By Suzanne Corbett, STLSportsPage.com Food/Travel Editor
Mardi Gras 2020 is upon us, with Fat Tuesday on the 25th February. The main celebrations happen in the two weeks leading up to the date itself. The Soulard (St. Louis) celebration and parade is Feb. 22.
The parade is the crown jewel of the Soulard Mardi Gras season and is the biggest parade outside of the Big Easy. It begins at Busch Stadium and proceeds through the streets of Downtown South and Soulard to the place where your beer was born: Anheuser-Busch Brewery.
This year’s theme is The Blues – Music, Hockey, Skies, Seas and more, celebrating over a century of this St. Louis Institution with nearly 100 floats that bring the theme to life, and throw over 10,000,000 strands of beads to the throngs of Mardi Gras revelers lining the parade route.
Here is the schedule:
FEB. 22 / BUD LIGHT GRAND PARADE
FEB. 22 / BUD LIGHT PARTY TENT
FEB. 22 / BLUES ALUMNI EXPERIENCE
FEB. 22 / CORPORATE VILLAGE VIP EXPERIENCE
The beads are ready to be tossed and the streets of Soulard will be jammed. For those wanting to party beyond and after the Soulard Mardi Gras paraded ends tomorrow, I have a few suggestions where to go to keep the party and the flavors of Mardi Gras going.
1: Mardi Gras with Brunch at Ballpark Village – Sunday, February 23.
The Hall of Fame Club at Cardinals Nation is offering two seatings, one at 9:30 and 12:30 pm. Each seating enjoys two hours of live jazz, a New Orleans style brunch buffet, all-inclusive drink package including cocktails, mimosas, Bloody Mary’s, bellinis, and hurricanes! Tickets are $45 per person and also include FREE entry to the Cardinals Museum.
2: Fat Tuesday Cruise Riverboats at the Gateway Arch – Tuesday, February 25
Finish this year’s Mardi Gras on a high note! This late-night cruise will feel like a Bourbon Street block as we party down the Mississippi River. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and signature cocktails while The Saint Boogie Brass Band plays some tunes that make you want to move. One lucky couple will be crowned King and Queen to receive a very special prize at the end of the cruise. Party favors, souvenirs and giveaways for everyone aboard.
3: Grab a Cone at Clementine’s
Clementine’s Creamery, where you can always depend on great seasonal flavors, has two new Mardi Gras inspired creams designed to let the good times roll. NOLA, created with house made beignet, Cafe Du Monde chicory coffee, vanilla and dulce de leche, and “Hurricane, made with World Famous Franco’s Hurricane mix, passion fruit, spiced rum blended into a vanilla custard base.