Wake Forest is not exactly New Orleans, but Wake Forest’s take on Mardi Gras will be a day of fun for the whole family on Saturday, Feb. 25.
This fifth annual Mardi Gras Street Festival is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A highlight is the Mardi Gras Walking Parade – please do have a mask – which lines up at 12:45 p.m. in Centennial Plaza at 301 Brooks Street and winds its way up East Owen Avenue, then north on South White to end at the Depot Parking lot. It is designed for children and adults with no registration required; just show up ready to have fun. Youngsters can walk, roller skate, ride their bike or be pulled in a wagon. Bikers must wear their helmets.
Decorate your bikes or wagons, dress up your fanciest Mardi Gras clothes, and wear a mask. There will be awards for Best Decorated Wagon, Cart, Bicycle or Stroller, Best Baby and Most Festive Family.
As you parade you will find strolling entertainers, live music, an inflatable playground, special contests and face painters. Over 20 downtown merchants will also offer exceptional discounts and activities during the day.
Free face painting will be offered in the town hall lobby from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and in the Depot Parking Lot from 2 to 4 p.m.
Teenagers and adults are invited to participate in the King & Queen Costume Contest before the walking parade. The costume judging will take place at noon in the vicinity of the Centennial Plaza flagpoles. The winners will serve as the parade’s grand marshals and lead the procession.
Younger participants are also invited to dress up and take part in their very own Parade Prince & Princess Costume Contest.
But that’s not all. Be sure to make your way over to Jones Plaza – where East Jones Avenue meets South White – for two of the afternoon’s most eagerly-anticipated competitions. First, a Best Mask Contest will take place at 2:15 p.m. Judges will award one youth and one adult winner. Please note: Only homemade masks are eligible for entry in the contest. The always-exciting Bubblegum Blowing Contest will follow at 3 p.m.
A complete schedule of events and activities, along with a complete listing of special offers by downtown merchants, is available at www.wakeforestnc.gov/wake-forest-mardi-gras.aspx.
Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday in English, is also called Shrove Tuesday. Overall Mardi Gras is the celebratory period after Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and ending on the day before Ash Wednesday, which begins the penitential season of Lent leading up to Easter. This year Mardi Gras ends on Feb. 28.
Volunteers are needed on the day of the event for a variety of roles. To sign up or obtain more information, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/mardi-gras-volunteers.aspx.
Android and iPhone users can have a handy pocket guide to this year’s Mardi Gras celebration in the palm of their hands by downloading the Town of Wake Forest app and using the app’s “Mardi Gras” function. Designed to provide smart phone users with useful information about all of the Mardi Gras festivities, the function offers instant access to the day’s schedule of events, volunteer opportunities and more.
The following sponsors have generously contributed to the 2017 Wake Forest Mardi Gras Street Festival. The presenting sponsors are Primrose School of Heritage Wake Forest and Gladwell Orthodontics; the inflatable playground sponsors are Redfin and Sam’s Xpress Car Wash; the face painting sponsor is Mr. Roof of Raleigh; the hair art and chalk art sponsor is Birkner Allstate Agency; and the in-kind sponsors are Lowe’s Foods and Wake Forest Arts.
The Mardi Gras Street Festival is the perfect occasion to stroll South White Street, shop for that one-of-a-kind gift, dine in one of our distinctive restaurants and socialize with friends and neighbors. For more information on this one-of-a-kind celebration, contact Downtown Development Program Assistant Jennifer Herbert at 919-435-9427 or jherbert@wakeforestnc.gov.
IPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android users can download the town’s free app by searching for “Town of Wake Forest” on iTunes, in the iPhone app store or in Google Play or by scanning the appropriate QR code provided at www.wakeforestnc.gov/app.aspx.
