As you would probably guess, almost everyone in Louisiana celebrates Mardi Gras. Lake Charles and Southwest Louisiana certainly do. Lake Charles is celebrating its 31st Annual Mardi Gras this year with parades, dances, trail rides, cook-offs and balls. According to Angie Manning-Istre, Communications...

So how does a nice girl from small-town Nebraska end up prancing around on a float during a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans? I mean, New Orleans during Mardi Gras and Nebraska are about as completely opposite as two places can get, right? “I had dreamed of riding on a Mardi Gras float since I was...

New Orleans is the center of the Mardi Gras universe. Mardi Gras in the Crescent City is outrageous, outlandish, and outstanding. The society parties start on Twelfth Night, January 6, and continue through Fat Tuesday, which this year is February 16. Parades start around the first of February, and continue...

New Orleans has more than 50 Mardi Gras parades. Each parade has numerous floats. This begs a serious question: Where do all those floats come from? Some people still make their own floats, but the vast majority are made by Kern Studios, the reigning King of Mardi Gras float makers. The Kern family has...