Krewe of Diamonds Parade

Every year in Bay St. Louis, downtown fills with parade-goers on Mardi Gras. For her first Fat Tuesday in Mississippi, News 25’s Gina Tomlinson got to join in on the fun.
The Bay St. Louis parade was a march filled with beads, floats and lots of smiling faces. The Krewe of Diamonds, the only mainly African-American krewe around, led the parade.
Charles Johnson has been coming down here for Mardi Gras for decades. Johnson is a founding father of the krewe before the Diamonds, the Krewe of Real People. “You’re always going to update something. So, we just brought it back to life.”
The krewes for this parade have always been predominately black but if you think that’s all the Bay St. Louis parade is known for, you’re only seeing half the story. This parade is all about everyone coming together. “We don’t care who gets in it, this parade is where everyone is welcome and everyone feels good about it. So, I think that’s the different part in it. It’s just unique,” said Johnson.
It may be a smaller parade but the event has been held on Mardi Gras every year since the 1970s. “It’s always awesome to come here. We just love coming over to Bay St. Louis. I don’t know what it is but it’s just a welcome. It’s just a feeling. We love coming over here,” said “Party People” float Rider Marie Sheppard.
That very same feeling of being united is exactly why Madison Sckinger and her aunt came to downtown Bay St. Louis to watch the parade. “We come together as a community and we celebrate Mardi Gras on this day.”
Without a cloud in the sky, the parade was the perfect way to spend Fat Tuesday.

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