A local businessman stepped up to ensure the annual Opelousas Mardi Gras parade will roll on. Emelie Gunn has more…
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It looks like there’s no shortage of crawfish for today’s Mardi Gras celebrations and the upcoming Lenten season. Jeff Palermo has more…
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For most people Mardi Gras means a big party, but for the city of New Orleans, it also means big bucks. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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It is Fat Tuesday a day filled with Mardi Gras parades and celebrations that are centuries old. New Roads native Brian Cosetllo recently wrote a new book called “Carnival in Louisiana: Celebrating Mardi Gras from the French Quarter to the Red River.” He says everyone is familiar with the large Krewe parades in cities like Lafayette and New Orleans, but small towns also get in on the fun.
Cut 4 (11) “community participation”
Costello says one of the more unique traditions that’s rooted in ancient Catholic tradition continues today in coastal Louisiana.
Costello says several Cajun communities will not have any parades or floats today, instead they’ll continue the tradition of the Courir de Mardi Gras, which goes back to the 18th Century.
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The Opelousas Mardi Gras parade will go on as planned today, even after a risk of cancellation, all thanks to businessman Bob Giles. The parade was in jeopardy as the police department faced extreme cuts, making it impossible for them to provide the security detail for the Krewe of Frank Parade. Giles, of Giles Automotive, stepped up to support the community…
The parade will roll at 11:00 a.m. today. Giles says about 20 police officers are needed for three hours to mediate traffic before and after the parade. He says Mardi Gras is a huge part of Louisiana culture and he didn’t want the parade to be canceled due to a lack of funding.
Giles previously donated 55 bulletproof vests to the Opelousas Police Department. Giles says the feeling he gets for helping the community can’t be beat…
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Although the crawfish season got off to a relatively slow start, there is no shortage of mudbugs for the Mardi Gras holiday. That’s according to Dr. Greg Lutz with the LSU Ag Center who says the mild winter Louisiana has helped crawfishermen catch up. But he says because supplies are up, everybody wants to get their hands on a sack.
Lutz says when the weather starts to warm up, people start to have crawfish boils plus the Lenten season is set to start…
Lutz says the further we get into the season, the more helpful rain becomes to freshen up the ponds but currently the weather is doing just fine for the harvest. He says the prices per pound for mudbugs all depend on supply and demand.
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It’s Fat Tuesday, and a report by WalletHub finds more and more people are letting the good times roll in the Bayou State. WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzales says Mardi Gras has an economic impact of $465 million for New Orleans alone. She adds that it’s growing every year as more and more people save up to visit the Big Easy for the Carnival season.
Everyone knows the crowds in the French Quarter are hard to navigate during Mardi Gras. Gonzales says that’s because there’s a huge influx of visitors in the Crescent City.
Cut 14 (10) “city’s population”
Gonzales says float riders spend about $500 on beads and throws, and a ticket to a Krewe ball averages $150. She adds the average Mardi Gras mask is about $6, and King Cakes usually run $35. She says the festivities can get expensive.
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The NFL Scouting Combine gets underway today in Indianapolis and 10 former LSU Tigers will participate. It’s an opportunity for running back Leonard Fournette to show NFL teams he’s over an ankle injury that limited him to seven games last season. Draft Analyst Mike Detillier says teams near the top of the first round will also be interested in talking with Fournette
Detillier says wide receiver Malachi Dupre has the most the gain out of the former LSU Tigers, because the former John Curtis star had trouble catching passes early in 2016
Cut 17 (19) “quarterback play”
Detillier says outside linebacker Duke Riley is moving up the draft boards the fastest out of the former Tigers. He says the Buras native was an unknown player before the start of the 2016 season, now he has a chance to be a second-third round pick if he runs well in the 40-yard dash