Area celebrations offer July 4th alternatives

• By GREG LANGLEY
• News Features assistant editor
• Published: Jun 28, 2009

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Looking for a short holiday jaunt that won’t keep you on the road all day and run up your gas bill? Want to go someplace and enjoy good music, hot dogs, fireworks and old-fashioned pie-eating contests?  Independence Day events are plentiful in areas just a short drive away from Baton Rouge.

Here are some of the planned celebrations and activities:

At Rosedown SHS

The summer months at Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site in St. Francisville will see the return of a popular living history demonstration series with a program scheduled for Saturday, July 4.

During the 19th century,  many practices were a way of life for the people of past eras. Some of these practices will be explored over the next few months in Rosedown’s Did You Know? program. The first in this series of living history demonstrations will focus on hunting practices. Hunting was an important part of life in the past, as the products from hunting provided needed food and clothing.

For this new program, join Interpretive Ranger Sasha Traña as she discusses the history and tools of hunting from the ancient Native American atlatl, to the slingshot, through the firearms of the 19th century to the present. Also discussed will be the way hunting has changed and progressed throughout past centuries and the reasons why hunting was an important part of life to people of the past.

Traña will present her demonstration between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the grounds near the main parking area.

Rosedown Plantation SHS is located on LA Highway 10 in St. Francisville, 30 minutes north of Baton Rouge, off US Highway 61. The site is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Guided tours of the main house are provided on the hour, beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding with the final tour of the day at 4 p.m. Special programs and demonstrations offered throughout the year are included with the price of admission.

At Audubon SHS

Audubon State Historic Site in St. Francisville will present Ecosystem of Audubon at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 4. This one-hour program focuses on one of the many ecosystems found at Audubon SHS. Guests will be invited to explore the nature around the park and learn about how the different habitats and creatures interact with each other.

There will also be a tree identification walk at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 4. The program focuses on a more specific aspect of nature, and allows guests the chance to learn about the forest that surrounds them. The walk includes a discussion of the many important and significant trees found here. An admission fee is charged.

Audubon SHS will present a guided nature walk at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, July 4. This short hiking tour focuses on the naturally forested area surrounding the plantation home, as well as the original paths that John James Audubon might have used during his stay at Oakley in 1821. The program allows guests a chance to observe the natural beauty that surrounds the home.

Audubon SHS will also present Oakley’s Plants and Animals at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 4. Guests are invited to interact with the animal and plant life surrounding Audubon SHS. There will be hands-on animal demonstrations, as well as introductions to the plants to watch for when hiking through the forest and specifically in the area of the site.