Halloween Art and Nature Festival

The theme at this year's Halloween Art and Nature Festival, "Creepy Crawlers," is inspired by the 1960’s activity game that taught children to cast plastic insects and other ‘creepy’ organisms out of molds.The festival will showcase five Southern artists as they create bug and other creepy-crawler-themed sculptures from recycled metals using a portable casting furnace and blacksmithing forge installed onsite at the Atelier grounds. Other programming includes meet-ups with insect and arthropod scientists, Beetlejuice Cochineal Beetle Dye demo, a mead-making demonstration, an exhibit of a preserved deep sea roach, insect-inspired music, edible insect-tasting, a bug banquet, and more. Traditional Cajun dishes will be prepared by Chef Colt Patin and his students from the Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge and the Cub Scouts Pack 301. 11 am–4 pm. Free, but registration required at atelierdelanature.org.