Make plans now to join your friends and neighbors in downtown Wake Forest on Saturday, February 22, 2020, 11am-3pm, for the 8th-annual Wake Forest Mardi Gras Street Festival. Admission to this family-friendly celebration is free.
Promising fun-filled activities for both children and adults, the Mardi Gras Street Festival will include face painters, strolling entertainers, aerialist performances, acrobatic duos, balloon twisters, a contortionist, live music, special contests, and much more.
One of the day’s highlights promises to be the Mardi Gras Processional. The lineup will begin at 12:45pm in Town Hall’s Centennial Plaza, 301 S Brooks Street, Wake Forest, NC, and the processional gets underway at 1pm. The route will extend from Town Hall, up East Owen Avenue, and north along South White Street before ending at Jones Plaza at the intersection of South White Street and Jones Avenue.
The processional is open to both children and adults. No pre-registration is required, but all children must be accompanied by an adult or guardian. Youngsters are invited to walk, roller skate, ride their bicycles or be pulled along in a wagon. Participation is free, but bicyclists must wear their helmets.
Participants are encouraged to flex their creative muscles by decorating their bicycles, wagons and strollers and dress up in their best Mardi Gras attire. Prizes will be awarded for “Best Decorated Vehicle (wagon, bicycle or stroller) and “Most Festive Family.” A King and Queen will also be chosen based on their Mardi Gras themed attire and will join our presenting sponsors to lead the processional.
Free face painting will be offered in the Town Hall lobby 11am-3pm.
Food and refreshments will be available for purchase at several downtown restaurants during Mardi Gras, and a variety of food and dessert trucks will also be on site, including 454 Grill, Baton Rouge Cuisine, Bourbon Street Beignets, Kona Ice, Lumpy’s Ice Cream and Naked Empanada.
Volunteers are needed on the day of the event for a variety of roles. To sign up or learn more, visit this web page.
Local businesses have generously contributed to the 2020 Wake Forest Mardi Gras: Thomas G. Walters: Allstate Insurance, Primrose School of Heritage Wake Forest, Champion Windows, Sunrooms & Home Exteriors, Vision Martial Arts, Stanley Martin Homes, LeafFilter Gutter Protection, Triangle Family Dentistry, Bull Restoration, Oberweis Dairy, Cricket Wireless, and Arts for All.
The Mardi Gras Street Festival is the perfect occasion to stroll South White Street, shop for that one-of-a-kind gift, dine in one of our distinctive restaurants and socialize with friends and neighbors. For more information on this one-of-a-kind celebration, visit https://www.wakeforestnc.gov/…/wake-forest-mardi-gras.
Follow the Town of Wake Forest on Facebook for updates.
Source: Bill Crabtree, Town of Wake Forest
