BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisiana State Penitentiary will host its first Fall Arts and Crafts Show at the prison on December 4, 2021, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. The show is a family event featuring food, fun, and inmate-made hobby crafts. Some of the items for sale include handmade jewelry, leathercrafts, paintings, bar-b-que pits, purses, belts, swings, rocking chairs, and tables.

The event was created this year as an alternative to the Prison Rodeo, which has been cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic. The Rodeo is a tradition that is always looked forward to by the prison population, their family members, and the general public. The show is a scaled down opportunity to maintain those connections which supports overall stability within our prison population.

“This is going to be a special event, both for our prison population and the general public,” said Secretary Jimmy Le Blanc, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. “Because of waning infection rates and increasing vaccination rates inside our state prisons, we have been able to reopen prisoner visitation and now are able to open the prison to the public. For two years, COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of the world famous Angola Prison Rodeo, which has never happened in the Rodeo’s 57 year history.

Tickets for the show are $5 and go on sale Monday, October 25, 2021, at www.angolarodeo.com. Tickets are also available at the gate on the day of the festival.

Tickets are required for ages 14 and older, along with proof of vaccination. Currently, children under the age of 14 may not attend. However, this restriction is subject to change, which may allow children under 14 to attend free of charge. For more information and updates, visit the Rodeo website at www.angolarodeo.com.