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Mardi Gras in Eunice includes a variety of events that will appeal to the whole family. The main celebration on Mardi Gras Day features a full day of activities downtown while the Eunice Mardi Gras Association's Courir is winding through the countryside. The downtown crowds can listen and dance to continuous music from two stages and eat all of the traditional Cajun foods, including the world's largest king cake. The Jean Lafitte National Park Prairie Cajun Culture Center also has special activities all day long. Click here for pictures of Mardi Gras 1999 in downtown Eunice. When the courir returns, the riders are joined by Mardi Gras floats in a parade through downtown Eunice that starts about 3 p.m. |
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According to Dr. Claude
Oubre of LSUE, the Eunice courir dates from when the town was first established in the
late 19th century. The courir was abandoned for a few years during World War II, but in
1946 a small band of riders revived the tradition. Oubre's interview with Hillman Smith,
who became capitaine in 1946, is featured in the third volume of the LSUE folklife series.
Today, the Eunice Mardi Gras Association Courir has more than 1,000 participants on the
run. Riders and other participants, both male and female, assemble at the National Guard
Armory at the corner of South 9th Street and Maple Avenue starting at 6 a.m. Starting at 8
a.m., the courir heads down Maple, turns on LSUE Drive, and then goes east down Sittig
Road toward Perchville (Patassa). Click here for
pictures of the 2000 Eunice Mardi Gras Courir.
 The Eunice courir heads down Sittig Road. |
 The capitaine displays a chicken given to the Mardi Gras at one of their stops in 1997. |
 A children's courir, shown heading down LSUE Drive in 1997 toward the countryside, is held in Eunice the Sunday before Mardi Gras starting at 9 a.m. from City Hall. The children ride on flatbed trailers or in pickup trucks. Click here for pictures of the 1999 Children's Mardi Gras Parade in downtown Eunice. |
| The Old Time Boucherie. An old time Boucherie begins in front of City Hall at 10 a.m. the Sunday before Mardi Gras. Visitors can see and enjoy the products of a Cajun (and German) tradition that is still common at many family gatherings: a hog is slaughtered and then made into a variety of dishes: backbone stew, boudin, gratons (cracklings), and other delicacies. By 11:30, the first dishes are ready for tasting. Shown at right in 1997 are Linus Bertrand and Gil Young prepare a combination of spicy rice and pork dressing that they will then stuff casings to make boudin. Larry "Bubba" Frey, who makes boudin and other meat products at his store in Mowata, lifts the boudin out of a broth and puts it in a container to keep it hot until it is served. Meanwhile, the cracklings are ready to lift out of a large kettle. Click here for pictures of the 2000 boucherie. |    |
 In past years,
slices from the world's largest king cake have been sold each year in the Eunice City
Hall on Mardi Gras Day for $1 a slice starting about 10 a.m. Epiphany on January 6, the day in the Christian calendar when the three kings
visited the baby Jesus, marks the beginning of the carnival season. According to
folklorists, the King Cake, whose origins can be traced to medieval France, used to be
baked with a bean or coin inside. |
Whoever got the slice with the hidden token was king for a day.
Today, a plastic baby, symbolizing the Christ child, is baked in many cakes, with the
recipient of that slice supposedly obligated to buy the next cake. Coated with icing in
the traditional Mardi Gras colors, in recent years King Cakes have become a true marketing
phenomenon: bakeries in South Louisiana ship them all over the country. Various fillings
are used inside the round cake.Other Mardi Gras Events. Eunice also hosts several Mardi Gras dances, including a ball with spectacular costumes sponsored by St. Thomas More Catholic Church usually held on the Saturday before Mardi Gras, with music performed by Marc and Ann Savoy. Mardi Gras from area courirs pay a visit to the Liberty Theatre's Saturday show. Two shows are staged, one at 2 p.m. and the other at 6 p.m. The Mardi Gras shows often sell out during the day in advance of the performances.
The City of Eunice Official site has additional Mardi Gras pictures.
Return to Mardi Gras Main Page, which contains additional links to pictures from Mardi Gras 2000.
Updated January 2000