SugarFest 2023
- Location: Museum Grounds
- Date: October 1st, 2023
- Time: 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Admission: FREE
Come have a sweet ole time on Sunday, October 1st, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM This annual sweet celebration of the sugarcane harvest has been growing strong since 1995.
SugarFest provides visitors of all ages with a free opportunity to learn about local culture, music and history. There will be a variety of folk art and occupational craft demonstrations, a peek inside museum exhibits and historic buildings, cane cutting and grinding demonstrations, cane syrup boiling, and live music. Genres featured include Blues, Dixieland Jazz, Folk, Cajun, Zydeco, and Bluegrass. Some of the demonstrations include praline candy making, blacksmithing, bousillage making, wood working with antique hand tools, spinning, and much more. There will be old-fashioned pastimes for children to enjoy and a Café Français area where only French is spoken and lively games of Bourré will be played. Food and drink will be available for purchase, and artists will be selling their wares. Of course, there will be lots of sugary treats, fresh chewing cane samples, and a sweets contest. For those age 21 and over, there will be a rum tasting and discussion on how this spirit is made from Louisiana’s sweetest cash crop.
SugarFest is FREE and open to the public and is supported in part by a Celebration Grant from the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area. Hope to see you there, SUGAR!
Music Schedule
*45-minute Sets in Brick Gallery
- Ongoing folklife demonstrations, hands-on activities, and exhibit tours @ 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Sugar Guy and Sweetie Pie Puppet Show every half hour in the Sugar Gallery @ 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM
- Back Door Tours of Arbroth Store and Aillet House on band breaks.
- Winners of Sweet Contest Announced at Arbroth Stage @ 12:00 PM
- Juke Joint Mural Dedication on Juke Joint Porch @ 1:00 PM
- Cake Walk in front of Aillet House @ 2:00 PM
Sweets Contest
Help celebrate 28 Sweet Years of SugarFest by entering an old-fashioned Sweets Contest hosted by the West Baton Rouge Historical Association!
Entry forms can be found here. Please carefully review contest rules, and then get cooking, SUGAR! Make your best recipe in any of these sugar-filled categories– cookies, cakes, pies or candies. Your entries must arrive at the West Baton Rouge Museum from 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM on Sunday morning. Entries must not require reheating or refrigeration. Stick around while local celebrity judges sample all the entries, and enjoy the sweet rewards the Museum has in store for you.
Enjoy historic folk life demonstrations, cane grinding, syrup boiling, live music and much more! While you’re there, listen for the names of the contest winners to be announced around Noon. You might win the grand prize!
We encourage anyone wishing to show their support, but not feeling that competitive spirit, to consider donating cookies, cakes, pies and candies to help stock the Sweets Booth at SugarFest.
West Baton Rouge Historical Association Fundraiser Dinner
This year’s dinner will consist of jambalaya, white beans, and a roll from The Jambalaya Shoppe in Port Allen. Tickets are $10.00 and must be ordered by Friday, September 22nd, 2023.
Stop by SugarFest on October 1st, 2023, to pick up your dinners and peruse our Sweets Booth for a tasty treat! Take a seat under the big tent to enjoy your meals, or take a walk around the festival and eat in front of one of our several live music stages. Pick-up Sunday, October 1st, 2023 from 11:00 AM - 1:30 PM. Any unclaimed dinners will be resold starting at 1:31 PM.