Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Your guide to all the Mardi Gras krewes, parades, and parties in Lafayette, Louisiana

Mardi Gras season signals a time of celebration, especially in the heart of Louisiana's Cajun and Creole Country, famous for letting the good times roll, or as Lafayette locals say, laissez les bons temps rouler.

Dubbed the "Happiest City in America" by The Wall Street Journal, Lafayette invites you to let loose and experience all the revelry of Mardi Gras in a family-friendly atmosphere.

The more common Mardi Gras celebrations span two weekends in Lafayette, and in 2024 that's February 2-3 and 9-13. Festivities include parades, old-fashioned Mardi Gras runs (or courir de Mardi Gras), and, of course, plenty of king cake.

Here's your guide to Mardi Gras season in Lafayette this winter:

Courir de Mardi Gras
One of the more unique celebrations is the courir de Mardi Gras. This celebration dates back to medieval France, where disguised revelers dressed in mocking costumes would visit homes on Mardi Gras day.

The smaller towns surrounding Lafayette celebrate the courir with costumed men and women on horseback and trucks. They travel the countryside to beg residents for ingredients to a gumbo, usually with a musical band and onlookers following behind.

Once they arrive in town, a communal gumbo is cooked and enjoyed. For more information on this tradition, click here.

King cake
King cakes date back to 12th-century France, when a cake was baked on the eve of January 6 with a small token hidden inside. Whoever got the token in his or her slice became the royalty of the night.

The original French cakes, known as the galette des rois, were round, reflecting the route taken by the Magi to confuse King Herod, whose army was following the Wise Men.

The Louisiana king cake tradition differs from France. Louisiana king cakes are oval and decorated in the Carnival colors of purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. Some are plain with only decorated sugar on top.

In contrast, others are filled with delicious things like cream cheese, fruit preserves, and praline filling. For a list of places making king cakes in Lafayette — and those that deliver! — click here.

Parades
Parades in Lafayette span two weekends, beginning with Krewe de Canailles on Friday (this year February 2), followed by Krewe des Chiens and Krewe of Rio on Saturday (February 3).

The Saturday before Mardi Gras hosts two parades starting with the Children's Parade, followed by Krewe of Bonaparte, both February 10.

Monday evening (February 12) is Queen Evangeline's Parade, but many of the women's krewes in town will ride on the parade floats as well.

On Mardi Gras day, February 13, 2024, there are three parades in Lafayette, starting with the long-standing King Gabriel's Parade, followed by the Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade, and ending with the Townsquare Media Independent Parade.

Photo courtesy of Lafayette Travel

Lafayette has several Mardi Gras festival parades.

For a complete list of Mardi Gras events in Lafayette and beyond, click here.

There is no better place to broaden your celebration than by exploring the rich cultural history, incredible culinary creations, and the distinctive Cajun and Zydeco music scene found in Lafayette.

So head on down to Lafayette and enjoy the fête — but don't forget to shout, "Throw me something, mister!"

vacation mardis gras parades festivals promoted

REVIVING THE ALAMO

Texas landmark the Alamo reclaims historic cannon from private ownership

Photo by Gower Brown/ Unsplash

A 90-pound cannon used in the Battle of the Alamo is returning to its San Antonio home.

It turns out the Alamo's original 1836 cannons are good for more than just defense — they also make a sturdy birdbath. After serving as a garden ornament for Samuel Maverick’s descendants, an authentic piece of San Antonio history is finally returning home to the revered mission.

According to an Alamo announcement, the swivel cannon weighs 90 pounds and is approximately three feet long. The relic was originally found in 1852 when Maverick built a home near the northwest corner of the battle’s site.

The lawyer and land baron was saved from death when he was urged by William Barret Travis to ride to the Texas Declaration of Independence convention in Washington-on-the-Brazos to send reinforcements. Returning to the Alamo’s grounds, he found a cache of cannons buried where the Hotel Gibbs sits today.

From there, the cannon wound up at the Maverick family’s Sunshine Ranch on the Northwest Side, where it was eventually incorporated into the garden DIY project. In 1955, the cannon was removed from the ranch, and the current location remained a mystery until the Alamo received a call from a Maverick relative in Corpus Christi.

Alamo cannon This Alamo artifact gives an idea of what the cannon will look like once restoration is complete.Photo courtesy of the Alamo.

“The relative graciously donated the cannon to the Alamo,” wrote a rep from the mission. “Alamo Senior Researcher and Historian Kolby Lanham and Head Conservator Pam Jary Rosser drove down the very next day to take this piece of history home to the Alamo.”

Although the artillery is mostly intact, it is missing its trunnions (the pivot-point protrusions on the sides of the barrel) and cascabel (the knob and neck assembly at the rear of historic muzzle-loading cannons). The parts were removed by the Mexican army to make the cannon inoperable.

Once preservation is complete, this cannon and the Alamo Collection’s other battle cannons will make their way to the upcoming Visitor Center and Museum, where they will be joined by rocker Phil Collins' collection of Alamo artifacts. The Alamo is in the midst of a $550 million preservation project, which includes conserving the Alamo Church, Long Barrack, and the mission’s original footprint. The museum is on track to debut in late 2027.

history museums artifacts texas history the alamo