31. YELLOW LEAF ARTS FESTIVAL
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 635-3665
Description: The Yellow Leaf Arts Festival showcases the artists of West Feliciana Parish and their friends. It’s a good place to look for pottery, mixed media, sculpture, photography, jewelry, and paintings. Be sure to check out the birdhouse. This gathering of Southern bohemians includes yoga classes, poetry, and string band music.
32. WHITE LIGHT NIGHT
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 924-6437
Description: See the latest in art trends and help start the holiday season. Plan an evening excursion along the Government Street corridor to hunt for unusual Christmas gifts. Pop into Elizabethan Gallery or Caffery Gallery for original art. Stop by Fleur De Lis for a pizza or Doe’s Eat Place for a steak. Some 30 shops and restaurants participate. A shuttle service helps you travel between locations.
33. BATON ROUGE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 389-5520
Description: People turn out the first of December for a festive evening, which kicks off the Christmas season in downtown Baton Rouge. Just before dusk, people of all ages stroll in the three plazas between the RiverCenter and Old State Capitol. Attractions include school groups singing Christmas carols, art displays, and booths offering everything from shimmering gifts to cookies and hot chocolate. In Galvez Plaza, a band playing traditional melodies awaits the moment when the city’s mayor officially turns on the lights of a giant Christmas tree. It also signals the lighting of myriad twinkling lights strung along trees and shrubs on North Boulevard. As the sun sets on the west side of the Mississippi, fireworks burst into the sky above the skyline—it’s a magical evening.
34. BATON ROUGE SYMPHONY AT HOUMAS HOUSE PLANTATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (2225) 473-9380
Description: Houmas House Plantation and Gardens and the Baton Rouge Symphony invite people to start the Christmas season with the superlative sounds of traditional carols and other holiday music underneath magnificent live oaks. The concert takes place in the late afternoon. Enjoy the music and the garden setting as the soft colors of dusk heighten the mansion’s beauty.
35. CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 635-3873
Description: Christmas in the Country brightens the spirit with English Plantation Country’s earliest holiday traditions. Stroll along Ferdinand Street browsing for gifts, and listen to school choirs in historic churches. At the gazebo in Parker Park, join folks enjoying the sounds of the Main Street Band and the Angola Inmate Traveling Band. View the Live Nativity at the First Baptist Church, or attend the Community Sing-Along in the Methodist Church on Royal Street. Children’s activities include train rides, games, pony rides, and clowns. Take the Library Tour of Homes, decorated for the season. In this part of the world, magnolia leaves, pine branches, nuts, and fresh fruit are often used to decorate for Christmas.
36. DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS PARADE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Telephone: (225) 766-2282
Description: Sponsored by the Baton Rouge Kiwanis, the Christmas Parade delights children. Thousands gather along the downtown parade route to view holiday floats, marching bands, horses, and walking groups. It’s usually nippy enough for folks to bundle up in warm gear and welcome Santa as he waves to one and all.
37. RURAL LIFE CHRISTMAS
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Annual Events & Festivals
Description: Living history re-enactors, wearing simple garments from the 1800s, welcome visitors to a traditional Louisiana Christmas on the farm. Watch demonstrations of farm crafts and domestic skills. Storytellers are part of the scene, and musical groups entertain. Browse for exceptional handcrafted pieces by Louisiana artisans in the gift shop.