St. Louis gets its Mardi Gras groove back with strong turnouts after COVID-19 hiatus
A virtual Mardi Gras just isn’t the same.
That’s why organizers of Soulard Mardi Gras in St. Louis are thrilled to be back with in-person events this year after moving the celebration online last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thousands of people showed up for Sunday’s pet parade, encouraged by mild temperatures and sunny skies. Preliminary forecasts call for colder but clear weather next Saturday for the grand parade.
“We didn’t know until pretty late in the game what we would be able to do and how quote-unquote ‘normal’ it would be,” spokesman Mack Bradley said Sunday. “But we’re glad the environment is allowing to do this, and we’re glad to be back.”
That “environment” includes a decline in COVID-19 cases in St. Louis and the metro-east and the relaxation of restrictions by state and local officials in recent weeks.
The Mardi Gras celebration in St. Louis is widely considered the second-largest in the United States (New Orleans is No. 1). People from throughout the region line streets in the Soulard neighborhood for parades and participate in a variety of other events in late January and February.
Mardi Gras celebrations weren’t affected by COVID-19 in 2020 because it wasn’t declared a pandemic until mid-March.
This year, St. Louis organizers are requiring participants with tickets to indoor events, such as the mayor’s ball next Friday, to present proof of vaccinations or negative COVID-19 tests. But that hasn’t hurt sales, which are running ahead of 2020, according to Bradley.
“I think people are ready to get out of the house and go do something,” he said, “and with the COVID numbers trending in very much the right direction, I think people feel like it’s OK to come out and do it.”
Organizers made two last-minute changes to the Mardi Gras schedule in January due to a surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant.
They limited capacity and required proof of vaccinations or negative tests at the 12th Night party on Jan. 6 and canceled the Family Winter Carnival on Jan. 31, replacing it with an online contest. The latter attracts many children too young to be vaccinated.
Other events have gone forward as planned. That includes the Police Athletic League Olympics on Feb. 5, Cajun Cookoff on Feb. 12, 5K Run for Your Beads on Saturday, Taste of Soulard on Saturday and Sunday and pet parade and wiener dog derby on Sunday.
Next weekend’s festivities will begin Friday evening with the mayor’s ball, which was moved from St. Louis City Hall to Union Station’s grand hall.
The grand parade will kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday near Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis and head southwest on Broadway, ending near the Anheuser-Busch brewery.
“We’ve got about 75 units in the parade, which is about average for us,” Bradley said.
As in the past, some Soulard streets will be closed to vehicular traffic after the parade to make room for a street party. Alcohol sales will end at 7 p.m. outside and 11:30 p.m. in bars and restaurants.
Organizers are saying “good riddance” to virtual Mardi Gras events with one exception. They got such a positive response last year to a self-guided, vehicle-based scavenger hunt that it was brought back for a second run and may become a permanent part of the celebration.
