ACADIA PARISH — In rural parts of Acadiana, Mardi Gras is marked by the Courir de Mardi Gras — a centuries-old tradition known for its colorful costumes, fringe, tall hats, and the lively chicken chases that run through the countryside.
Those distinctive suits are now being made by the hundreds inside a workshop run by Karen Thibodeaux, the owner and operator of VaCajun, and a longtime costume maker who first began sewing Mardi Gras attire while she was still in college.
Thibodeaux originally focused on stage costumes and Mardi Gras ball attire for large Krewes in Lafayette. But over time, visitors began asking for something different.
“They would say, ‘You don’t do those chicken-chasing costumes?’” Thibodeaux said. “And I would say, ‘I don’t know. I think people’s Maw Maws and Nan Nans make that for them.’ They don’t buy it at a store.”
The requests kept coming. Eventually, Thibodeaux decided to make a few Courir de Mardi Gras costumes to test the interest, and every one sold.
Now, demand has grown significantly. This Mardi Gras season alone, Thibodeaux and her team produced 1,500 handmade Courir de Mardi Gras suits.
The costumes are rooted in a tradition that dates back to the early Acadians. Historically, when food supplies ran low, runners would travel by foot from house to house begging for ingredients, money and food to make a communal gumbo.
To entertain the households they visited, runners dressed in costumes meant to be playful and exaggerated. With limited resources, outfits were often made from ragged clothing, decorated with patches and fringe.
“They would wear costumes just to try to be silly, dress up,” Thibodeaux said. “They didn’t have much, so it was just raggedy clothes. They would sometimes sew patches or what we call fringe on it, and they would go and entertain people, do silly little skits.”
That same make-do spirit still guides how Courir costumes are made today.
After cutting patterns for each suit, Thibodeaux says almost nothing is thrown away. Fabric scraps are carefully sorted and reused — turned into fringe, fashioned into capuchons, or used to decorate masks.
The result is not just a costume, but a continuation of a tradition that blends creativity, history and community — one stitch at a time.
