After a five-year hiatus from hosting their Mardi Gras parade in St. Martinville, community leaders decided to celebrate with a festival right in front of the city hall.
On February twenty-seventh, St. Martinville community group "the newcomers" is hosting the city's first Mardi Gras festival. President of the "newcomers" Clara Jean-Batiste says she wants to bring the community back together to celebrate the carnival season.
"We know that it's a lot of families who love to be out there on that day as far as the parade was concerned. Families from different places in Texas, and other states would come here. There was a family gathering on Mardi Gras day."
Mardi Gras usually brings in lots of visitors to the city of St. Martinville, but being that Mardi Gras festivities were canceled many businesses felt the effects.
Now that there is a festival taking place in the downtown area one business owner tells me this will be great for St. Martinville's economy.
"It will affect it because it will generate a lot of people into the city, which is good revenue for the city to get in the economy that we have."
One St. Martinville native says he is excited about the festival and is happy the city is celebrating Mardi Gras again.
"Get the coffee in the mornings watch people party all day and probably party myself a little bit and just have a bon temps bruh."
