Mardi Gras: Minden, Louisiana Style

One of my favorite days of the year in Minden is coming up this Saturday, January 27th. It’s our annual Fasching Celebration (or when we celebrate Mardi Gras) and if you haven’t attended the festivities OUTSIDE of New Orleans, you should make the trek to the friendliest city in the south this weekend!

But maybe you are wondering WHY it’s one of my favorite days in Minden. My little, cozy cottage sits RIGHT on the parade route, so all the gorgeous floats roll just past my yellow front door. I have the best seat in the house!

Our community comes out in FULL FORCE and celebrates and tail gates ALL day. Many people start grabbing spots along the parade route a few days before to ensure a good seat to catch all the goodies and beads thrown from the floats!

And I’m telling you, our floats RIVAL the ones you would see in the Big Easy. Our parade rolls for what seems like about 30 minutes and is full of beautiful floats, debutants, those tiny Shriner cars, local dignitaries and more!

And my friends and family always come over to celebrate. We usually start gathering around 3:00 pm for gumbo, crawfish cornbread and of course, king cake.

My sweet friend, Cayla Cox, makes the BEST gumbo around and she generous agreed to share this recipe with all of you! Be sure to save, or Pin, or print this graphic for future reference! I usually make two crockpots worth and I tell everyone who comes by, “That gumbo is available until it ain’t!” 🤣 (So get it while the gittin’ is good!)

And of course, no celebration is complete without king cake. Now there are TONS of amazing king cakes ALL over our state. But IMHO, Lilah’s Bakery in Shreveport makes the absolute best. In fact, Lilah’s cakes are SO popular, they sell nearly 23,000 every karneval season! Can you believe that? They have SO many flavors but my favorite is Pralines and Cream. OH MY GOSH it’s so so good! And if you don’t know, we hide a little baby inside the cake. Whoever finds the baby has to bring the king cake to the next celebration! (And PS: Lilah’s ships if you aren’t in the area.)

Mardi Gras in Minden, Louisiana is truly the most magical day. Our community comes out in full force to celebrate this long standing Louisiana tradition. We would LOVE to have you join us! The parade rolls at 5:00 pm. But come downtown before that to our King Cake Tasting sponsored by several local businesses!

And if you need a place stay, The Villas at Spanish Court still has a few rooms available. Book your stay HERE and use code MG2024 for 20% off. Read more about Mardi Gras in Minden HERE on my mindenstays.com page.

We can’t wait to show you how amazing Minden, Louisiana is and Mardi Gras is the perfect time to explore. Hope to see you!