By Ann Marie Byrd, Feature Writer
Who says you have to go to New Orleans to experience the fun and frivolity of Mardi Gras? The Ghent neighborhood has it all covered!
The festivities begin at 11:00 am on Feb 18th, with 20 artisan vendors and 12 food trucks. The parade, which will include about 25 floats, starts at 3:00 pm at Trolley Run and 8th Street and runs to Second Street.
A stage will also be set up on 6th Street next to the Brutopia Beer Garden, where five musical entertainers will be playing, starting at 11:00am: Bridge Atlantic with Erika Butters, A.M. Serenades with Alisa Mike, John Van Dyke and Friends, Boomerang, and George Oliver & The Bonafides.
Also, for the first time this year, the event will include the Mardi Gras Mile Run beginning at 1:45pm. Adults and children are welcome to participate and will be awarded at the finish line with beads and beer tickets for adults. There will also be special activities just for the kids: a puppet show, face painting, balloons, hula hoops, and a craft area to make their own Mardi Gras masks.
“This has always been a ‘just for fun’ event,” says Margaret Bartlett, President of the Ghent Neighborhood Association. “We invite people to join the fun—dress up and get into the Mardi Gras theme, while enjoying entertainment, refreshments, vendors, and the company of others from our community and those visiting from other areas.”
“The Ghent Mardi Gras celebration benefits our community because it shines light on a unique neighborhood,” says Mary Traina, Parade Coordinator. “Ghent is historic and unique and this is a way to share our neighborhood with the city and surrounding areas.”
The Ghent Mardi Gras Celebration was first held in 2015, organized by Vana Prewitt and Steve Kelly. It began as a block party, with wagons on the sidewalk, but over the years, it has grown, moved into the street, and has become a much bigger occasion.
According to Steve Kelly, Entertainment Coordinator for the event, Ghent is the ideal location in New Bern for the carnival due to the design of the streets and the eclectic historical character of the community: “The street is wide and has the median with the old fashioned street lamps. It has old houses with big front porches on both sides, which is perfect for Mardi Gras decorations and porch parties. There’s no other neighborhood [in New Bern] as ideally ‘made’ to host a Mardi Gras carnival.”
In addition to fun, the event also benefits the community in other ways:
“The Mardi Gras events helps build a deeper sense of community in Ghent and ten percent of the proceeds goes to a non-profit organization,” says Tia Higgins, Mardi Gras Chair. “Last year the benefits went to ALS, and this year they will be donated to Promise Place, which provides trauma therapy, sexual assault resources and a food pantry for those with food insecurity. We also choose a king and queen for the parade who are chosen for their work or dedication to the Ghent community.”
Courtney Baker, who is the Community Outreach Coordinator for Promise Place says, “Promise Place has been working hard for over forty years to bring community focus to the awareness and prevention of sexual assault and victimization in Craven, Jones, and Pamlico counties. This great work is fulfilled by means of our outreach (training and presentations), advocacy (victim support), and mental health (versatile therapy) efforts. We are extremely grateful for this personal tribute and monetary recognition, impacted by the Ghent Neighborhood Association Mardi Gras Festival. It gives us great joy to have support as we persist, staying committed to forming true, lasting community connections, and bonding our trauma-focused services to those that need and benefit from the services provided.”