The first chicken offered to the Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras was tossed into the air by Dale Soileau and from there the run was on.
For five days thousands of people — there is no exact count — turned downtown Eunice into a party that ended with a grand finale of a parade Tuesday afternoon.
Mardi Gras schedules
Eunice Mardi Gras
The event calendar includes the following.
Friday
7 p.m. La Recolte and Jamie Bergeron at 2nd and Walnut streets. Food and drinks.
Saturday
Weather forecasts for the Mardi Gras holiday are increasingly including rain, but Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot says the party is going on rain or shine.
The Eunice Mardi Gras Run is one of the biggest events for the Cajun Prairie Capital during the year and the Feb. 13 event promises to be a return of the revelry that’s been occurring for more than a 100 years.
The Eunice Mardi Gras is scheduled from Feb. 9 to 13.
The event calendar includes the following.
Feb. 9
7 p.m. La Recolte and Jamie Bergeron at 2nd and Walnut streets. Food and drinks.
Feb. 10
The Eptings, Jim and Nancy, of Richmond, Virginia, have traveled by recreational vehicle to the Eunice Mardi Gras every year since 2002.
The Eunice Mardi Gras wrapped up with a big finish for the courir and the downtown street party.
For L’Anse aux Pailles native Donald Johnson, his favorite Courir de Mardi Gras was his first.
Johnson said, “I was 11 years old. Mardi Gras was new to me. I didn’t know anything about that. I was just riding a horse.”
The Mardi Gras celebration continues in Eunice today with a children’s run, boucherie and more live music on 2nd Street.