A bit of Mardi Gras in Asheville!

This isn't New Orleans, but for the last 10 years, Asheville has hosted a Mardi Gras parade the Sunday afternoon before Ash Wednesday. 

We have only been to the parade twice. The first time, 5 years ago, it was a rainy day and the festivities were dampened by the weather. Yesterday was a bit cool, about 50 degrees, but sunny, and the parade drew hundreds of participants and likely thousands of spectators! 

We were impressed! 

It was a fun experience.

 We situated ourselves in front of the Haywood Hotel, across from the Flat Iron Sculpture and Wall Street, which was the staging area for the parade. The gentleman clown above was the grand marshal and signaled each of the "Krewes" when they should start and announced some of the floats, such as the one carrying the King and Queen.

I don't usually have video in my blog, but this will give you a general idea of the atmosphere.

We were impressed with the number of groups participating and the elaborate floats.

Beads and candy were tossed to the crowds watching. And many of the spectators were dressed for the occasion. This fellow with the amazing hat was in front of us, likely getting nicer photos than me.

And we saw this dapper couple watching the parade later on as we walked to a coffee shop.

Some other photos you might like to see...

And then, of course, this year's King and Queen...

Downtown Asheville is known for it's costumed buskers and flamboyant street people, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the city embraced Mardi Gras so heartily. 

An "open to the public" party followed the parade, but we did not attend that. Perhaps next year we'll get some masks and glitz... or maybe not.