, films from the festival competition, and the popular cartoon-a-palooza. Animation experts and representatives conduct workshops for aspiring animation enthusiasts.
15. SPRING AND JAZZ FEST at DENHAM SPRINGS ANTIQUE VILLAGE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Address: 228 North Range Ave.
Description: Denham Springs throws out the welcome mat for the Antique Village festival, which is growing bigger every year. The small town retains its old-time appeal, and it attracts families with a day of fun and antiques shopping. There’s a dog fashion show, car show, art, antiques shopping, and food. Activities center around the Train Station Depot. Past performers have included the Ed Perkins Jazz Group, jazz guitarist Robert Holden, and the Deal Breakers.