Mardi Gras in Shreveport-Bossier!

[dimebag1980]

I'm somewhat stealing this thread from the Louisiana forum. Please, anyone who takes photos of Shreveport-Bossier's Mardi Gras festivities over the next couple of weeks, post them here! After tonight and tomorrow I really hope to have TONS of photos to share here and on the Louisiana forum.

There's an article in today's Times about the festivities (here,) and I wanted to share with you a quote from it that made me proud:

"This is what family's all about," said Chris Cagley, who made a 365-mile drive from Abilene, Texas, to Shreveport to hail the carnival season.

It's his fifth time to join in the local celebration. He says he likes the Louisiana tradition but brings a little of his West Texas mesquite grilling skills into the mix.

"I would do it once a month if they had Mardi Gras once a month. There's no better place to be right now than Shreveport, Louisiana."

Tell me that isn't awesome! As The Times has reported before, New Orleans isn't the only destination for Mardi Gras anymore. Many, many people make the trip to Shreveport because it's 5-6 hours closer than New Orleans, and they have just as much fun here. A person on Flickr told me yesterday that they're coming down for the parades. I'm not sure where they're from, but it's obvious they're from somewhere up north.

I drove down Clyde Fant this morning at about 9:00 am, on my way into the office, and that stretch of road is like a 3-mile long tailgate party. You can feel the magic of Mardi Gras just by driving taht stretch of road and seeing the fun people are having.