Prepared for Mardi Gras
City prepares well ahead for Carnival
LAFAYETTE — About a month after the last bead is flung, the board members of the Greater Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association will gather together to map out what went right, what went wrong and what everyone can do to make next year’s celebration even better.
The debriefing session brings in the association’s 30 volunteer board members, representatives of the Lafayette Police Department and other decision-making officials in an effort “to check for holes,” said longtime board member and association treasurer Val Domingue.
“We don’t worry about waiting until next year to begin plugging them (holes),” Domingue said.
This quick-minded response, Domingue said, is a key to the success of Lafayette’s Mardi Gras celebration — an economic powerhouse that accounts for an estimated $110 million in spending and $9 million in overall taxes generated for the parish, according to a 2010 economic impact study commissioned by the association and the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission.
The association oversees six parades: the Krewe of Bonaparte, Queen Evangeline’s Parade, King Gabriel’s Parade, the KADN/KLAF Independent Parade, the Children’s Parade and a parade known as “The Friday Night Parade.”
Together, the parades boast 139 floats with more than 2,700 riders and 74 bands with about 5,920 band members, Domingue said.
The association also coordinates its major fundraiser, “Le Festival de Mardi Gras a’ Lafayette” at Cajun Field, which features carnival rides and free concerts that will continue through Tuesday.
For the first time, parade-goers will also be able to track the location of the parades by downloading the free Lafayette Mardi Gras app available on iPhone and Android smartphones.
Each float is enabled with a GPS device, which “will show the parade as it goes down the street,” Domingue said.
The app also boasts a history of Mardi Gras in Lafayette, information about each of the Mardi Gras Krewes, and band schedules for the Mardi Gras carnival at Cajun Field, Domingue said.
“Every year we do a little bit more to make it better and better,” Domingue said.
The association does not oversee the Lafayette Mardi Gras Festival Parade, which is organized by the autonomous Lafayette Mardi Gras Association, and runs between the king’s parade and the independent parade on Tuesday.
In other Mardi Gras-related news, Kelly Mouisset, event organizer of “The Family Friendly Mardi Gras,” said she has watched attendance at the alcohol- and tobacco-free event grow from about 800 in its first year in 2009 to about 2,000 during last year’s rain-filled Mardi Gras.
She said she expects more than 3,000 people to attend this year’s event, which is held at Parc Putnum, across from the federal courthouse.
“The event is used to provide an alternative area for families to enjoy Mardi Gras and all it has to offer in a safe, family friendly area,” she said.
The free event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and will feature fun jumps, obstacle courses, tricycle races, a football throw, balloons, face painting, gaming tournament, music, free food and drinks, Mouisset said.
On the public safety front, State Police announced that troopers will participate in parades and Mardi Gras activities in every troop area, including events in Lafayette and St. Martinville.
Troopers also plan to conduct extensive DWI saturation patrols and safety checkpoints to remove impaired drivers from the roadways and promote safe driving practices, according to a news release.
During the 2010 festivities, there were 509 crashes statewide, which resulted in 11 fatalities and 870 injuries. Fifty-five percent of the deaths were alcohol-related, according to statistics by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
To combat those figures, LHSC has contracted with about 45 law enforcement agencies to increase DWI enforcement from Feb. 5 to Feb. 21. The agency provides grants that are used to pay officers overtime to conduct saturation patrols and checkpoints, the commission said in a news release last week.
“Mardi Gras is one of the events that makes Louisiana so unique and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to our state,” said Lt. Col. John LeBlanc, executive director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
“Unfortunately, too many revelers during this period make the terrible decision to drive while impaired, which often results in an injury or fatal crash.”
All streets in and around the parade route Tuesday will be closed until the completion of the final parade of the day, Lafayette police spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton said.
The intersections of University Avenue and Johnston Street and St. Mary Boulevard and Johnston Street will remain open as crossover intersections until the parade moves within several blocks of those locations, Mouton said.
The department will maintain command posts at Vermilion and Lee Street; Johnston and St. Julien Street; Johnston Street and South College; and at Cajun Field, Mouton said.
For more information, visit gomardigras.com.