Sights and sounds – Carnival Parade 2023 in Soulard
ST. LOUIS — Soulard was draped in purple, gold and green as tens of thousands gathered for the annual St. Louis Mardi Gras parade on Saturday.
This year’s Mardi Gras parade was the 43rd in St. Louis history. It’s headlining a five-week celebration in Soulard leading up to “Fat Tuesday,” the carnival celebration, which falls on February 21 this year.
Soulard’s carnival celebrationsattract around 750,000 people annually and generate around US$20 million for the local economy each year. Almost a quarter of parade-goers come from out of town and help with the annual contribution.
While Mardi Gras’s origins hail from New Orleans, St. Louis also has some deep-rooted connections. In the 1790s, a southern area of St. Louis City was operated by an Upper Louisiana surveyor named Antoine Soulard. The neighborhood later adopted its namesake and began hosting Mardi Gras celebrations more than 200 years later.
Check out some sights and sounds from the parade in our story above.
https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/sights-and-sounds-2023-mardi-gras-parade-in-soulard/ Sights and sounds – Carnival Parade 2023 in Soulard
