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NEW ROADS
MARDI GRAS PARADES
Rich in History and Tradition
Proceeds Benefit Lions Charities
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This Mardi Gras, take your whole family to “The Little Carnival Capital” of Louisiana: the charming Creole town of New Roads, located just 35 minutes northwest of Baton Rouge on Louisiana Highway 1 and beautiful False River. Mammoth parades, scores of floats and bands, great throws, wonderful cuisine, hilarious street maskers, lots of parking near the parade route and a good dose of Creole hospitality for lagniappe all combine to make the New Roads Mardi Gras the top-choice, family-friendly destination each Fat Tuesday.
Host of the state’s oldest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans, New Roads staged its first-known parade back in 1897 and has for generations been the site of two parades each Shrove Tuesday. The Community Center Carnival parade, Louisiana’s oldest after Rex, Proteus and Zulu and an annual feature since 1922, begins at 11 a.m. At 1:30 p.m., New Roads’ second parade takes place: the New Roads Lions Carnival parade which, since its inaugural voyage in 1941, rolls as a fundraiser for the Lions Charities.
Each of New Roads’ two Mardi Gras consists of approximately 30 glittering floats, 12 high-stepping marching bands and drill units, resplendent royalty, New Orleans-quality trinkets or “throws,” comic vehicles and myriad other attractions.
Unique features of the New Roads parades include the facts that:
1. Floats are built fresh each year and entered in competition by local schools, churches, clubs and families, as opposed to generic rental floats.
2. Parade participation is open to the general public, unlike the exclusivity of the individual krewe parades.
3. Proceeds of the New Roads Lions Carnival benefit area charities.
Admirably, the New Roads Lions have been able to put approximately $1.5 million back into the community as a result of its Carnival parade and other fund-raising activities. Careful calculation has shown the overall economic impact of Mardi Gras in New Roads to top $100,000 each year, manifested in the distribution of the Lions’ fund-raising proceeds as well as increased business in the greater New Roads area. In addition to the monetary benefits of the New Roads Mardi Gras are the social ones: No other celebration in the region brings so many people of various ages, genders, racial and socio-economic backgrounds together to work toward a common goal and to enjoy its fruition.
The New Roads Mardi Gras made national history in 1942 when its two parades were the only ones in Louisiana to roll, all others in New Orleans and elsewhere in the state having been canceled due to World War II. New Roads’ parades were not held, however, during 1943-1945 owing to float-building material shortages and in deference to the war effort. Despite pouring rain, sub-freezing temperatures and periods of economic distress, nothing else has been able to keep New Roads’ parades from rolling!
For generations, Louisianans as well as visitors from surrounding states have been captivated by the mirth and traditions of the New Roads Mardi Gras, as attested in the following article entitled “A Bow to the Town of New Roads” which appeared in a 1956 edition of The Register magazine:
"And New Roads knows how to have a party or a celebration! Never is a festivity a token affair with only a few citizens participating. In this town when an occasion is celebrated, the whole populace takes part. Political rivalries, business rivalries, personal feuds, which are inevitable where a group of people exist, are temporarily abandoned and everyone cooperates for the success, the gaiety and pleasure of the occasion…"
"The Mardi Gras parades in New Roads have become something of a tradition in high quality and though the floats are built by amateurs they have a professional look – each a masterpiece in design, color, detail, and originality…"
"It is perhaps the thoughts of times past which give that extra sparkle and something out of the ordinary to New Roads celebrations. For tradition is preserved, yet innovations are not denied…"
In the 21st century, New Roads’ normal population of approximately 6,000 swells many times over each Mardi Gras when the town on beautiful False River attracts the largest Fat Tuesday crowd in the state after New Orleans and Lafayette. In addition to parade-goers from New Roads and Pointe Coupee Parish, spectators pour in from throughout Louisiana, southwest Mississippi, eastern Texas and other states each year for the festivities. As many as 80,000 parade-goers line New Roads' streets during celebrations marked by favorable weather, but the three mile-long parade route allows for lots of family room and off-street parking is plentiful in the many downtown parking lots.
We hope to see you at this year’s New Roads Mardi Gras parades for a day of fun for the entire family and memories that will last a lifetime.
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COLORFUL FLOATS, GREAT MARCHING BANDS AND DANCE TEAMS, GLITTERING ROYALTY, TONS OF BEADS, FUN FOR ALL AGES!
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