Same time, next year: Mardi Gras group eyes 2020 vision
Published 8:28 am Thursday, March 7, 2019
By Ken Stickney
Mardi Gras of Southeast Texas organizers wanted four days of pleasant weather this season to offset a 2018 event that was a washout.
They got two.
But Laura Childress of MGST said Wednesday that attendance likely increased and the event may finish in the black — slightly. That may be enough to ensure there will be a 28th Mardi Gras celebration in downtown Port Arthur.
“We have some things to be grateful for,” she said in the MGST offices. There were no accidents, no arrests, “no problems I can think of.”
“It was a good year,” she said. “It wasn’t our best, but it definitely was not our worst.
“Were we hoping for more? Definitely, we were.”
Childress said that, overall, the mood among MGST organizers, members and volunteers was “positive” throughout the four-day event, which ended Sunday.
“Next year? Yes, I think it will be back. We have another year in us, for sure.”
Childress has been with the Mardi Gras effort in Port Arthur since its inception.
The organization sustained sizable financial losses in 2018, first because of lingering challenges due to Hurricane and Tropical Storm Harvey in 2017, which flooded 80 percent of the city, and second because of four days of bad weather. This year, MGST said with Easter falling later — April 21 — the event stood a better chance of good weather and increased attendance.
Childress said attendance picked up later Friday evening and peaked, as well, with the Krewe of Aurora parade Saturday night. At other times, it lagged, with rain Thursday, sporadic mist and cold weather Sunday.
“I’ll take two days out of four,” she said about the weather. “You can’t cry over spilled milk.”
She said the organization fell short on volunteers by about 100 this year; some volunteers worked additional shifts. Financial information won’t be available for weeks, but she said she expects when the organization meets at the end of its fiscal year on May 31, members will make early plans for 2020.
“I think we are good,” she said. “The outlook is positive. The future of Mardi Gras is positive. We really need to pull out of this weather patterns, but we can’t control that.”
