Harlan Kirgan
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.
“We are going to have music playing, drinks flowing. “It is going to be a fun five days,” he said.
The party starts in Eunice at 2nd and Walnut streets Friday afternoon.
There be an opening ceremony at about 6:45 p.m. and the music begins at 7 p.m.
Evidence of the party should be appearing today as the city crews assemble barricades, and on Friday the stage and vendor booths will go up.
There are about 14 food vendors and 14 to 15 arts and crafts booths planned at the Mardi Gras celebration.
The mayor said judging from calls to his office there will be visitors from across the nation and world.
A journalist from Australia is planning to ride in the Courir de Mardi Gras that starts about 9 a.m. Tuesday on a 12-mile trip through the country that ends in downtown Eunice at about 3 p.m.
A CNN crew may spend time in Eunice over the weekend and on Mardi Gras, he said.
“I think it is going to be pretty cool. I know we are expecting visitors from all over,” he said.
As for the weather, Fontenot said he doesn’t think the tourists care about it.
“I think if the city can do one extra thing we may sell ponchos,” he said.
That’s the realization the party goes on no matter what the weather turns out to be.
The forecasts include: 30 percent chance of rain Friday increasing to 60 percent Friday night; 70 percent chance of rain Saturday; 60 percent chance of rain Saturday night; 50 percent chance of rain Sunday; 40 percent chance of rain Monday; and 80 percent chance of rain on Mardi Gras.
Fontenot has another forecast, “The area will be filled with people from out of town. We want to make sure they leave with a good impression of our city. Most of the people who come for Mardi Gras come back. That’s a good thing”