(09/16/21) BATON ROUGE, La. —The LSU AgCenter Burden Museum and Gardens and the LSU Rural Life Museum offers many activities for the fall, the holidays and beyond.

Special fall and holiday dates to remember

Grab your birding gear and join us bright and early for a three-hour guided tour, led by birding specialists, to catch a glimpse of some of the many species of birds at the new birding loops at Burden. Birding at Burden excursions are designed to maintain appropriate social distancing between participants. Capacity for each tour is limited to 10 guests. Fall dates include Sept. 25, Oct. 30, and Nov. 27. Tickets are $5 per person and are available at Eventbrite.com

Children ages 3 to 8 can enjoy StoryTime in the Garden from 9 a.m. to noon at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens on selected Saturdays this fall. The event will feature storybook readings and themed activities beginning every half hour on Saturday, September 11 at the Pavilion, Oct. 2 at Corn Maze and Nov. 6 at the Pavilion. The last reading begins at 11:30 a.m. StoryTime is sponsored by the Junior League of Baton Rouge. Admission is free except Oct. 2, when StoryTime is a feature of Corn Maze. Corn Maze admission is required.

On Saturday, Oct. 2, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. visitors can enjoy Harvest Days at the LSU Rural Life Museum. Living history demonstrations will interpret activities that took place on Louisiana farms during harvest time in the 19th century. Activities will include open-hearth cooking, soap-making, blacksmithing, quill pen writing, tatting, spinning and wagon rides. Various musical performances will also be scheduled throughout the day. LSU Rural Life Museum general admission is required.

On Saturdays in October, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens offers family fun at the annual Corn Maze at Burden. Dates for the event are October 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors will wander through the corn maze and partake in a number of family-friendly activities including hay mountain, pick a pumpkin, in the pumpkin patch, a hayride, the mini hay maze, corn crib and other event features. Tickets are available for two-hour scheduled experiences. Advanced tickets are required and available at Eventbrite.com. Admission is $15 per person and free for children 2 and under. Tickets will not be sold at the gate. Concessions will be available for purchase.

On Saturday, Oct. 23, from 3:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. more than 200 foreign, domestic, and home brewed beer and ales will be available for tasting at the Zapp's International Beerfest. This event is only for patrons 21 years of age and older. Proper photo identification will be required to purchase tickets and to enter event. Non- alcoholic beverages will be available. Tickets are $40 for general admission and $20 for designated drivers and are available online at BonTempsTix.com. Tickets are limited.

On Oct. 30 from 6 to 9 p.m., the crazy, mazey continues in the evening at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens Night Maze and Bonfire. Grab your costumes, glow sticks, and flashlights and enjoy the family-friendly Night Maze. Event features include the nighttime corn maze, bonfire, hay mountain, corn crib, games and a live concert featuring local bands. Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com. Night Maze tickets are not included with daytime Corn Maze at Burden admission and must be purchased separately. Admission is $15 per person and free for children two years old and younger. Tickets are pre-sale only and will not be offered at the gate. All ages must have a ticket to enter. Tickets are limited. To ensure the safety and well-being of all attendees, this year's Corn Maze will operate with careful social distancing guidelines in place.

On Sunday, Oct. 31, from 3 p.m. until 6 pm. Haints, Haunts and Halloween at the LSU Rural Life Museum will let visitors relive the sights, sounds, and activities of an old-fashioned country fair. Storytelling, cake walks, games and trick-or-treating are some of the events kids will be able to participate in while on the museum grounds. Admission is $5.00 per person. The event is recommended for children aged two to nine years old.

On Nov.7, from noon to 3 p.m. Friends of LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden will present the all-new Wine & Roses Rambler! Visitors will stroll through the gardens while sampling gourmet cuisine and beverages at a series of tasting stations, while listening to live music by members of the Civic Orchestra of Baton Rouge. Activities include a wine toss, a fun, floral raffle and a grand prize of an original, framed art piece. Food will be provided by Bacon & Fig Events. Visitors are encouraged to delight their taste buds and try their luck at the 2021 Wine & Roses Rambler! Event tickets are $85 per person and are available at https://tinyurl.com/WRRambler. $10 raffle tickets and $20 wine toss tickets are also available online and at the event.

Continuing activities include

The Birding at Burden trail system consists of six loops that wind through Burden’s formal and informal gardens, grasslands, croplands, wetlands and forest. The loops are designed for both beginners and advanced bird enthusiast. Kiosks about the birding loops can be found at the Rural Life Museum Visitors Center and the Ione Burden Conference Center.

Trees and Trails, a 3-mile system of pedestrian, recreational and educational trails in the Burden Woods, provides opportunities for hiking and interpretive and educational activities fo+r youth and adults. The Mosaic Boardwalk at Black Swamp guides visitors through a hardwood swamp more than 200 years old. The trail system is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

The Children’s Garden offers a place to learn about gardening and nutrition. This model garden also provides a location for youth-related organizations and individual families to experience the outdoors, focusing on vegetable, herb and butterfly garden plantings.

The Rose Garden is a part of the American Garden Rose Selections program, a nationwide network of approved public gardens, and the American Rose Trials for Sustainability program, maintaining an inventory of 1,100 plants representing 150 varieties. Starting each April, the Rose Garden offers an exclusive preview of the coming year’s outstanding new varieties.

Windrush Gardens comprises majestic live oaks and ancient crape myrtles to create a shady canopy over azaleas and camellias, evoking a sense of tranquility and peace. Steele Burden, who was influenced by the gardens of Europe and the surviving gardens of 19th century Louisiana plantations, designed Windrush. The winding paths are ideal for strolling and enjoying the 25 acres of landscaped spaces.

About Burden Museum & Gardens

Located at 4560 Essen Lane just off Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge, Burden Museum & Gardens is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and includes the LSU Rural Life Museum, the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens and Windrush Gardens.

The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens is an expansive collection of specialty gardens, woodlands, wetlands and arboreta. Trees and Trails offer 3 miles of serene walking paths through the Burden Woods. The Rose Garden, Children’s Garden and All-America Selections Display Garden showcase the beauty of plants and flowers and provide educational experiences for gardeners of all ages. No admission is charged to tour the gardens.

The LSU Rural Life Museum focuses on the ways of life of rural Louisiana during the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum also provides educational and research resources that advance an understanding of the material and cultural heritage of the region. Adjacent to the Rural Life Museum, the historic Windrush Gardens comprises 5 acres of semi-formal gardens of the Burden family.

Admission to the Botanic Gardens and Trees and Trails is free of charge and open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the Rural Life Museum is $10 for adults 12 to 61 and $9 for seniors and $8 for children 6 to 11. Admission to Windrush Gardens is $3 per person. Both are free for kids under 6. The LSU Rural Life Museum and Windrush Gardens are open daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except major holidays.