Events and Destinations – Free time is gold in the hands of Baton Rougeans, and we’re lucky to have a variety of interesting, invigorating and excellent places to spend it.
18460 Santa Maria Pkwy., 752-9667 Founded: 1987 Owner: BREC
This course was first built to the specs of the godfather of golf course design, Robert Trent Jones Sr., who was responsible for the building and design of more than 500 golf courses in over 30 countries. The recent renovations at Santa Maria were meant to restore the original quality of this golf legend’s plans.
Santa Maria 28.78% 2nd place: Copper Mill, 2100 Copper Mill Dr. in Zachary, 658-0656 16.41% 3rd place: Carter Plantation, 23475 Carter Trace in Springfield, 294-7555 9.76%
BREC’s Santa Maria Golf Course reopened to the public in 2006 after undergoing major renovations, and Baton Rouge is still enjoying the fruits of the labor. With 150 acres of short-cut Bermuda grass and scenic oaks just off Interstate 10, this gorgeous green will have you smiling even if you slice right into one of its 15 man-made lakes. Consistently receiving Golf Digest‘s highest ranking for a municipal course, it’s one course you don’t want to miss your shot at.
Susan G. Komen is the largest breast cancer charity in the world, having raised $1.3 billion for breast cancer prevention, research, and awareness. They even originated the little pink ribbons that are now synonymous with the search for the cure.
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 36.65% 2nd place: LSU Lakes 26.80% 3rd place: Fat Boy 5K 13.97%
Baton Rouge is a runner’s town, but if you’re going to subject yourself to the kind of torture that distance running entails, you might as well do it for a deserving cause. This national fundraiser puts survivors and supporters together for five kilometers with the goal of raising money for breast cancer research. With nearly 10,000 participants this year in the Baton Rouge chapter (the largest 5K in the capital city) it’s little wonder it swept the category with more than one third of the votes. And so popular are the LSU lakes among runners they gave them the second-most votes, even though the lakes are a destination, not an event! Irreverent and beloved (they serve donuts and chocolate milk), Fat Boy 5K came in a respectable third.
100 S. River Rd., 344-5272 Founded: 1963 President: Carol S. Gikas
Since it arrived in 1963, the LASM’s modest-sized mummy was assumed to have been a woman. It wasn’t until LSU’s world-famous FACES lab got hold of it that it was revealed the body in the bandages was actually male. Talk about your 40-year identity crisis!
Louisiana Art and Science Museum 18.18% 2nd place: Laser Tag of Baton Rouge, 5871 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., 303-0386, 17.09% 3rd place: Baton Rouge Zoo, 3601 Thomas Rd., 775-3877 13.22%
“You might learn something” is usually parent-code for “This is good for you; grin and bear it.” But the Louisiana Art and Science Museum proves that fun and education need not be mutually exclusive. Find out how much you weigh on Jupiter, watch a movie in the planetarium’s vast domed theatre, or turn the kids loose in the Science Depot and watch their tiny minds melt with joy at all the shiny things to play with. Did we mention there’s a mummy?
