Well, if you've been downtown in the past few days, you were probably already anticipating today.
You see, starting earlier this week, the trucks started arriving at Front Street Plaza. And from them came colorful carnival rides of all types, along with a wide variety of food vendors and other attractions. Over the course of the week, more such delights arrived. And all were set up and made ready just for today.
The sixth annual Mardi Gras celebration in downtown Texarkana kicks off at 10 a.m. today.
The theme is "All That Jazz" and it's appropriate. In this country, Mardi Gras and jazz go together hand in glove.
The distinctly American sound has fueled the big celebration in the Big Easy for generations.
Those who arrive early will find all sorts of opportunities for family fun, from the rides and games to all sorts of food-including typical New Orleans-style treats-and vendors with a wide variety of wares. There will also be music throughout the day on the big Front Street stage.
At 3 p.m. the grand parade gets under way. There will be more than 60 floats this year-almost triple as many as last year-and that means there will be double the opportunity for fun as well as a better chance at collecting beads and other "throws" from those onboard.
Mardi Gras 2018 promises to be a great day of fun for all in downtown Texarkana. We hope to see you there.