EVENT | RED RIVER
Let the good times roll: Red River to host Mardi Gras in the Mountains festival
Published
Red River is taking Mardi Gras out of New Orleans and bringing it to the mountain.
“It’s all about music and food and fun,” Ron Weathers, Rex Foundation board member, said about Mardi Gras in the Mountains. The Rex Foundation is in charge of organizing the event.
Weathers said the seven-day event — which runs from Thursday, Feb. 12, through Tuesday, Feb. 17 — is one big party that brings in people from all over.
“On the early days, the Thursday, Friday, Saturday crowd, they’re from our traditional visiting areas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, all over New Mexico,” Weathers said, “and then on Sunday, most of those people disappear, and we have a whole new crowd.”
He said the later days of the event bring in people from Louisiana as well as more visitors from New Mexico.
“We get kind of a double whammy, but it’s a great time for our local businesses,” Weathers said.
Events will take place in venues across Red River, including at bars which host musicial acts, including Forest Huval and David Graham.
“It’s going to be big crowds, so (the bars) spend a lot of money on really good talent,” Weathers said, “and so people are here for skiing, for the nightlife and just silliness.”
The event kicks off with the burning of the Wild Tchoupitoulas, Weathers said, which sets the stage for the next six days.
“It’s kind of a New Mexico twist, where he represents your troubles,” Weathers said. “He’s this big 7-foot guy, and people are encouraged to write their troubles on pieces of paper and stuff it inside of his clothing and whatnot, and then we light them on fire and burn troubles away.”
The rest of the week is filled with Mardi Gras-themed events including parades, nightly balls and parties.
“I always used to say in the early days, our goal is to have them go away saying, ‘Those people are crazy, and I can’t wait to go back there,’” Weathers said.
“Our goal is to live up to their expectations, show them a good time, which is what we’re all about anyway,” Weathers said.
Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.
