Sioux City celebrates with annual Mardi Gras parade

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — The 30th anniversary of a summertime tradition in Sioux City took place downtown Friday.

Saturday in the Park may be the headliner of the 4th of July holiday in Sioux City, but the Mardi Gras Parade the Friday night before is a close second.

The Sioux city Mardi Gras Parade started 30 years ago. While Mardi Gras falls on the day before Ash Wednesday, Sioux City holds its Mardi Gras Parade in the middle is summer.

The reason why is summer is because of Sioux City’s sister city Lake Charles, Louisiana. A group of revelers from Lake Charles provides beads and a few costumes. The festivities once included a jambalaya feed and stage show filled with exotic costumes.

Today the parade takes center stage.. Around 50 entries wound their way through downtown earlier tongiht throwing beads and of couse candy to those crowding the curbside.

“It was so neat that little kids come running up and love your outfit, but this is all part of what Mardi Gras is. You know so it was, we still dress the part even though it’s July. Just you have a good time and to bring some of that to Sioux City that they would normally not get a chance to see,” said Kurt Peterson, a member of Krewe de Charlie Sioux.

The parade ran from the Tyson Events Center, north on Pierce Street before turning right onto 3rd Street and ending on Iowa Street.

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