Lake Charles Mardi Gras Day 1
The Mardi Gras celebration in southwest Louisiana is the second largest celebration in Louisiana behind New Orleans, so I would say that it is a pretty big deal here. We went to the Lake Charles Civic Center Saturday around lunch time for the gumbo cook-off. Apparently Mardi Gras krewes face off to see which krewe makes the best gumbo. People who want to try gumbo and other Mardi Gras treats pay $5 and can have as much gumbo and king cake and other sides as they want. Pretty good deal if you ask me! Austin with some gumbo When we first arrived, the room was packed full of people- most in costume or at least matching T-shirts. Everyone seemed to know what they were doing, and I was just not quite sure what to do. Do we pay for the big bowls of gumbo? Do we have to go up and ask or something? We walked through the thick crowd on one side of the room, and there was not any food out to try. I was confused about how this all worked, because everyone seemed to have bowls of gumbo an...