Local church celebrates with annual Epiphany Bonfire

The good times are now rolling here on the Coast. One local church kicked off Carnival festivities over the weekend with a bonfire.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church held its annual Christmas tree bonfire on the beach in observance of Epiphany.

As the smoke cleared, the first king cake of the year and coffee was passed out to guests in attendance.

The bonfire was also held at a special location, across from the site of the old church.

St. Mark’s Pastor Stephen Kidd says the Epiphany is about recognizing the true spiritual meaning of Mardi Gras. “So, St. Marks was on this piece of property across the beach from 1846 until 2005. And then with Katrina, the building was destroyed, but our community persisted, and we moved up the beach a couple miles. But they had always burned the greens out here on the beach, and so even though our location has moved, over on Cowan Road, we still come to this spot and remember the first many decades of our life — 150 years or so of the life of our community, in this place, and we still celebrate and burn the greens where they did.”

Members of the congregation joke the flames from this bonfire are so large every year you can see them from space.