Decatur's Mead Road Mardi Gras Set For Saturday

DECATUR, GA — They'll be letting the good times roll once again in Decatur on Saturday as Mead Road Mardi Gras kicks off its fifth year celebrating the festival season.

Started as a fundraiser for music education in City of Decatur schools, the Georgia-flavored event starts at 1 p.m. and will feature a parade, brass bands, other live music and plenty of red beans and rice.

According to the event's Facebook page, Emily and David Berg started throwing their own little carnival in Oakhurst back in 2005, when their son starting kindergarten meant that an annual pilgrimage to New Orleans for Fat Tuesday was a thing of the past.

What started with a few costumed friends and neighbors and a single paper-mache float perched atop a Radio Flyer wagon grew and grew until they made it an official event in 2014. Everyone is welcome and attendees are encouraged to wear their best carnival outfits and beads.

The parade will step off at 4/5 Academy at 101 5th Ave. and wind its way through Oakhurst before ending at The Imperial, where there will be live music New Orleans-style food and kids activities. Tokens will be available for purchase to get food and drinks at the party.

All fund raised will be donated to the Decatur Education Foundation to fund music and arts programs. Organizers say that the event has raised roughly $20,000 for the arts since 2014.

For more information, visit the event's website.

Photo via MeadRdMardiGras.org