Mardi Gras revelers reveling in the Fat Saturday Parade of Fools on Dickson Street in 2011.
Dustin Bartholomew, Fayetteville Flyer
Do you like beads? Parades? Reveling?
Members of the Krewe of Olympia work on a float for the parade.
Photo: Ellen Gregory
If you said ‘yes’ three times just now, there’s zero chance you haven’t already marked Feb. 9 and Feb. 13 on your calendar. Just in case you haven’t heard, however, those are the dates of the upcoming Fayetteville Mardi Gras festivities.
The local tradition features two signature events, the Fat Saturday Parade of Fools, and the Fat Tuesday pub crawl with the Billy Zydeco Band.
Most of the regular participating parade krewes will be back in 2013, and organizers are encouraging anyone interested in starting a krewe and building a float to sign up.
“Our main goal is to bring in more krewes, to inspire others to begin the tradition by building a krewe and joining the fun,” said Lee Ann Kendrick of Krewe of Olympia.
For more information about the event, visit fayettevillemardigras.com.
Fat Saturday Parade of Fools
Where: Dickson Street
When: Saturday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m.
What: The parade begins on the Fayetteville Square, and runs along Block Avenue to Dickson Street, and then down to West Avenue (see map below).
Fat Tuesday on Dickson Street
Where: Dickson Street
When: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m.
What: Festivities begin at about 7 p.m. at Jose’s. The Crowning of the
Royalty of the Demented Krewe of Dickson begins at around 8 p.m. After that, The Krewe will parade with the Billy Zydeco Band through various sponsoring clubs on Dickson Street. Participation is open to all adults.
