Courtesy of Cajun Mardi Gras Festival/Eunice, LA
It’s a Mardi Gras celebration in the Cajun tradition in Eunice, and it has its big finish today. The Cajun Mardi Gras festival started last Friday and wraps up today with a parade that pays tribute to the heritage and customs of the Acadian people who settled in southwest Louisiana. Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot says it attracts people from not just all across the country, but from all over the world; and he says it’s something that most people have never witnessed in their entire lives.
“It’s a big group of men and women who dress up in costumes. Old medieval style, masks, capuchon, the whole outfit,” Fontenot explained.
Mayor Fontenot says it’s actually more of a run than a parade.
“They have some (participants) on horseback, they may be walking, or they may be on a trailer. We have Cajun-French music bands playing the whole time,” Fontenot said.
The participants run through the countryside begging for ingredients for the gumbo that they’ll make at the end. While the weather will likely turn rainy and windy by the end, that’s not going to stop the participants – in fact, nothing has ever stopped them.
“They never stopped for rain, sleet, snow. They even did the run during Covid when they had the lockdown,” Fontenot said.
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