Harlan Kirgan
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.
Eunice Mayor Scott Fontenot said, “Overall, I think it was a pretty fun Mardi Gras and it was safe.”
This year’s Mardi Gras was marked by rain and cold as it started Friday.
During the day Saturday the rain was nearly constant. Bands had to be cancelled, but in the evening the rain stopped.
“We ended up having the last two bands come on and the crowd really came out,” Fontenot said.
But overall, Fontenot said the crowds were a little less than last year when the weather was much more favorable.
However, on Saturday when the rain fell steady until about 7 p.m. vendors who stuck around for the evening entertainment sold out, he said.
Sundays boucherie attendance was lighter than usual, he said.
“Monday night was a decent crowd, but it was like blistering cold,” he said.
“Tuesday ended up being really good,” he said.
The Courir de Mardi Gras arrives in Eunice at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday and that is when a light rain took aim on the downtown.
Tourists stayed for the Mardi Gras Run’s return and so did enough locals to make for a crowd numbering in the thousands, he said.
Visitors came from all over the world for the Eunice Mardi Gras, he said.
“I talked to people from all over the country,” Fontenot said.
“They love Eunice,” he said.