Texas Mardi Gras Celebration Set to Roll as Planned
With news of New Orleans' 2021 Mardi Gras celebrations being cancelled, and pretty much every other parade set to roll in honor of the spring holiday that leads us to Easter up in the air (and not looking good), it's a sad day in Louisiana. I know that the reason is to help avoid another spike in COVID-19 cases across the state, but the Mardi Gras bals, parties, and parades are a mainstay in the Sportsman's Paradise - this is tough. Not tougher than losing more lives to this pandemic, but tough.
That's why the news out of Beaumont, Texas is so perplexing. Even though the state is experiencing record-high infection numbers nearly every day now - officials in the south east Texas town are full steam ahead with their Mardi Gras plans. Those plans include a parade and a festival packed with people. With similar celebrations cancelled in Galveston and Port Arthur, the party in Beaumont may be more packed than usual.
According to 12NewsNow, organizers for the 2021 event are taking precautions to prevent the spread of the disease. Reportedly, those safety measures include separating everything at the festival in order to encourage social distancing, numerous hand sanitizing stations, and constant disinfecting.
Under criticism, event organizers have stated that not only will they comply with whatever legal order concerning gatherings is in place at the time - they will also revisit the idea of postponing or cancelling the event in February.