Halloween Festival 2025

· Acadiana Native Plant Project (Arnaudville, LA)

· Acadiana Master Naturalists (Lafayette, LA)

· ALL CAPS Gourmet Mushrooms (Lafayette, LA)

· Atchafalaya Basinkeeper (Henderson, LA)

· The Beetle Experience (Lafayette, LA)

· Creative Gulf Network (AL, FL, LA, MS, TX)

· Culinary Institute of Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, LA)

· Cub Scouts Pack 301 (Parks, LA)

· Florida Museum of Natural Science, University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)

· Gulf South Mycological Society (Sulphur, LA)

· International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)

· Lincoln Memorial University, Department of Art (Harrogate, TN)

· Louisiana Amphibian and Reptile Enthusiasts / L.A.R.E. (Lafayette, LA)

· LSU Museum of Natural Science (Baton Rouge, LA)

· LSU School of Music (Baton Rouge, LA)

· National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/ N.O.A.A., (Galveston, TX)

· St. Martin Parish Library (Saint Martin Parish, LA)

· TECHE Project (Breaux Bridge, LA)

· The Point CDC (Bronx, NY)

· Tulane University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (New Orleans, LA)

· United States Forrest Service (Kisatchie National Forrest, LA)

· University of Alabama, Department of Art and Art History (Tuscaloosa, AL)

· University of Louisiana at Lafayette Department of Art (Lafayette, LA)

· University of Louisiana at Lafayette Department of Biology (Lafayette, LA)

· University of Louisiana at Lafayette College School of Geoscience (Lafayette, LA)

· Lafayette visual artist Susan David, whose work blends elements of religion, mythology, animals, plants and the feminine, created a series of drawings inspired by South Louisiana’s forest enchanting flora and fauna, and offered a printmaking activity using upcycled materials.

· Lafayette illustrator Denise Gallagher, whose work is inspired by myths and fairytales, delighted with a "tattooed wall” activity where visitors participated in the creation of an enchanted forest inspired mural.

· Youngsville Chef Robert Kennedy (formerly of Social Southern Table) provided a cooking demonstration and tasting of locally sourced mushrooms.

· Carey Hamburg, a Lafayette-based artist renowned for his playful and narrative-driven work, created a series of props and installations in celebration of this year’s Enchanted Forest theme.

· New Orleans biologist and artist Elizabeth MacDougal will offered a “Thumbcaps” (mushroom finger-puppets) workshop, aimed at making people discover the amazing world of fungi and their secret powers.

· Galveston aerial arts group ​​“Midnight Herons” performed music and aerial dance, inspired by enchanting native plants and birds.

· Alabama multimedia artist Jamey Grimes dazzled with a permanent solar-powered light installation within the wooded trails of Atelier de la Nature. Drawing inspiration from the quiet magic of fireflies flickering at dusk, Grimes’ work evokes the feeling of stepping into an enchanted forest where tiny lights dance like fairies.

· We showed Los Angeles-based artist Rachel Mayeri’s video installation with talking forest lemurs, “The Jollies”, which is about the late primate scientist and conservationist, Alison Jolly, a primatologist who is known for her pioneering theory on the evolution of social intelligence developed through her study of lemurs.

· Chris Decoux, a Louisiana-based sculptor exhibited several new outdoor artworks inspired by mythology and folklore, including his interpretation of Baba Yaga’s chicken-legged hut from Slavic legends and others.

· Baton Rouge-based experimental sound artists Jesse Allison and Carlos Roman created a soundwalk where visitors will explore the Atelier nature reserve through sounds that combine folktales, with music, sound effects and environmental recordings triggered by GPS as people walk through forest space.

· Lafayette artist BJ Smith and the BrainArt Alliance created spin paintings using his Double Art Spinner invention.

• Dr. Claire Amy (Lafayette, LA)

• Kristie Cornell (Lafayette, LA)

• Magdolene Dykstra (Ontario, Canada)

• Rose Martin (New Haven, CT)

• Amanda Leigh (Scott, LA)

• Zoë Landry (Cecilia, LA)

• Carey Clark (New York, NY)

• Lilith Ballengee (Cecilia, LA)

• Geneviene Landry (Cecilia, LA)

• Mardiclaw (New Orleans, LA)

• Collin van der Sluijs (Netherlands)

• Susan David (Lafayette, LA)

• Sam Wróbel (Lafayette, LA)

• Carey Hamburg (Lafayette, LA)

• Denise Gallagher (Lafayette, LA)

• Mike Mignolia (Los Angeles, CA)

• Jonathan “Feral Possum” Mayers (New Roads, LA)

• Nyasha Madamombe (Zimbabwe)

• Kat Huval (Cecilia, LA)

• Lynda Frese (Breaux Bridge, LA)

• Erica Bergeron (Baton Rouge, LA)

• Terree' Tisdale-Kwarteng (Youngsville, LA)

• Dion Terry (San Diego, CA)

• Alexander Viazmensky (Russia)

• Francesca Kennedy (Youngsville, LA)

• Jim Toia (Easton, PA & Key West, FL)

• Herman de Vries (Netherlands)

• Erin Broussard (Lafayette, LA)

• Mark Dion (Hudson, NY)

• Supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council, as administered by the Acadiana Center for the Arts. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

• This event is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

• Stuller Family Foundation

• Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board

• St. Martin Parish Tourism Commission

• Super1 Foods

• Russell's Food Center

• ImpressionsPDM

• Peter H. Warny Conservation Fund