Parades Roll Thru South Mississippi to Kick Off Mardi Gras

Carnival season and Mardi Gras parades are now in full swing. This past weekend, three big parades rolled in south Mississippi. News 25 hit one parade route for a landmark year for the Orange Grove Carnival Association as residents lined the streets for this year’s parade.

Thousands lined the streets for the Orange Grove’s Mardi Gras parade, now a 25 year tradition. Twenty five year anniversaries are usually marked with silver, and there was plenty of that to go around, along with other colors like purple and gold, as well as longtime residents of the area. Jenna Kemp, a parade goer, says, "It’s home, our community, people that we know and everyone comes around. You run into a lot more familiar faces than strangers."

There were quite a few familiar faces in the crowd, including some from WXXV’s news team. Clarence Duke took a back row seat, but was ready to step up and make a catch for the Lakeview Nursing Center residents he works with. Dukes says, "Anything to make their day. I’m ready just to see their smiles, to celebrate. It makes my day."

The parade has been a lifelong endeavor for three young Gulfport girls. Kylie Wilson, a young parade goer, says, "I’ve been coming to this parade since I was a baby. I’ve been coming here my whole life."

Chayla Bankston, another young parade goer, says, "It’s my life!"

Marlin Smith, yet another parade goer, says, "Most of my family, all my friends have been in it. I really hope next year I’ll get into one, ride on one of the floats."

This year’s theme was Back in Time, and that’s just where the parade goers will travel as they think back to this day of celebration.