Mardi Gras Events Slated March 13 In Grand Saline

GRAND SALINE—Being a New Orleans native, Tricia Carver sees this time of year as something special.

That is why the Grand Saline businessperson said she was eager to develop a local version of a Mardi Gras celebration. The result is a noon parade and evening formal ball set for Saturday, March 13.

The parade at noon will start at Pugh Hardware and proceed along U.S. Highway 80 to the baseball field on the east end of the city, Carver said.

"The theme is ‘Gone with the Wind,’ but since this is the first year for the event, everybody is doing lots of different things," Carver said.

Leslie Lehmann with the Grand Saline Police Department is the parade coordinator, she added. Anyone wishing to enter a float in the parade should contact her at (903) 962-3145.

Carver said groups from Grand Saline, Van, Canton and Mineola have already indicated they would participate in the parade.

The Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball will begin that evening at 6 p.m. at the Darby Building. It will feature entertainment from the Texas Gypsies, who will play an eclectic mix of music, according to bandleader Steve Curry.

"Of course, we will be playing the New Orleans kind of jazz, but we will also be playing some classic standards, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, that kind of sound, and we may even jump into some Western swing, maybe a little Texas blues and a little pop done in our style," Curry said.

The band is in its sixth year of performing, he added.

"What’s unique is this group has its own niche. There are not too many groups like this," he said. The band, which includes as many as nine members for some performances, plays about 150 shows and concerts per year, Curry said.

Admission to the ball will be $10 per person and formal ball gown attire is required.

Carver said carriage rides and food will be available for purchase and there will be an interactive "mystery" for ball attendees to try to solve.

"It will be family-oriented," said Carver. "It should be great fun, especially for women who maybe do not get a chance to get dressed up and go out…It should be a whole lot of fun, and we are really putting a lot into this one."

Advance tickets for the ball can be purchased from Carver at (903) 363-7303 or (903) 569-0444.

The ball also will include a Best Dressed contest, Wildest Mask contest and the crowning of a King and Queen. There is a ticket sales competition for grades 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12, with a $500 prize for the winning group.

The rest of the money raised from the event will go to the Friends of the Salt Museum, which will be housed in the Darby Building.