How to get your spook on at the 15th annual Fifolet Halloween Festival

Halloween’s allure goes well beyond one night of trick-or-treating, believes the 10/31 Consortium, the nonprofit organization behind Baton Rouge’s annual Fifolet Halloween Festival. The multi-event celebration takes place Oct. 16-19 with a range of family-friendly and adult activities, including a zombie pub crawl, Halloween ball, a 5K, arts market, Halloween parade and awards brunch.

This year’s theme, “What Lies Beneath the Wicked Waves,” was selected back in May at the 10/31 Consortium’s halfway-to-Halloween Black and White Ball. That could prompt enthusiasts to show up as zombie pirates, killer mermaids, classic sea creatures and other manifestations of nautical creepiness. And while the category spans a range of frightening and familiar tropes, it’s the first time the 10/31 Consortium has chosen it, says its Halloween-happy founder, Kelley Criscoe Stein.

“It’s a staple theme of Halloween,” Stein says. “We’re really excited to do it.”

The festival kicks off with a zombie pub crawl on Thursday, Oct. 16, along Third Street. Revelers, encouraged to come dressed as zombies, will walk from bar to bar. The event culminates in prizes awarded for best walk, best costume and others. The ticketed Halloween ball, known for over-the-top costumes and table decorations, takes place at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on Friday, Oct. 17, and includes live music, dinner and prizes.

The main event of the weekend is the kid-friendly community parade, which takes place Saturday, Oct. 18, downtown at 4 pm. Float riders don’t throw beads, only candy and Halloween decorations, Stein says.

“Candy is what the kids are there for, and so many come because they can’t Trick or Treat in their neighborhoods,” she says.

Stein adds that the organization has worked hard to ensure the event stays safe and fun for all. Organizers also create experiences that appeal to younger children and to the scare-averse. A no-scare zone will take place on Main Street, and a family zone will be at 7th and Convention Streets.

The Fifolet Festival is scheduled two weeks earlier than usual, Stein says, because of Halloween falling on a Friday and an LSU home game against Texas A&M the weekend before. These two factors prompted the mid-October date.

“We’re not really sure how that’s going to impact our crowds,” she says. “Hopefully, not much, and if it does, in a positive way.”

But even after the festival concludes, the 10/31 Consortium’s work won’t be done for the 2025 Halloween season. The nonprofit sponsors free Halloween costumes for children at giveaways in Donaldsonville on Saturday, Oct. 25, and in Baton Rouge on Sunday, Oct. 26.

Last year, the Consortium gave away 950 costumes to both individuals and groups like EBR Head Start, Big Buddy, CASA and other organizations, and it made 70 goody bags for Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital for kids in their outpatient program.