Mardi Gras brings in large crowd, offers variety of activities

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Masks lined the streets of downtown Mount Pleasant and adorned the faces of residents celebrating Mardi Gras festivities Friday.

This was the first year for the mask decorating contest, which accompanied traditional activities like parades, arts and crafts, clowns and live performances.

Jon Joslin, chairman of the event, said 61 people participated in the parade, but many of the scheduled performances were canceled because of the rain. He said once the parade was over, many attendees opted to stay home to avoid the cold weather.

But not everyone allowed the rain to damper the day.

“We always close the store down to watch all the parades,” said Jack Karr, owner of the children’s store, The New Yorker, 117 S. Main St. “We love the CMU marching band the most. It’s a nice event to bring the community together.”

Michael Hoover, Grand Rapids senior and business and grants director for Mardi Gras, said this was one of the first years WMHW had a lot of involvement.

Modern Rock 91.5 had tents set up with games and prizes.

By having 91.5 and Mountain 101 get involved, it was a good foot in the door for CMU as well, Hoover said.

Performing in the parade alongside the Marching Chips was the CMU Dance Team.

“The girls love it because it’s rare for them to get involved firsthand with members of the community,” said CMU Dance Team coach Amy Bunting. “They also get to see some of the little girls that take part in our dance camps in the crowd. It’s fun for them to recognize their little faces.”

Throughout the event, Art Reach of Mid Michigan, 111 E. Broadway St., had arts and craft activities for the public, along with voting for their favorite mask. They collaborated with Heartstrings & Fun Things, 209 W. Broadway St., and The Mole Hole, 120 S. Main St., for the contest.

“The store owners cut the giant mask templates and had artists and residents decorate them to enter in the contest, ” said Kari Chrenka, education program coordinator for Art Reach. “The contest included three categories with a hundred dollar prize each.”

After coming downtown to the pharmacy, Harrison resident Julie Reinke stayed to enjoy the festivities with her grandchildren and niece, Trenton Reinke, 11, Anna Barber, 10, and six-year-old Michael Mier.

Chrenka said there was a lot going on in a little space, and it was a great way for local artists to use their creativity in the community.

“We liked the candy and the music,” Barber said. “It was cool when the band played, ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand.’”