Mardi Gras Season Coming to Shreveport-Bossier City
Shreveport-Bossier, LA - Louisiana’s Shreveport-Bossier City region is preparing to kick off the 2023 Mardi Gras season with events scheduled from Jan. 14 - Feb. 21, 2023. From family-friendly parades and entertainment to balls and parties, visitors and residents alike will find a variety of Mardi Gras fun to experience.
“We absolutely love sharing this time of year with our guests and encourage everyone to make travel plans now, booking hotel rooms, reserving a spot at a favorite restaurant and getting the perfect costume pulled together,” said Stacy Brown, president of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau (SBCTB). “Activities include numerous parades, formal events, food and wine tastings and athletic events.”
Events include:
Krewe of Sobek Parade
Sat., Jan. 14, 2023; Louisiana State Fairgrounds
Krewe of Harambee MLK Day Parade
Mon., Jan. 16, 2023; Downtown Shreveport
African American History Parade
Sat., Feb. 4, 2023; Shreveport Municipal Auditorium; 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Krewe of Centaur Parade
Sat., Feb. 11, 2023; Clyde Fant Pkwy., Shreveport; 3 p.m.
Krewe of Barkus and Meoux Parade
Sun., Feb, 12, 2023; Louisiana State Fairgrounds
Krewe of Gemini Parade
Sat., Feb. 18, 2023; Clyde Fant Pkwy., Shreveport; 3 p.m.
Krewe of Highland Parade
Sun., Feb. 19, 2023; Highland Neighborhood, Shreveport; 1 p.m.
Mardi Gras 2023
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
For more information about the parades and other Mardi Gras events, visit http://shreveportmardigras.com/.
“Shreveport-Bossier City is renowned for its friendliness, genuine encounters, delectable cuisine, gaming, and entertainment,” added Brown. “Every type of traveler can find somewhere to stay in Shreveport-Bossier, from the frantic energy of a downtown hotel to the serene pleasures of a historic bed-and-breakfast.”
Mardi Gras is steeped in history. From Rome, Mardi Gras moved across Europe to countries like France, Germany, Spain and England. As a result, Mardi Gras' excess and revelry became a premonition of Lent's 40 days of fasting and penance between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. French-Canadian adventurer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville named the area "Pointe du Mardi Gras" after settling there 60 miles south of New Orleans. Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville celebrated the first Mardi Gras with his soldiers in America.
By the 1730s, Mardi Gras was openly celebrated in Louisiana, though without today's parades. The Marquis de Vaudreuil, the governor of Louisiana at the beginning of the 18th century, hosted elegant social gatherings that became the model for current Mardi Gras celebrations.
Shreveport-Bossier City has embraced influences from around the world, combining them to create their own unique flavors. A culinary paradise with origins in the French, Spanish, African, Sicilian, Caribbean, Irish, German and American Indian cultures can be found in its restaurants. The melting pot of cultures infuses the rich attractions, events and culinary experience Shreveport-Bossier City offers.
The Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for Caddo and Bossier Parishes in North Louisiana. For more information about Shreveport-Bossier, visit Shreveport-Bossier.org.
CONTACT
Katharyn DeVille
Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau
(318) 429-0638
kdeville@sbctb.org
RELEASE DATE:
January 12, 2023
The official press release is available for download below.
