Mistick Krewe's Mardi Gras Parade set for Saturday

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!" San Marcos' original Carnival Krewe, the Mistick Krewe of Okeanos, will once again bring all the spirit and traditions of Carnival to San Marcos with its 8th annual Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday at noon.

This year's theme is "American Heritage" and the Mistick Krewe promises all the color, fun and spirit of the first seven parades plus more participants and an expanded parade route.

This year the parade route will begin at Dunbar Park and will end at Grace Lutheran Church at the intersection of Belvin Street and Bishop Street.

Participants have been asked to create colorful rolling and walking units representing their neighborhoods/ organizations and following the Mistick Krewe’s theme of American Heritage. Participants will, in Mardi Gras fashion, throw beads, cups and other throws at viewers lining the sidewalks throughout the parade route. The public is warmly invited to attend the parade, which is expected to last approximately an hour. The parade is a family-friendly Mardi Gras parade that is open and free to the community.

This year the parade route will begin at Dunbar Park and will end at Grace Lutheran Church at the intersection of Belvin Street and Bishop Street. Map submitted by the Mistick Krewe of Okeanos

The Price Center, 222 W. San Antonio St., will be hosting a Mardi Gras Parade Watch and Pop-Up Party beginning at 10 a.m. and going until 2 p.m. on Feb. 22. There will be live jazz music, food vendors and Mardi Gras merchandise vendors.

Zelicks Icehouse, 336 W. Hopkins St., is the host of this year’s official Mardi Gras Afterparty that begins after the parade ends.

The Mistick Krewe of Okeanos is a nonprofit formed 9 years ago to support music and the arts in Texas through the celebrations of Mardi Gras and, in San Marcos-fashion, they take their name from the mythical entity, Okeanos, the Greek deity of the rivers. The Krewe lives by the words “Ex Cultu Robur” – “Through culture comes strength.”