Not Your Average Party Gras

I really wish I would have posted this earlier, but I think it's still interesting if not timely.  Carnival season is still on my mind even though it ended a week ago.  When most people think of Mardi Gras, certain images come to mind.

Maybe this,

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or this,

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or this,

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or maybe even this.

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But, I bet few of you would imagine this:

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This little known tradition of celebrating Mardi Gras is one that takes place outside of the tourist-filled crowded cities, in the small community of Church Point, LA.  (Side note:  I actually completed a 5-week French immersion program in this community's sister city of Point-de-l'Eglise, Nova Scotia, in Summer 2004).  The official name for this form of celebration is, "Cajun Courir de Mardi Gras," or "Fat Tuesday Run."  Recently featured by National Geographic, visiting this traditional celebration is definitely on my bucket list.  I hear it's pretty exciting, but sort of difficult to follow since the celebration isn't exactly stationary.  I encourage you to check out the NatGeo article, because the writers did a pretty good job of illustrating the story.  

So, who's in on checking it out with me sometime?  Come on...you know you wanna!

-Lauren