There are some changes coming to the parade schedule for the weekend of Lafayette's Mardi Gras celebration.

For years, there has been a Friday night parade, but that will change with the upcoming Mardi Gras season for 2018.

Greater Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association president Gene Lognion says that for years the Queen's parade on Monday night kept growing, so the Association started the Friday night "Kick Off" parade.

Now the participation in Krewes has changed, they think it's the right move to have those riders ride after the Queen's parade on the Monday night before Mardi Gras. So, the Queen's parade will roll followed by another parade.

Lognion says,

"Years ago, the Queen's Parade (Monday night) became too large and we split off some Krewes to run on Friday night, creating the "Kick Off' parade. As krewe membership and parade participation have changed, we felt as though we were running two fairly short parades, and thought running both parades on the Monday night would give parade goers a much better viewing and parade experience. The revamped Monday night parade lineup will be a great spectacle and will feature as many as 30 floats and 15 marching bands."

The major fundraiser for the Association is "Le Festival de Mardi Gras a' Lafayette, and that event will be changing for the upcoming Mardi Gras season with even more entertainment on the Friday night before Fat Tuesday.

A third change that will happen is that the entry fee for the Independent parade will go from $1,000 to $500. You do not have to be a member of a krewe to ride in the Independent parade.

For more information on Mardi Gras 2018, you can go to GoMardiGras.com.

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