It’s that time of year again: parades, parties, king cakes and crawfish – Mardi Gras season is underway in Shreveport-Bossier. To spread the word about our busy calendar of Carnival season events, the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau (publishers of this blog) have joined forces with Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q and Visit Tyler to host a huge Mardi Gras party at Stanley’s on Friday, Jan. 27. The free party begins at 7 p.m. and all ages are welcome, but guests under 21 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
We’re calling the event the Shreveport-Bossier Mardi Gras Roadshow. There’ll be free king cake slices, Mardi Gras beads galore, live New Orleans-style second line and jazz music from the Sabine River Brass Band with opening act Dustin Becker and Chris Oliver, door prizes, a photo booth by Folsom Photo Bus and a few more surprises. Hint: If you like New Orleans-style cocktails, and you’re 21 years of age or older, you may want to show up early and stop by the info table. We’ll even have some Shreveport-Bossier Mardi Gras royalty in the house. Here’s the official Facebook event, if you’d like to RSVP or invite friends.
All of this is just a way to say “thanks” to the party people of East Texas for supporting Mardi Gras festivities in Shreveport-Bossier throughout the years. We’ll also be handing out print copies of the Gris Gris Guide to Mardi Gras in Shreveport-Bossier, our popular annual Carnival season guide, and making sure that our friends in East Texas know the dates and details of major upcoming parades and events. Big upcoming events include the Krewe of Centaur XXVI Parade on Saturday, Feb. 18, the Krewe of Gemini XXVIII Parade on Saturday, Feb. 25 and the Krewe of Highland XXII Parade on Sunday, Feb. 26.
If you live in East Texas, please consider joining us. Let us offer you some cake, deck you out in beads and say “thanks.” It’s always a good thing to know your neighbors, after all.
Featured photo: A Mardi Gras reveler on the Krewe of Highland Parade route in 2013. Photo by Jim Noetzel.
