Mardi Gras Parade and Celebration March 5th 2011
Taste of Soulard and the Pet Parade were a success. The weather was pretty good and hopefully it holds up for Mardi Gras in Soulard this weekend! The weekend kicks off with the Mayor’s Ball on Friday night and Mardi Gras culminates with the parade starting at Busch Stadium 11AM and proceeding down Broadway on the east side of Soulard. Check the Mardi Gras Inc website for more info.
River City Casino Grand Parade
Where: Soulard!
Parade Location: Soulard Saint Louis
Route begins at Busch Stadium
Route Ends at Anheuser Busch
See the Maps and Parking Page for the exact route.
Parade Steps off at 11:00am Arrive early for a great spot on the route.
The River City Casino Grand Parade is one of the largest parades in the Midwest. As the event with the greatest attendance in the City of Saint Louis, the parade is main attraction.
The parade features over 130 units ranging from the large and long standing parade krewes to new participants just getting started with this Saint Louis tradition.
The parade snakes its way from Busch Stadium to Anheuser-Busch. The streets are lined with hundreds of thousands of revelers crying out for the various beads and other trinkets tossed by float riders.
After the parade the crowd makes its way into the over 70 square block area that is the Soulard neighborhood to enjoy the various beverages, culinary delights, live music, and other unique events of the day.
Parade begins at 11:00am. See the Parade Krewes section for more information on being a part of the Grand Parade.
Mardi Gras Inc.
There are numerous tents and all inclusive deals throughout the neighborhood if you want a sure spot to get food, drinks and have bathroom access. Things usually start to slow down quite a bit by late afternoon so I reccomend getting there early for the parade and taking in as much of the atmosphere as possible. As Mardi Gras Inc. says on their website this is the most heavily attended event in St. Louis. There will be half a million people or more in the neighborhood so parking will be tough. Take advantage of a shuttle from bars or restaurants outside the neighborhood. If you plan on driving down look for parking in McKinley Heights across Gravois from Soulard or Benton Park near the I-55 and Arsenal exit. Most of the action is concentrated north of Russell and in the 3-4 blocks west of Broadway. 9th Street’s bar corridor is one of the areas where lots of festivities will be concentrated inside the neighborhood. Russell is between Broadway and Gravois is an area where the masses congregate. There are bars and restaurants along both sections and its good to use any of these as a meeting place.
This weekend is what Soulard has become known for and with good reason. This is the 2nd largest Mardi Gras celebration in the nation trailing only New Orleans. Soulard has a very New Orleans feel to it and this celebration is a great fit. It really is a testament to all the people in these organizations that help to organize such a huge event and have made it such a great success. All the events leading up to Saturday have become immensely popular in their own right. The neighborhood buzzes for 2 weeks hosting all these events and then everything shuts down for the big one on Saturday so everyone can take part. Its a great atmosphere that St. Louisan’s should take pride in.
Come check out the neighborhood and have fun!