📅 Baton Rouge: Week at a Glance | Sept. 28–Oct. 4

Why it matters: Sunday is packed—Free First Sunday, One Piece at a Time at the Old Governor's Mansion, a mystery kids' film at Manship, PlantFest! preview at Hilltop and The Lone Bellow closing the night. Thursday opens a new LSU MOA exhibition and BRBT's season premiere.

🗓️ Tuesday, September 29

🃏 Riftbound Tournament at Little Wars—Tuesday, September 29 📍 Little Wars, 7543 Jefferson Highway

• The League of Legends trading card game comes to Baton Rouge's premier tabletop gaming store for a competitive tournament. $20 entry. Limited to 12 players. Details at littlewars.com.

🗓️ Wednesday, September 30

🎬 Manhattan Short Film Fest: You Be the Judge!—2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. 📍 Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St.

• Join film lovers across 500-plus venues worldwide for the 29th Annual Manhattan Short Film Festival. Ten finalist short films screened; audience members vote for Best Film and Best Actor. Ballots supplied. Meal & Movie option with Capital City Grill. Tickets at manshiptheatre.org.

🗓️ Thursday, October 1

🎨 LSU Museum of Art: Southern Gothic Opens 📍 Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St.

• Southern Gothic: Literary Intersections with Art from The Johnson Collection opens at LSU MOA and runs through January 3, 2027. The exhibition explores how visual artists translate the same tensions found in the writings of William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Tennessee Williams and Toni Morrison—blending horror, romance, decay, spirituality and dark humor. Details at lsumoa.org.

🎵 Rock N Rowe—6–9 p.m. 📍 Perkins Rowe Town Square

• The free Thursday night concert series continues through October. Bring a lawn chair. Free.

🩰 Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre: Lagniappe—7 p.m. 📍 Baton Rouge Magnet High Auditorium, 2825 Government St.

• BRBT opens its 66th season with a one-hour mixed-bill featuring four world-premiere contemporary pieces and a selection from Coppélia. Guest choreographer Shannon Johnson contributes a new work exploring the ripple effects of everyday choices. Pre-show: Josephine's Italian Cuisine offers a special Lagniappe menu for ballet patrons, with a portion of proceeds benefiting BRBT. $25. Tickets at batonrougeballet.org.

🗓️ Friday, October 2

🎵 Live After Five: After 8—5–8 p.m. 📍 Rhorer Plaza, downtown Baton Rouge

• The fall concert series continues. After 8 takes the stage for the third Friday of the season. Bring a lawn chair. Free.

🗓️ Fri.–Sun., October 2–4

🎭 POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive—closing weekend 📍 Shaver Theatre, LSU Campus

• LSU's Mainstage season opener closes its run. Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. $9–$22. Tickets at lsu.edu/cmda/theatre.

🗓️ Sat.–Sun., October 3–4

🎃 Harvest Days—9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. 📍 LSU Rural Life Museum, 4560 Essen Lane

• Step back into 19th-century rural Louisiana with two days of living history demonstrations—plowing, blacksmithing, soap and candle making, open hearth cooking, sheep herding, boat making and folk music. $12 ages 12+; $10 ages 4–11; free ages 0–3. Details at lsu.edu/rurallife.

🗓️ Saturday, October 3

🦅 Swamp Bird Walks—7–9 a.m. 📍 Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, 10503 North Oak Hills Pkwy.

• Monthly guided morning bird walk through one of Baton Rouge's finest urban nature preserves. Led by the Baton Rouge Audubon Society. Details at brec.org.

🌱 Red Stick Farmers Market—8 a.m.–noon 📍 5th & Main Street, downtown

• Fresh produce, local vendors and community at BR's flagship open-air market.

📖 Poetry Reading: Celebrating Louisiana's Immigrants and Refugees—10 a.m.–noon 📍 EBR Parish Library, Goodwood Branch, 7711 Goodwood Blvd.

• Louisiana poets Ed Ruzicka, Ariel Francisco, Malaika Favorite and Charles deGravelles join student poets and LORI members to share their stories of coming to the United States. Music and food. Free and open to all.

🗓️ Sunday, October 4

🏛️ Free First Sunday: Walter Anderson—noon–4 p.m. 📍 Multiple locations

• Free admission to Baton Rouge's cultural institutions, including LASM, Old State Capitol, Old Governor's Mansion, LSU Museum of Art, Capitol Park Museum, Cary Saurage Community Arts Center, LSU Center for River Studies and Magnolia Mound. At LSU MOA, drop in for short tours of The South's Most Elusive Artist: Walter Inglis Anderson led by LSU student educators between 2 and 3 p.m.

🏛️ One Piece at a Time—noon–4 p.m. 📍 Old Governor's Mansion, 502 North Blvd.

• An early Halloween celebration featuring a Picture Hunt, Trunk or Treat, Roses to Pumpkins and costume-encouraged fun for the whole family. Partners include the EBR Parish Library, Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, Rotary Club of Baton Rouge, New Schools for Baton Rouge and Baton Rouge Alliance for Students. Free. Free parking.

🎬 Mystery Kids Movie: Free Sensory-Friendly Screening—12:30 p.m. and 1:50 p.m. 📍 Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St.

• A surprise PG kids' film in a sensory-friendly setting—brighter lights, quieter sound, no one gets shushed. LSU MOA crafts and activities in the lobby. Free RSVP required at manshiptheatre.org.

🌿 PlantFest! Teaser Program—2–3:30 p.m. 📍 LSU Hilltop Arboretum, 11855 Highland Road

• Bob Dillemuth presents his favorite plants for Louisiana landscapes alongside the plants that defined Hilltop founder Emory Smith's original landscape—a preview of the full PlantFest! sale on October 10–11. $25 general; $20 members. Register at lsu.edu/hilltop.

🎵 The Lone Bellow: What A Time To Be Alive Tour—7 p.m. 📍 Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St.

• The Nashville trio known for transcendent harmonies and raucous live performance closes out one of the most packed Sundays of the fall season. For fans of The Avett Brothers, Shovels & Rope and The Head and the Heart. This show will sell out. Tickets at manshiptheatre.org.

Reach us: Want to submit an event item for consideration? Email us the information at news@redeyebr.com. Details: The calendar is on a Monday–Sunday rotation, and the submission deadline is the Wednesday prior.