A need for beads: Jefferson’s Mardi Gras festivities set this weekend
The Krewe of Hebe in Jefferson is inviting community members and visitors to its annual Mardi Gras celebration for a family-friendly carnival weekend.
The celebration of Mardi Gras in Jefferson started as a way to incorporate other festivities to drive tourism, said Kelli Smith, president of the board for the Krewe of Hebe.
“(The founders) came up with the Krewe of Hebe in 1989 as something to help the community during a time that’s kind of a slow time of the year,” Smith said. “It seems like a lot of people weren’t coming to town (early in the calendar year), so a group of people got together and said, ‘Hey, let’s start doing this to bring some people into town to help our mom-and-pop shops survive, our restaurants, our B&Bs, our, you know, antique stores,’ just to kind of get them through that slow slump.”
Since then, Jefferson’s Mardi Gras celebration has drawn thousands of tourists.
The 36th Annual Mardi Gras Upriver theme this year is “80s Movies.”
At 7 p.m. Friday, the Krewe of Hebe DooDah Parade begins at Lion’s Park and travels through downtown Jefferson. Rewind TXK is set to perform 7 to 10 p.m. on the main event stage.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, the Nighthawk band is set to perform on the main stage. At 1:45 p.m,. the Krewe of Hebe Motorcycle Parade will begin, and the Grand Parade will start at 2 p.m.
Trini Triggs is scheduled to perform at 3:30 p.m. on the main stage.
The Krewe of Hebe awards presents will begin at 5 p.m., and Anthony Bonnette will perform on the main stage at 6.
A performance by Snakebone at 8:30 p.m. will wrap up the day.
From 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Ben Bode will perform on the main stage, while the Krewe of Hebe Children’s Parade is set at 2 p.m. More awards will be presented at 3 p.m.
Attendees also can enjoy the children’s carnival and local food vendors throughout the weekend.
Smith invites everyone to downtown Jefferson for the family-friendly Mardi Gras fun.
“The weather’s going to be amazing, and we’ve got so many things going on,” she said.
For more information, visit mardigrasupriver.com.
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