Things to Do in Baton Rouge

Offering BYOB art classes in a welcoming, instructor-assisted atmosphere, Corks N Canvas provides a laidback setting for self-expression. Participants will receive step-by-step instruction to craft striking artwork they can take home at the end of the session and place above their mantle, secret trap-door bookcase, or army-men-figurine reenactment of the battle of Pork Chop Hill. Choose among several sessions (click on the address of your chosen location to see a calendar of events) that teach budding strokesters to paint vibrant doggie portraits, landscapes, or abstract-expressionist renditions of the DMV. The creative paintventure may finally spark the dormant artist within that’s been reclusively hiding like Boo Radley since the finger-painting period.

After Frankie Cheek discovered segway tours while visiting Italy, he decided to start his own company in his native New Orleans. When he was boarding a plane back home, Hurricane Katrina struck, redirecting him to Louisiana’s grandfather country: France. While exploring Paris in the wake of the devastating tragedy back home, Cheek drew inspiration for his future segway tours—he was resolved, according to his website, to "help a city rich in history move forward while riding the most high-tech transporter available." Since returning to New Orleans, he’s led daily segway adventures, whirring groups of sightseers around the French Quarter, the riverfront, and Jackson Square with the ease, maneuverability, and safety-minded attitude of a cool biker gang. Plus, through a partnership with other tour companies, Cheek can also guide guests through swamps, plantations, and supposedly haunted locales.

At Fennwood Hills Country Club, the transformative fairways of a nine-hole course invite golfers to play 18 holes, presenting different tee boxes during the second act for a distinct back nine. As clubbers loop the course, which was frequented by former sweater-vest model John Daly, they are faced with difficult drives into narrow, tree-lined fairways and approach shots over treacherous bunkers. The course’s innovative front-to-back layout asks players to approach three holes from entirely new angles on the back nine, which declaws the par 5—rendering it a par 3—and forces golfers to look at the course’s five perilous ponds from a new perspective, especially on the 16th hole, where rippling water pressures players to lay-up or risk sending golf balls into an eternal search for underwater Atlantis.

After a long day of putting and strutting in the sun, the club invites players to cool off with a beverage while watching sports in the clubhouse, test their forehand at one of four tennis courts, or practice splash-free cannonballs at the swimming pool.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole par-36 course
• Length of 3,194 yards from the farthest set of tees
• Course rating of 34.5
• Slope rating of 112

In partnership with Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Insta-Gator Ranch strives to preserve Louisiana wetlands and educate its visitors on regional wildlife. On the ranch, tour guides explain the ins and outs of the Louisiana alligator industry, from hatching gators to using them for food and textiles. During the tour, guests stroll along protected walkways near crystal clear waters to witness the goings-on of more than 2,000 alligators and view the specialized airplane used to scoop up alligator eggs from Louisiana swamps. Adding flair to the experience, a guide leaps into the pen to catch one before giving it a warm embrace and a box of water buffalo-flavored chocolates. Before tour's end, both kids and adults can hold and play with baby gators and have their portrait taken with the scaly youngsters. The hatchery also allows for the adoption of infant gators and houses a retail shop filled with alligator belts, wallets, heads, and more.

Each spring, Frisco Fest welcomes more than 100 Louisiana crafters and artists to the picturesque grounds of the San Francisco Plantation, creating a unique environment where regional history and modern creativity converge. Setting up shop in the shadow of centuries-old live oaks, participants peddle everything from handmade jewelry and pottery to homemade jams, and master gardeners host plant-advice clinics to impart tips to green thumbs looking to revive once-lush landscapes or get their azaleas accepted into a private college.

Each year, activities that occupy the big curiosity and little hands of children abound, such as pony rides, petting zoos, and rock climbing, and adults detour from the crafty wares long enough to enjoy a classic-car show and live music by Leroy St. Pierre. Local chefs sizzle up piquant piles of Cajun and creole cuisine to tempt artistic appetites of all ages, and competitive appetites are twice-satisfied during a Chef's cook-off and cracklin contest.

A special-education teacher, Susan Theodore brings a profound understanding of humans' individual learning styles to her horseback-riding lessons at Can Horses Fly ??, suiting each session to any age and experience level. After hopping atop well-trained mounts, which range from small ponies to wizened steeds, pupils learn the basics of riding, mastering walking, trotting, and cantering before gaining the confidence and notarized documents required to jump over fences and barriers.