Harlan Kirgan
The Eunice Mardi Gras Run is scheduled despite certain cold and the threat of freezing rain, sleet, snow and the ever-present COVID-19.
Captaine Pat Frey said there are still a few spots left for participants in the run. Registration is being accepted. Check the Le Vieux Mardi Gras De Cajuns de Eunice’s Facebook page. The registration fee is $30.
The run is limited to 150 participants due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Normally, the run includes hundreds of participants on horseback, foot and riding on trailers.
This year marks the 125th run, he said.
“We’d still go even if we have one runner that’s there,” Frey said.
The run will assemble at 7 a.m. at the Northwest Community Center and leave there at 9 a.m.
The public can come and watch anywhere along the route, he said.
There are five to six trailers in this year’s run and 20 to 25 horses, he said.
Costumes are mandated for the run.
The usual city-sponsored street party in downtown Eunice is not scheduled.
The virus situation also means runners won’t be offered a shot of whiskey before the run starts. They runners will have to bring their own beer.
The registration fee for the run usually includes beer, but not this year. But the fee will include a boudin lunch and gumbo to go at the end of the run.
The runners will still chase chickens.
According to the Eunice Mardi Gras Association’s Facebook page, “The Eunice Courir de Mardi Gras dates back from when the town was first established in the late 19th century. The Courir was abandoned for a few years during World War II, but in 1946 a small band of riders revived the tradition.”
The Eunice Mardi Gras Run is one of the few taking place this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.