Talk of the Town - February 2017

When Kids Are Kings

These smaller coast Mardi Gras parades are guaranteed to bring out the kid in everyone! 
- story by Karen Fineran, photos by Ellis Anderson 

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 There are plenty ofbig traditional parades on the Coast each year, from the Krewe of Nereids in Waveland (celebrating their 50th year in 2017!) to the enormous St. Paul’s parade in Pass Christian.  

Other parades roll through Bay St. Louis also, including the Krewe of Diamonds on Fat Tuesday, and the Mystic Krewe of Seahorse on Lundi Gras.  The Shoofly's Upcoming Events has info for all of these!

But if you’re looking for something different, or something especially for the kids, the Coast also features two children’s parades and a horse and buggy parade!

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Krewe of Kids

photos from the 2015 Krewe of Kids Parade 

Instead of just taking your children to watch the Mardi Gras parades, how about you take them to roll in one themselves?  Your kids will love the opportunity to be on the throwing end of the beads and cups for a change!  

On Saturday, February 18, the Bay St. Louis Krewe of Kids Mardi Gras Parade rolls down Dunbar Avenue at 11 a.m., featuring kids on festooned bikes, wagons, shopping carts, and sometimes even canoes on wheels.  

​The parade will start across from Dunbar Village on Dunbar Avenue heading to Larroux Park at the corner of Dunbar and Julia Street, then back.  Paraders stop at Dunbar Village to greet the senior king and queen there, then return to Dunbar Village for a party after the parade.

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Biloxi Children's Mardi Gras Walking Parade

While you can’t be in two places at the same time, if you love seeing small children costumed up and marching down the street, another option is the children’s parade in Biloxi.  

The 17th Annual Biloxi Children’s Mardi Gras Walking Parade also takes place on Saturday, February 18 at 10 a.m. in downtown Biloxi. The route will begin under the I-110 overpass on Howard Avenue and travel east on Howard to Reynoir Street, then turn south, ending at a celebration at the Mardi Gras Museum at 119 Rue Magnolia.

​There, folks can enjoy refreshments, a costume and float contest, Mardi Gras art activities, and the opportunity to meet and have pictures taken with the Gulf Coast Carnival Association Royal Court.

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Krewe of Legacy

On Saturday, February 11 at 1 p.m., the 9th Annual Krewe of Legacy Mardi Gras Parade rolls through Pass Christian.  Unlike the more traditional Pass Parade with floats (held this year on Sunday, February 26), the much smaller and more eccentric legacy parade features horse and buggies, golf carts and antique cars, as well as some floats. 
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The parade will roll throughout a 5-mile circular route north of Interstate 10, starting on the corner of J.P. Ladner Road and Vidalia Road, and then continue down J.P. Ladner Road until it takes a right on Edwin Ladnier Road, then a right on Vidalia Road. The route will end right where it began.

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