In less than fifteen years, Alexandria’s Mardi Gras Parade has become a regional attraction, bringing in more than 120,000 people every year to share in our festivities. Alexandria’s Mardi Gras is one of several throughout the state of Louisiana.

This year, the City will plant thousands of blockades along the parade route in order to provide better security and a more controlled and fluid parade.

As we look forward to future festivities, what can the community do to ensure that our Mardi Gras continues to be a destination for people throughout the region? Obviously, Alexandria offers a different kind of Mardi Gras than New Orleans. How can we best capitalize on those differences?

16 thoughts

  1. I think Alexandria should market its Mardi Gras as Louisiana’s family-friendly parade. Many families want their children to share in the Louisiana tradition of Mardi Gras, but New Orleans Mardi Gras is so adult-oriented that parents decide to opt out. Alexandria should take the lead in promoting a family oriented parade and should attract marching bands and second-line acts to help us out.

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  2. Can we try a little harder when it comes to the grand marshals? That’s my only knock. Lafayette gets CHiPs actor Erik Estrada, which isn’t a world-beater, but he’s somebody everybody knows, right?

    We have Faith Ford and brand-new Chicago Cub Juan Pierre gracing this area as their hometowns, and can go the ‘famous person invited’ route, too.

    No disrespect for the young lady they chose this year, but I think it’s time we stepped this thing up a notch and gave it some star power. Just my two cents.

    Otherwise, I like the family-friendliness of Cenla’s Mardi Gras celebrations.

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  3. TOTALLY agree with RON! We never ever have any big names as our Grand Marshal…..and there’s no reason we can’t! Let’s make it happen.

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  4. You guys are right. We can probably get Screech from Saved by the Bell, or Jared the Subway guy, or that guy who did the light saber thing on the internet, or maybe even Booger from the “Nerds” franchise, and there is always Long duck dong. Our prospects are endless. Let’s get to work for next year.

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  7. You all may be right on this “star power” angle,but I don’t look up the name of the Grand Marshal to see if I want to go or not. The kids drag me to get the beads reguardless of who’s the Grand Marshal.

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  8. Oh, I hear ya, Tom; no doubt it’s a non-factor when it comes to crowds at the parade, but I can tell you this much… when we lured Chubby Checker in for the Taste of Mardi Gras event 2-3 years ago, it was the hottest ticket in town.

    It’s just nice to see a local event have a little star power from time to time.

    That’s why we (try so hard to) work with local festivals and event hosts, when invited to, to bring big names in the entertainment industry to the area.

    It’s a win-win; we (locally) get to experience a larger-than-typical for this area event, and we also draw people from other parts of the state (and sometimes region) to a.)see a performer they obviously wanted to see, b.) get a taste of what our area is like, and c.) add some revenue to our coffers.

    I’ll go on record as saying this… it’s been a tough thing to do here. The cities of Pineville and Alexandria have essentially KILLED Riverfest, after a nice run. Pineville wanted to do their own thing, Alexandria put their eggs in the ‘Que’in on the Red’ basket, all the while promising not to aim for Riverfest sponsors to fund the BBQ event. They did anyhow, though, and now we’ve gained a BBQ festival where people can’t buy barbecue but DO get to see an overpaid old-school R&B act that folks on the GAEDA board and music committee wanted to see (read: a smattering of people) and we’ve lost a weekend festival that offered diverse entertainment that caters to many kinds of music lovers and from various formats of music.

    Riverfest saw Marc Broussard, Bowling For Soup, Saving Jane, Percy Sledge, Sammy kershaw, Rockin’ Dopsey, Jason Ashley, Dexter Freebish, to name a few national and regional hit-makers.

    So far, the BBQ festival has given us a re-populated “Commodores” that lacked a certain Lionel Richie, but DID cost tens of thousands of $$$, and this year, Pat Green and a batch of old-school R&B pieces that have formed an “all stars of funk” band.

    But back to the main point of my prior post… Lafayette organizers work well with their media partners and outlets to get music acts, for example, at their Mardi Gras events. Trent Tomlinson’s a pretty big deal in the country music scene, and will be performing Friday night in Lafayette. Up-n-coming pop/r&b artist Rbin Thicke’s on-stage Saturday.

    We offer, all the time, to help in booking acts like that, and more often than not (esp. in the BBQ festival’s case) get turned away so that the desires of those on the committees are met rather than hearing what those of us in the music indsutry learn from catering to our listeners.

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  9. Because Alexandria is filled with small minds. People have lived here and never experienced any other culture or surroundings. They think a road trip is going to Pineville. Until this thought process is changed Alexandria will always be this “old money” town. I think someone needs to be a modern thinker and quit rubbing elbows and trying to impress the “big wigs” who are nothing more than bottom feeders that are eating tax money and giving it away to “their people”. Everything in Alexandria is a popularity contest and the demographics are “lopsided”. Basically what our so called leaders do is try to copycat other cities around the state (Lafayette, New Orleans, Baton Rouge) which is a joke. Alexandria is nothing like those cities (and actually a joke to the rest of the state). Each of those cities has a large university, a strong work force and a higher average income per person. It would take 20 years to catch Lafayette if you started today. But with the idiots you have on the city council and in office (of course I am not sure about Roy he may change some things) it is not going to happen, oh yea and the GAEDA board…what a joke. People need to get real, so in short no you will never attract anything more than the regular country rednecks from the woods and the hood rats to this Mardi Gras. It’s funny… last night I heard on the news that Mardi Gras has a 20-30 MILLION DOLLAR IMPACT on Alexandria, you have got to be joking I would like to know where these figures come from, you tell me that people from Woodworth/Jena/Boyce are going to gas up here, and spend the night and eat in our restaurants? Alexandria is a joke to the rest of the state, and this Mardi Gras is a joke and what celebrity in their right mind is going to come here to be the Marshall? But hey, let’s just pay them to come here to “attract” people to our Mardi Gras. That’s the way we think here, if you did have a celebrity Marshall it would still be the same country rednecks and hoodrats as the year before.

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  10. Also, I just thought about the economic impact that I stated and if you estimate 150,000 people at Mardi Gras, each person would have to spend $200 to make 30 million. I am not sure how they are getting these figures but if anyone has a clue, please let me know.

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  12. I am just telling the truth. What does this place have to offer your children (if you have any)? How would you describe the economy? Do you feel as though Alexandria has something to offer post college graduates? Do you feel as though people want to retire here that weren’t raised here? I understand some people want to keep it “small” and an everyone knows everyone type city. The fact is I just don’t see Alexandria as a great place to live and it is so prejudice here that it is crazy. The decisions that are made are so bias that it isn’t even funny.

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  13. See, yo ucould be frustrated with ‘Yep’s’ attitude, but the fact of the matter is, folks who try to bring this area in line with other growing, progressive metropolitan areas in our region get frustrated BECAUSE the privileged few who call the shots do what they damn well WANT for themselves and to hell with anybody else.

    He’s right; why should our young people WANT to stay here aftet they graduate? Just to be near their folks? That’s about all there is right now.

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  14. Yep is absolutely correct.

    There is an incredible amount bias in almost every faucet of life in Alexandria and instead of improving, some system, I’ve not yet identified which, is perpetuating the problem.

    I cannot understand why any new graduate would choose to remain in Alexandria, unless they were staying to be close to family as Ron said. I chose not to live in Alexandria because there is no system in place to allow me to succeed my chosen profession. Also, there is very little in the form of entertain offered in Louisiana and certainly no place to take guests (and a distinct lack of accomodations that are younger than I am.)

    The parade needs to promote a friendlier image of Alexandria, boasting attractions that will attract more than one specific demographic. The children will also be the main factors in actual attendance because they want the candy and beads being freely given. There isn’t much in place to attract a single adult with no children in their care.

    I have great faith in Mayor Roy and know that he is working to change many systems in the city; however, he is only one man. The community must come together and demand improvement. If that doesn’t happen, you can expect the state to stagnate and worsen progressively, or exponentially as the case may be.

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