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Photo by Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
February 1, 2024
Bandera Cowboy Mardi Gras three-day event begins
By Jessica Nohealapa’ahi
The Bandera Prophet
Today through Saturday, Feb. 3, the good times will roll in Bandera for the 19th annual Cowboy Mardi Gras celebration.
Grab a spot early the morning of Saturday, Feb. 3; the parade will begin at noon on Main Street.
Following the parade, do a little shopping with the arts and crafts vendors on the Bandera County courthouse lawn from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
~ About Mardi Gras
The Carnival season kicked off Jan. 6 (Twelfth Night), and this year Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is Feb. 13, the last day of Carnival season and the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins.
The first Carnival celebration dates back to the 17th Century as a Catholic observation, beginning on Three Kings Day and ending with a final feast on the Tuesday before Lent.
An excerpt from a book published in 1860 describes a parade in New Orleans in 1835:
"Men and boys, women and girls, bond and free, white and black, yellow and brown, exert themselves to invent and appear in grotesque, quizzical, diabolic, horrible, strange masks, and disguises... parade and march on foot, on horseback, in wagons, carts, coaches, cars, &c., in rich confusion, up and down the streets, wildly shouting, singing, laughing, drumming, fiddling, fifeing, and all throwing flour broadcast as they wend their reckless way."
Grab a spot early the morning of Saturday, Feb. 3; the parade will begin at noon on Main Street.
Following the parade, do a little shopping with the arts and crafts vendors on the Bandera County courthouse lawn from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
~ About Mardi Gras
The Carnival season kicked off Jan. 6 (Twelfth Night), and this year Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) is Feb. 13, the last day of Carnival season and the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins.
The first Carnival celebration dates back to the 17th Century as a Catholic observation, beginning on Three Kings Day and ending with a final feast on the Tuesday before Lent.
An excerpt from a book published in 1860 describes a parade in New Orleans in 1835:
"Men and boys, women and girls, bond and free, white and black, yellow and brown, exert themselves to invent and appear in grotesque, quizzical, diabolic, horrible, strange masks, and disguises... parade and march on foot, on horseback, in wagons, carts, coaches, cars, &c., in rich confusion, up and down the streets, wildly shouting, singing, laughing, drumming, fiddling, fifeing, and all throwing flour broadcast as they wend their reckless way."