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Welcome to the official website for the Tee Mamou-Iota Mardi Gras Folklife Festival. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the festival in downtown Iota, Louisiana. The festivities will kick off at 8:30am on Mardi Gras Day, February 5, 2008 and go on until the streets are cleared at 5:00pm.
 Throughout the day, Cajun and Zydeco bands play on the main stage featuring the only raised dance floor in the area. Another stage features the area's finest young musicians playing Cajun music. The festival also offers the most delicious Cajun foods and a variety of Cajun crafts. The highlight of the day is the arrival of the Tee Mamou Courir de Mardi Gras riding through town in the Mardi Gras wagon. The brightly colored costumes are topped off with screen masks and capuchons which hide each persons identity. The courir will then gather on the main stage along with the capitaine, Todd Fruge, to sing their traditional European chant in French that is dated back 400+ years. Once the song is completed, the Mardi Gras descend onto the street like a colorful wave, dancing with any available ladies and begging for loose change. Nowhere in the world can one see such a well preserved tradition by a small group of Cajuns who are determined to relive a part of their heritage each year by joining together to enjoy a masked merry-making celebration before the Lenten season begins.
(Let the good times roll!) Return to top |