Does swamp life interest you? Have a sweet tooth? Is cosplay your thing?

Fairs, festivals and expos in the area this weekend highlight those and other passions as fall gatherings usher in October.

Here's a look at some of these outdoor and indoor events in south h over the next few days:

Swamp expo

The Iberville Parish Swamp Life Expo will give visitors the backstory, tastes, sounds and more of Atchafalaya Basin swamp living from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The event will take place under the oaks of the Iberville Visitors Center, 17525 La. 77, in Grosse Tete. 

"The expo is a unique tribute to the culture and heritage of the Atchafalaya River Basin, including folk art, ecological and educational exhibits, demonstrations, free samplings of some favorite Cajun dishes, and live swamp pop music by Justin Cornett with Denver Mayeux," a news release said. "The Atchafalaya Basin is known as America’s largest river swamp and one of the most productive ecological systems on the planet, next to the Amazon Rain Forest."

Local fishermen will demonstrate the art of weaving fishing nets, making crawfish traps and maintaining catfish hoop nets. Also hear about native plants, see and buy local handicrafts and art, and watch arrowhead making demonstrations. Kids can make a bluebird house, hold live bull frogs and do hands-on river modeling.

Also, an exhibit by the Barataria Terrebonne Nation Estuary Program (BTNEP), an alligator display, putt-putt boats with Lockwood motors, hand-crafted cypress boats and boat paddles, flint knapping, wood carving art, swamp flower art, swamp paintings, jewelry, and home-cooked dishes and desserts for tasting.

The free event is sponsored by the Iberville Parish Council and Parish President J. Mitchell Ourso Jr.

or (225) 687-2642

SugarFest

A celebration of the sugar cane harvest? Sounds sweet to us.

West Baton Rouge Museum, 845 N. Jefferson Ave., in Port Allen is host for SugarFest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

It's the 27th SugarFest, a free, all-ages event.

Visitors can learn about local culture, music and history with a variety of folk art and occupational craft demonstrations, peek inside museum exhibits and historic buildings, watch cane cutting and grinding demonstrations, cane syrup boiling, and hear live blues, Dixieland jazz, folk, Cajun, zydeco and bluegrass.

Demos include praline candy making, blacksmithing, bousillage making, wood working with antique hand tools and spinning.

Food and drink will be available for purchase, artists will be selling their wares, and there will be rum tastings for those 21 and older. 

or (225) 336-2422

Comic Con

Where can you see the iconic pro wrestler Sting, actress Kristy Swanson ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film) and actor Ethan Suplee ("The Quarry," "My Name Is Earl")?

It's h Comic Con, a two-day event featuring guest appearances from actors, actresses, voice-over and graphic novel artists, vendors and fan groups.

The convention happens from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Cajundome Convention Center, 444 Cajundome Blvd., in Lafayette.

On the guest list are Steve Borden ("Sting"), Giancarlo Esposito, wrestler Britt Baker, Swanson, Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, Jason Marsden, Bill Farmer, Judith Hoag, Kimberly J. Brown, Suplee, Taryn Manning, Cal Dood, Keone Young, David Matranga, Natalie Van Sistine, Megan Shipman, Jad Saxton, Alexis Tipton, Ian Sinclair, Bonnie Gordon, Tim Lattie, Kody Chamberlain, Scott Innes, The Great Boudini aka Ken Meaux, Leigh McNasty, Little Red Fox Cosplay, Little Ms Cosplay, Retterscosplay and James Spence Authentication.

Panel discussions are scheduled each day, and there'll be a large vendors' area.  

Daily tickets are $30, and weekend passes are $50.

or

Antique fall fest

There will be events throughout the entire Denham Springs Antique Village for its annual Fall Festival from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

Free activities include live music, kids' fun zone and artist demonstrations.

The village's shops will offer their antiques  and collectibles at special festival pricing for the day.

Festival entertainment will take place all day on the Train Station Park and Centerville stages. Lawn chairs are allowed.

Here's this year’s entertainment lineup:

  • Train Station stage: Jim and James Linden Hogg, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.; Essential Groove, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.; Pets Spook-tacular Costume Contest, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; Odyssey Dance 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.; Dem Beuche Boyz, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; Serenity Dance 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.; and Clifton Brown, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
  • Centerville stage: River City Boys, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.; Amethyst, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Canned Music, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; and Ashton Gill, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Also look for free children’s activities  (courtesy of Healing Place Church), the Arts Council's Arts Avenue on Mattie Street with deejay Shawn Perrion playing tunes; an operating model railroad train on display in front of Old City Hall on Mattie, pet adoptions and the Denham Springs Fire Department and Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Department's interactive safety demonstrations throughout the day.

More than 160 local and regional artists and craftsmen will offer a wide range of everything from furniture to collectibles, folk art, rugs, jewelry, glass, textiles, pottery, garden, architectural antiques and more.

The event is produced by the Denham Springs Antique Village Merchants Association and their partner, Pelican State Credit Union.

Walker fall fest

The City of Walker Annual Fall Festival runs through Sunday in Sidney Hutchinson Park, 30255 Corbin Ave., Walker.

The four-day event will feature carnival rides, food trucks, pumpkin patch, benefit car show and farmer’s market. Performing will be Parish County Line, 1-10 Bound Band, the Paul and Pete Band, the MoJoes, Stormy the Band, NaNaSha and Elvis tribute artist Nick Perkins. 

Also happening this weekend:

  • Jaycees Jambalaya Cookoff, 7 a.m. to noon Saturday, Ponchatoula's Memorial Park, North 6th St.,
  • Manhattan Short Film Fest, 7 p.m., Friday, Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St., $9.50,
  • Cat Video Fest, 2 p.m. Sunday, Manship Theatre, 100 Lafayette St., $9.50,
  • KBON Festival, Friday-Sunday, 210 Frog Festival Drive, Rayne, fan appreciation festival co-hosted by Down Syndrome Association of Acadiana,
  • Tangipahoa Parish Fair, through Sunday, 400 Reid Ave., Amite,
  • Roberts Cove Germanfest, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7212 Roberts Cove Road, Rayne,

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.