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Rain doesn’t stop Courir de Mardi Gras in Church Point

Posted at 10:17 PM, Mar 03, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-05 12:03:35-05

Not even the pouring rain could stop the Courir de Mardi Gras party in Church Point.

The excitement and energy was high all Sunday morning, as thousands of people gathered to watch the runners chase chickens and the floats roll by.

“We’re from Church Point, we’re natives so we’ve been doing this for a long time. If you compare this to New Orleans or Lafayette even, I mean you don’t have the chicken chasing or the Courir tradition like Church Point,” said parade reveler, Ashley Quibodeaux.

Another person tells KATC’s Dannielle Garcia what he loves most about Courir in Church Point is “the craziness that people go through just to have a parade.”

In the mud and stormy weather, runners still went from field to field catching chickens.

“I caught three today. I’m a smooth talker so they come to me like the women,” joked one of the runners in capuchons.

“I caught two chickens one year when I was 15,” said one onlooker, Emily Melancon.

After all the chickens were caught, the floats rolled through Main Street. And while drinking is sometimes heavily involved, the locals say it’s revolved around the traditions.

“The poor used to beg from the rich so we’re carrying on that tradition from our ancestors,” said one local.

“It’s all about tradition, everything is the same from back in the day. It’s all the same,” said Melancon.

And if you had to sum up the day’s festivities, one runner said it best, “I had fun, it was great, got a little wet, we’re trying to keep the tradition alive.”

Here’s our slide show of photos from the festivities: