Having fun at Live After Five. Photo by Boyd W. Crochet.

Happiest hour

It might seem like college football has cornered the market on weekend fun in the fall, but we found four great alternatives for non-sports fans—and everyone else on away gamedays. Kick off the fun after a long workweek with Live After Five (above), an open-air musical celebration that happens every Friday evening through October 23 at the Crest at Galvez Plaza. Put on by the Downtown Business Association, the 17-year-old free concert series is touted as the longest running of its kind in the city.

Make a run for it

Cooler weather makes October a prime month for road races, and the local calendar is packed with opportunities to pound the pavement. Pennington Biomedical Research Center is the setting for the LOPA Rabalais Run for Life October 3 and the Oral Cancer Foundation 5K October 10. If running isn’t your speed, try the Alzheimer’s Walk to Remember October 10 at LSU’s Old Front Nine. Ready to try a tri? The Big Cajun Triathlon takes advantage of the riverside scenery in New Roads October 25. Finish the month downtown at the Zombie Bash 5K on Halloween day.

Children in the corn

Nothing says fall in the South like a dusty corn maze for kids to conquer. The living labyrinth at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden will be open each Saturday in October, with a special Corn Maze Festival on October 3—complete with pumpkin painting and a petting zoo—and a nighttime maze and bonfire on Halloween, featuring live music and s’mores. The adjacent LSU Rural Life Museum is also getting in on the fun with its Haints, Haunts and Halloween country fair on Sunday, October 25.

Sounds of Sunday

Wrap up an exciting weekend by stretching out on a blanket and enjoying more live music at the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge’s Sunday in the Park series. For six straight Sunday afternoons beginning October 4, this free event will bring diverse musical acts from blues to brass to zydeco to North Boulevard Town Square downtown. In addition to the tunes, there will also be face painting, balloon creations and other fun activities to keep kids entertained.