The rain is behind us but it’s a cold Fat Tuesday for revelers along the parade routes thanks to a blast of Canadian air. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the temps may peak around 50 degrees for south Louisiana….
cut 3 (07) “…southwest Louisiana”
The wind chill is in the 30s in some locations.

So how do you stay warm on a chilly Mardi Gras day? Eating a lot of tasty food is one way to do it. This man along a New Orleans parade route says he’s been cooking since four o’ clock this morning and has enough food to feed about 40 people…
cut 6 (12) “…turkey necks”
It’s a big day of parades in Lake Charles and Lafayette. There’s also a couple of parades in Shreveport.

While many may associate Mardi Gras with catching beads, in small towns like Eunice, the focus is on chasing chickens. Participants dress in costume as part of a 12-mile chicken run, with some on horseback. Captain of the Eunice Mardi Gras Pat Frey says the country version of the Mardi Gras has been going on for 123 years.
Cut 4 (09) “…prepared the gumbo.”
Frey says they expect between 800 to one-thousand people to participate in festivities.

Louisiana is joining a pilot program that will give those seeking addiction treatment the ability to see the “ratings” of a treatment facility on a range of different services they provide. State health department spokesperson Bob Johannessen says the rating system is voluntary, but Johannessen says addiction centers that participate are doing so for a good reason…
cut 14 (09) “..high rating”
Johannessen says they hope the rating system goes live next year.