Mardi Gras Celebrations Animate the River Walk

River parade at the River Walk (photos by Luke Dias)

By Luke Dias

San Antonio is no New Orleans, but still had a blast with Mardi Gras, as thousands of people participated the annual Bud Light Mardi Gras River Parade and Festival on Saturday at the River Walk.

Now in its 10th year, this year’s event supplied over 40,000 bead necklaces, far more than previous years, according to Loren Reyes, the sponsorship sales director of the San Antonio River Walk Association. This nonprofit organization hosts 26 events at the River Walk annually, including the Mardi Gras celebration.

The highlight of Saturday’s event was the river parade, where the tour floats were decorated in the green, yellow, and purple Mardi Gras colors, and took two laps around the River Walk.


People on the boats, who represented sponsors of the event, were throwing those 40,000 bead necklaces at visitors on the shore, and the visitors were frenetically trying to catch them, although about half of the beads ended up in the water.

Towards the end of their journey, the floats made their way through the Arneson River Theatre, where three local bands were playing: the Jim Cullum Happy Jazz Band, Billy Ray Shepherd, and the ZZ Top tribute band Cheap Sunglasses. Just behind the theatre, the La Villita Historic Arts Village hosted a variety of food and décor stands.

To many participants, the parade was a celebration of the Mardi Gras culture. “I’m from the New Orleans area,” said Chuck Cureau, the Master of Ceremonies of the event, who took part in Mardi Gras festivities as a child. “My mom and dad would decorate the house every year."

This was Cureau’s first time hosting the event, though he is famous for hosting other city events including the San Antonio Spurs games.

Reyes was delighted by the turn out on Saturday. “[Arneson River Theatre] has a capacity of just over 900 people, and there’s already over a thousand people here,” she said. Reyes, who has worked for the association for three years, added that more than 20,000 people witness the event each year at different parts of the River Walk.

Thirman Simeoy and his wife were among the 20,000 people. They come to San Antonio every two months for a weekend getaway. “The event is going wonderful,” Simeoy said. “It’s mostly the same as last year, except more beads.”

The San Antonio River Walk Association expected to continue holding events at the River Walk up until Mardi Gras arrives on Tuesday. They declined to give the budget for the event, but said that they rely on sponsors to make the event happen.

Crowds at the Mardi Gras celebration.