Just what is this Mardi Gras, anyway?

    If you’re visiting Lafayette and Acadiana during the 2014 Mardi Gras, you probably have lots of questions. Here’s a quick primer to all things Carnival.
    When is Mardi Gras? Mardi Gras is Tuesday, March 4.
    Where do the parades roll in Lafayette? All parades will begin at the corner of Simcoe, Jefferson and Surrey streets and end at Cajun Field, except for the Children's Parade which is abbreviated. You can view a parade route here.

     When do the parades roll in Lafayette? Parades will be rolling through the streets of Lafayette Friday evening (Friday Night Parade, Feb. 28), Saturday (Children's Parade, Youngsville Parade, Krewe of Bonaparte, March 1), Monday evening (Queen Evangeline's Parade, March 3) and all day on Tuesday (March 4, Mardi Gras). There are more parades rolling throughout Acadiana; check the Lafayette Travel web site for the complete list or "like" our Facebook page for updates.
    What’s up with the barricades? The Lafayette Police Department places barricades along the parade route for the public’s safety. Please remain behind the barricades when the parades are rolling. The barricades will go up on Thursday, Feb. 27, and remain until after the parades on Tuesday, March 4.
    Will streets be closed? The Lafayette Police Department will close all streets on and around the parade route one hour before the event begins. The intersection of University Avenue and Johnston Street, along with the intersection of St. Mary Boulevard and Johnston Street, will remain open as crossover intersections until the parade is only several blocks from the location.
    I’m worried about my children. Are they safe? Lafayette offers a family friendly Mardi Gras and you should not encounter any problems. But like any event involving crowds, you might want to place a note in the pocket of each child with the child’s name, address and contact telephone number.
    If there is an emergency during a parade, or a lost child, what do we do? Police will be available along the parade routes but command posts are established at Fire Station No 1 at Vermilion and Lee streets, Fire Station No. 5 at Johnston and St. Julien streets, Lafayette Police Command Bus at Johnston Street and S. College and at Cajun Field. Medical assistance is available at ambulance units stationed on the parade route.
    I have a handicapped person in my party. Where do we go? The 500 block of Jefferson Boulevard (between South Orange and South Sterling streets) and at Vermilion and Lee Street and St. Julien and Johnston Street, in front of the police command post, are viewing areas for the handicapped. 

    Are there Carnival costume contests? The annual King’s Court Costume Contest begins at 9 a.m. Mardi Gras Day (March 4) at Parc San Souci downtown. Pre-registration is not required but contestants are asked to be on-site in costume prior to 9 a.m. The theme for this year’s costume contest is Treasures of the Earth. Contestants will be judged in 5 classifications: Pre-School, 6-10 years old, 11-15 years old, Adults and Groups. For more information call 337-291-5566. The Mardi Gras Show at Clark Field is another event that offers costume contests, in addition to Mardi Gras Indians, food and live music.
    What about festivals in addition to the parades? Le Festival de Mardi Gras a Lafayette offers a carnival midway, live music, food and, best of all, the parades end here! It all happens nightly Feb. 28-March 4 at Cajun Field.
    What is the Cajun Mardi Gras? The “Courir de Mardi Gras” is a rural Mardi Gras celebration that dates back to the earliest days of settlement. With its roots in Medieval times, bands of masked and costumed horseback riders roam the countryside “begging” for ingredients for their communal gumbo.

Carnival Fun in Cajun/Creole Country

    And you thought the holidays were over? In Lafayette and surrounding areas, the fun keeps on going.
    Jan. 6 begins the Carnival season in Cajun and Creole Country, the 12th Night of Christmas, or Epiphany, when the Three Wise Men brought gifts to the baby Jesus. The season of Carnival continues until Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which this year is Feb. 12.
    In a sense, it’s a religious holiday, created in Europe and continued in Catholic South Louisiana.
    “The Catholic Church licensed Carnival, which means ‘farewell to flesh,’ as a period of feasting before the fasting of Lent,” writes Arthur Hardy in his annual “Mardi Gras Guide.” “The Church also established the set date for the start of the Carnival season — Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany — and the fluctuating date of Mardi Gras.”

    We celebrate the Epiphany by enjoying King Cakes with tiny babies inside — the person who gets the baby in their piece must host the next king cake and so it goes until Mardi Gras day! Carnival organizations called krewes host balls during the Carnival season with royalty and revelry, then parade through the streets throwing beads and trinkets. There’s even a krewe for canines, the Krewe des Chiens Parade for Dogs!
    Unique to Cajun and Creole Country is the ancient Carnival tradition of courirs, where costumed men and women on horseback travel the countryside to beg residents for ingredients to a gumbo, usually with a musical band and onlookers following behind. This tradition dates back to medieval France, including the costumes that mimic the educated and those in power. Once the courir arrives in town, a communal gumbo is cooked and enjoyed and usually there is lots of great music and dancing.
    Carnival and Mardi Gras in Lafayette is more appropriate for families, a safer and more relaxed version of the revelry found in New Orleans. Lafayette also offers Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette with rides and live music that occurs Feb. 8-12 at Cajun Field. Parking for RVs is available here as well and the parades roll right through the festival!
    For a complete schedule of activities, parade route map and answers to every question you might have about Carnival and Mardi Gras in Cajun and Creole Country, visit LafayetteTravel.com.